Page 2 of
2 BOOK
REVIEW How to project
'soft power' The First Resort of
Kings by Richard T
Arndt
Reviewed by Martin A Schell
of the Allies. Despite the
urgency, the US State Department was reluctant to
mix culture and propaganda. Its professional
diplomatic corps remained farsighted enough to
recognize that cultural exchange fosters mutual
understanding, an essential ingredient in any
postwar reconstruction plan. The United States and
the United Kingdom were also wary of Adolf
Hitler's boast
about totalitarianism: "It
forces those who fear it to imitate it."
The specific question that frames the rest
of Arndt's account of the history of cultural
diplomacy is not whether white lies should be
eliminated, but rather, "Should the same
organization handle both cultural affairs and
propaganda?" The question took on major
significance as the US achieved superpower status
and new players came on the scene, including
senator William Fulbright (a staunch gradualist)
and vice president Nelson Rockefeller (who not
only ignored the difference between two-way
exchange and storytelling, but also blurred the
distinction between foreign policy and commercial
interests).
Arndt provides an inside
account of ideological struggle and bureaucratic
infighting that persisted for decades. The battle
ended when the USIA "gobbled up" the State
Department's Division of Cultural Relations during
the administration of president Jimmy Carter,
whose aides failed to realize that the latter
organization better embodied his theme of
"listening as well as talking" as a fundamental
principle of foreign relations.
The
difference between long-term and short-term
approaches to foreign policy is an issue
confronting every country, particularly those that
are major players on the world's stage.
Inevitably, beneficiaries of aid wonder if there
are hidden strings attached to it. Manipulations
can be subtler than the now-standard practice of
donor countries insisting that they provide
technical and/or managerial expertise, which
immediately recycles a large fraction of the funds
back to them. Two-way exchanges based on genuine
mutual interest and respect are an excellent way
to go beyond this impasse: the "lack of direction"
that opponents criticize is in fact a strong
antidote to suspicion.
The timing of this
book's publication is superb, coming at the nadir
of a US administration that gives many people the
impression that war is a first resort rather than
a last resort. Although it has 600 pages, its
prose flows well and is generally free of jargon.
The only drawback is the inevitable parade of
abbreviations to identify various organizations,
some of which underwent name changes. Keeping
track of all the initials distracts the reader and
makes one wish there were a comprehensive list at
the front of the book, as is now routinely done
for reports by non-governmental organizations.
Perhaps a future edition will include such a
guide.
In the meantime, people who enjoy
history will find this book a real treasure,
because it is never dull even when the details are
densest. With the skill of a master mosaicist,
Arndt pieces together archives, interviews, and
personal experiences to reveal the inner workings
of diplomacy. Patiently arranging these tesserae,
he portrays a pattern of interaction between
cultures that stretches broadly in time and space,
expanding our vision of what it means to relate to
fellow humans who do not share our background and
may not agree with our world view.
Arndt
is the consummate believer in cultural diplomacy -
he recently served as president of Americans for
UNESCO, a non-profit organization founded after
the late US president Ronald Reagan severed
official ties between the US and the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. However, he also has the integrity
of a true skeptic who questions his own beliefs as
much as he challenges the axioms of others. For
example, he admits that decades passed before
bi-national cultural exchange with less developed
countries became genuinely two-way. Although
people moved in both directions, initially there
was a "unidirectional information flow": teachers
went out of the US and students came in.
In concluding his thorough review of the
20th century, Arndt addresses the 21st: "Why do
Americans, having discovered the appalling damage
to America's image, and, beneath that thin crust,
to US credibility and trust, overlook our rich
history of cultural diplomacy?" Indeed, the
history is rich enough and the lessons learned are
universal enough that a translation of this book
could serve as a handbook for the foreign service
of any country that has the foresight to look
beyond its immediate problems, as well as the
courage to view security without wearing the
blinders of panic and mistrust.
The
First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy
in the Twentieth Century by Richard T Arndt.
Potomac Books; New Ed edition (February 28, 2007).
ISBN-10: 1597970042. Price US$29.95, 624 pages.
Martin Schell is the founder of
American Services In Asia, a consulting firm based
in his wife's home town of Klaten, Central Java.
He also teaches for the Stern School of Business
(New York University) as an adjunct and is the
author of several articles on the global use of
English. He can be reached at
schell@alumni.princeton.edu or via his
website http://www.globalenglish.info.
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