Students watching a lecture from the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan. Photo courtesy of Marc Sabbagh
January marked the U.S. Department of State’s “21st Century Statecraft” month, a period dedicated to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s goal of combining “traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft,” including technology and mass media. Through the Virtual Student Foreign Service program, one initiative within this expanded approach to diplomacy, I have the unique experience of contributing to an innovative form of diplomatic engagement.
As a “virtual” intern for the U.S. embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, I coordinate an online lecture series for university students in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia without having to leave the Rice campus. Last fall, professors from across the United States presented on conflicts in American history, spanning topics from Native American removal to civil rights. For the final lecture, Baker Institute academic affairs director Allen Matusow discussed labor unions in the 1930s. In the coming weeks, students will begin learning about the 2012 presidential election through a nine-part series on historical aspects of the presidency, the election process, and current domestic and international campaign issues. The Baker Institute’s political science fellow, Mark Jones, will contribute to the series and teach students about the Electoral College and the election process.
I have learned as much, if not more, from this experience than the students on the other side of the computer screen. While they learn about aspects of U.S. history and culture, I learn about their educational experiences, background and interests through the class discussions. My work is part of the greater goal of 21st century statecraft: to find new ways of reaching out to, and engaging with, communities abroad. Of course, diplomacy has always been a balance between using “sticks” and “carrots.” But technological advancements are ushering in new forms of “government to people” and “people to people” engagement. For example, the new U.S. “virtual embassy” to Iran and increased promotion of open Internet access have led to better communication in countries where a presence on the ground is not possible. Most recently, the Arab uprisings demonstrated the effective use of technology such as Twitter and Facebook to organize efficiently and disseminate important information.
The Baker Institute has a strong record of promoting public diplomacy (i.e, engaging directly with people of foreign countries) through many initiatives derived from the proposals outlined in the 2003 report “Changing Minds, Winning Peace.” In the summer of 2010, I took part in an exchange trip through the Baker Institute to Cairo, Egypt, with a group of Rice University students. We participated in a week-long public diplomacy exchange with students from the American University of Cairo the summer before the uprisings in Egypt occurred. In a matter of days, we realized Egyptian students were vying for educational and economic opportunity, were critical of the shortcomings of the regime, and were hopeful for a future without oppression. Eight months later, President Mubarak was ousted.
The experience reinforced my belief that information is power, whether it is disseminated in the Caucuses through virtual lectures or in the Arab world through educational exchanges. Promoting open access to the Internet and new technologies is an increasingly attractive method of elevating civilian power and strengthening institutions.
The use of technology to encourage public diplomacy marks a pivotal shift in U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy — and should continue to play a greater role in supporting democracy and improving relations with countries around the world.
Marc Sabbagh is a Rice University senior studying political science and history. He is an intern with the office of Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian.