Emily Metzgar Research Collection

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/25245

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 26

The Growth of Regionalism: Implications for the International System
(Journal of Public and International Affairs, 1997) Metzgar, Emily T.
It is often suggested that the development of regionalism and regional identities throughout the international system is detrimental to trends toward globalization. This article argues that the growth of regionalism is not at the expense of globalization. Rather, it is a trend which can be exploited in the development and implementation of policy toward regions that traditionally have been less developed, less organized, and less influential in the international system. First defining and then examining the existence of regionalism, this article provides theoretical justification for the growth of regionalism today, focusing specifically on three regions: Southern Africa, the southern cone of South America, and Southeast Asia. Examining the growth of regionalism in those three areas for a period of 35 years, the degree of organization in each region over time is measured. Interpretation of the data presented here results in discussion of the necessity of regional cohesion in increasing a region’s influence at the global level. The article concludes with speculation about the different ways in which the international system or a representative nation such as the United States might be expected to react to higher levels of regional organization. Policy implications are discussed throughout.
On Missed Opportunities
(The CPD Blog, 2010-07-12) Metzgar, Emily T.
In late June, The Washington Post had an article highlighting efforts by the American Embassy in Islamabad to correct the record when inaccuracies about the United States appear in the Pakistani press. Then, last Friday, the weekly public radio show On the Media had an interview with the lead spokesman for the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Larry Schwartz to discuss the effort reported in The Washington Post’s earlier article. Both media items offer valuable insight into the challenges official Americans face overseas as they work to present policy accurately while simultaneously acknowledging the range of opinions often held by Americans on those same issues. Both media items also shed light on the frustrations U.S. officials feel as falsehoods, misrepresentations and malicious interpretations of actual facts about the United States are presented to often already suspicious foreign populations. For American diplomats serving abroad, addressing these challenges is part of the job description. But the recent appearance of those two items in national media also highlights a few facts about the importance of context, or lack thereof, in reporting of international issues in American media. And this in turn points to the need for expanding our understanding of the practice of public diplomacy – both abroad and at home.
This is What Public Diplomacy Looks Like
(The CPD Blog, 2011-04-08) Metzgar, Emily T.
The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program has been around since 1987. This program, the largest component of which places native English speakers in Japan’s junior and senior high schools for year-long tours of duty as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), has thousands of alumni from around the world – more than 20,000 from the United States alone. Run as a jointly administered program by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT) and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), JET has faced tough talk at home in recent years as Japan’s political leadership seeks ways to control government spending. The value of a program bringing so many young people to Japan for one, two, three and even four-year stays has been questioned.
Is It the Medium or the Message? Social Media, American Public Diplomacy and Iran
(Global Media Journal, 2012) Metzgar, Emily T.
This article discusses communication concepts associated with the practice of public diplomacy 2.0, applying those concepts to analysis of American implementation of PD 2.0 directed toward Iran, a country with which the United States has lacked formal diplomatic relations for more than 30 years. Although interaction between the United States and the Iranian people may be limited, may not always take place in real time, and certainly cannot serve as a substitute for the interactions facilitated by a bricks-and-mortar embassy on the ground, the Virtual Embassy Tehran and its social media accouterments represent an interesting application of American public diplomacy priorities. The effort is consistent not only with the goals of 21st Century Statecraft, but also with the Administration’s stated preference for engagement while still pursuing vigorous economic sanctions toward the Iranian regime. The effort also has potent symbolic value given the United States’ promotion of global internet freedom as a foreign policy goal. The case of American engagement with the Iranian people as examined here is a unique study in the practice of public diplomacy 2.0 and it offers an opportunity to test some of the more idealistic arguments associated with application of social media to diplomatic efforts.
Promoting Japan: One JET at a Time
(CPD Perspectives, 2012-03) Metzgar, Emily T.
There is broad recognition that the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program is an important project undertaken by the Government of Japan. Such assertions are based on raw numbers of participants, diplomatic and academic intuition, and collected anecdotes. There is, however, no publicly available research considering the JET Program as a public diplomacy endeavor evaluating what effects former participants attribute to the JET Program. This study presents a theory- and data-driven foundation on which to stake claims about JET as a public diplomacy program. Introducing original survey data collected by the author in 2011, this study evaluates the responses of more than 500 American JET Program alumni and begins shedding light on the value of JET as a long-term, government-sponsored, public diplomacy program.
PD in Review: The Rhetoric of Soft Power
(PD in Review, 2012-03-07) Metzgar, Emily T
In her review of Craig Hayden's The Rhetoric of Soft Power: Public Diplomacy in Global Contexts, CPD Summer Institute Alum Emily Metzgar notes that the book is "a well-researched discussion of soft power and its application in the name of public diplomacy." The book is one of Hayden's contributions to the academic study of public diplomacy.
Asserting “Truth” in Political Debates: A Study of Partisan Twitter Networks
(International Symposium on Online Journalism, 2012-04) Metzgar, Emily T.; Ibold, Hans P.
Journalism, Mass Communication & Public Diplomacy
(The CPD Blog, 2012-08-21) Metzgar, Emily T.
Considering the ‘Illogical Patchwork’: The Broadcasting Board of Governors & U.S. International Broadcasting
(CPD Perspectives, 2013-02) Metzgar, Emily T.
At its December 2012 board meeting, members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) announced that they needed more time to consider a plan that would create a single executive responsible for day-to-day operations of the organization responsible for overseeing U.S. government-supported international broadcasting efforts. Operating with a budget of more than $700 million and producing content in more than 50 languages, the Broadcasting Board of Governors qualifies as one of the world’s largest international news organizations. Using discussions about the need for reorganization of the BBG’s management structure as impetus, this article discusses the role of the Broadcasting Board of Governors in American public diplomacy efforts and considers its accompanying responsibilities as a large, media management organization. Noting a dearth of academic and policy-oriented research focused on the BBG, this article seeks to provide a foundation for future discussion of issues surrounding its leadership, its performance and its future.
Fixing the Strategic Dysfunction
(The CPD Blog, 2013-06-26) Metzgar, Emily T.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee came out swinging in November of 2016 in its hearing titled “Broadcasting Board of Governors: An Agency ‘Defunct.’” Chairman Ed Royce laid the groundwork in his introductory remarks, offering an overview of the BBG’s legislative origins and the proud history of U.S. government broadcasters that helped the West win the Cold War. The point – much like the hearing’s title – was not subtle, but it was important: The salad days of U.S. international broadcasting (USIB) are long past and the current administrative structure, under the purview of the BBG, does not work.
PD Academic Research: Journalism & Mass Communication Scholars Consider Opportunities
(The CPD Blog, 2013-08-13) Metzgar, Emily T.
In November 2016, for the first time ever, there was a panel dedicated to discussion of public diplomacy at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Held in Washington, DC the conference, and this panel in particular, offered an opportunity for scholars to talk about the emergence of public diplomacy as a subject of study in the discipline. The session was well attended and the audience was populated with both scholars and practitioners interested in advancing discussion about public diplomacy in both theoretical and applied contexts.The panel consisted of six scholars, each of whom offered a different perspective for the discussion.
Public Diplomacy as Corrective Lens?
(The CPD Blog, 2014-05-23) Metzgar, Emily T.
A recent book from Martha Bayles, a lecturer in humanities at Boston College, tackles the question ofhow American entertainment industry products confound official U.S. government efforts to representthe nation to populations abroad. In early 2014 she stated, “I’m not the only one to see our ubiquitouspopular culture as the elephant in the public diplomacy living room." Now, in discussion focused on the pervasive presence of American popular culture overseas, Bayles’ book Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America’s Image Abroad, provides new context for discussion surrounding the question “whither American public diplomacy?”
A Cautionary Tale of Soft Power Promotion
(The CPD Blog, 2014-07-22) Metzgar, Emily T.
China’s increasing involvement in Africa has captured considerable attention from policymakers and academics. Formalized in a 2006 policy statement, “China’s Africa Policy,” Beijing’s interest in the region translates into Chinese government and government-affiliated institutions investing billions of dollars in large-scale construction projects across the continent. In complementary fashion, China’s state-sponsored media has initiated programming created for audiences throughout the region. And increasing numbers of Chinese citizens unaffiliated with government efforts are flocking to Africa in pursuit of their own interests. A story that involves both a rising superpower and the world’s most underdeveloped region is a story worth telling and journalist Howard French has tackled this rich subject in his new book, China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.
Promoting "Journalism with Purpose"
(The CPD Blog, 2014-08-07) Metzgar, Emily T.
Almost lost among daily reports about conflict in the Middle East, a crash investigation in Ukraine, an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, an influx of young people crossing the border with Mexico, and systemic neglect of American veterans has been the House of Representatives’ introduction -- and now passage -- of legislation designed to reform how the United States tells its story to the world. On July 28, 2014, the House passed on a voice vote the United States International Communications Reform Act, (HR 4490) bipartisan legislation intended to “enhance the missions, objectives and effectiveness” of U.S. international broadcasting.
Fixing America’s Voice to Enhance Foreign Policy
(The Conversation, 2015-04-02) Metzgar, Emily T.
One of the US federal government’s most notoriously troubled agencies, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), suffered a serious public relations setback in early March 2015 when its newly hired CEO, Andrew Lack, quit after only 42 days in the position. Lack, famous for taking on tough jobs, once declared “I’m usually offered jobs where there is something big and broken.” He is now headed back to his previous employer, NBC, where he is tasked with damage control following the Brian Williams fiasco. Meanwhile, “big and broken” remains a decidedly apt description of the BBG. And that is a big problem for the United States and its foreign policy.
No Joke: This is How Public Diplomacy Works
(The CPD Blog, 2015-04-09) Metzgar, Emily T.
On April Fools’ Day 2015, Buzzfeed writer Matt Stopera posted a story about his recent trip to China. It’s one of the nuttiest narratives I’ve read in a long time and it has the added benefit of being true. It also happens to provide terrific evidence of how successful China’s public diplomacy could be. It involves direct interactions between people across cultures, facilitated by tools of digital communication and unfettered by government interference. The result is closer ties, better mutual understanding, genuine affection, and just plain warm feelings all around. Read: Public diplomacy success.
How Community Service Can Help Educate Journalism Students
(PBS MediaShift, 2015-04-20) Metzgar, Emily
Since 2010, I’ve been teaching a graduate class in Indiana University’s Journalism program, requiring that students complete 20 hours of service work in the community as part of their final grade. The reaction from students has been powerful. One student noted that the experience “made me examine my privilege in a way that was really uncomfortable for me.” Responses like this lead me to believe that service-learning should play a role in all journalism education programs.
The Plus Ça Change…
(The CPD Blog, 2016-04-07) Metzgar, Emily T.
Worries about ineffective U.S. government response to foreign propaganda campaigns and calls for coherent, coordinated and compelling American messaging are growing.
U.S. "Flyover Country" Sends Election Signal
(News Decoder, 2016-05-19) Metzgar, Emily T.
Exit polls from West Virginia’s presidential primary in May 2016 revealed a surprise: Many voters who had opted for Democrat Bernie Sanders said that, should he fail to win his party’s nomination, they would likely support Republican Donald Trump in November’s U.S. election. That sentiment left pundits along the country’s East and West coasts scratching their heads. But it makes perfect sense in middle America, a region derisively called “flyover country” by those who pass over it while traveling between the East and West coasts.
Settle Down. New Legislation Didn’t Create Trump TV
(The CPD Blog, 2017-01-19) Metzgar, Emily
The headlines were ominous: “Trump to inherit state-run TV network with expanded reach.” “Donald Trump to gain total control of US public broadcasting networks.” “Trump TV could really be a thing… and on the government’s dime.” Such language was misleading and overblown. Here’s a more even-handed version of what transpired: The National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 contained much-needed changes to the management structure of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a U.S. government agency that outside consultants, members of Congress and even secretaries of state have variously described as “dysfunctional”, “illogical”, “chronically troubled” and “practically defunct.”

Browse

Browsing Emily Metzgar Research Collection by Issue Date