Sister Cities as Persuasion
28th August 2009
Matt Armstrong at MountainRunner focuses upon Eisenhower “citizen diplomacy” programs during the Cold War. It’s a great pull from the past applied to the present as Mr. Armstrong considers the implications and applications of “citizen diplomacy” for today. I’ve got two observations to chip in.
First, I view these kind of programs not simply as policy, but as persuasion plays. They deliver persuasive messages through the strongest channel, face-to-face communication in relational contexts. Just folks citizens from America and the “sister” country meet in cultural exchange settings, but the real persuasion work occurs in those casual conversations that naturally emerge. Now, certainly not all of these exchanges are “on message” in the strongest sense of the term and certainly some of these exchanges produce problems. But, on balance, “citizen diplomacy,” functions as high WATT processing of very strong Arguments.
Second, if you want to learn more about Eisenhower’s communication and persuasion efforts during the Cold War, I highly recommend a highly useful book by Kenneth Osgood’s, “Total Cold War.“ It’s a scholarly examination of that historical period with good access to the archives.