Losing Hearts and Minds?: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror (Praeger Security International)
"Carnes Lord'sLosing Hearts and MindS≪/i> is one of 2006's more salient and disturbing books….Lord, a professor of strategy at the Naval War College, understands that the War on Terror is an ideological struggle, pitting democracy against tyranny and terror. Carnes argues that the United States and the West have not successfully engaged the ideas inspiring Islamist-led terrorism. It is indeed a tough subject--the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group barely touched on the terror war's ideological dimensions. Carnes notes how the media and Hollywood frequently compromise American soft power (moral, political and information persuasion). His suggestions for improving the selling of democracy include a revived and revamped U.S. Information Agency."-Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)"Drawing on his high-level public policy experience, he outlines what he considers to be an appropriate strategy to develop the organizational mechanisms within the U.S. government needed to carry out an effective public-diplomacy campaign to defeat the center of gravity of Islamic terrorism, which lies not in its organizational structure but in its ideological inspiration the real source of the fresh recruits who continue to flock to the terrorist banner….Mr. Lord's discussion of the role of public diplomacy and strategic influence as vital instruments of American national power is especially pertinent today as the administration and Congress goes about the business of confronting religious extremism and terrorism."-The Washington Times"Weighs in on the vital debate over public diplomacy, offering both analysis of and prescriptions for some of the most complex issues facing U.S. foreign policy today. Lord believes that public diplomacy is a matter of strategic importance and that bureaucratic disarray, intellectual confusion, and political squeamishness are preventing the United States from performing this task successfully…. Makes a strong case that a broad review of public diplomacy is urgently needed, and his holistic approach and unblinking focus on the relationship of public diplomacy to U.S. grand strategy will greatly benefit such a review. Much of what Lord says will be controversial, but a healthy dose of controversy may help stimulate the wide-ranging debate this important subject urgently needs."-Foreign Affairs"Lord, a professor of military and naval strategy at the US Naval War College, assesses the definition and role of American public diplomacy, or the overseas communications activities of government. The focus is on the governmental infighting that has recently marked the American use of public diplomacy, with the author suggesting ways to restructure the bureaucracy to increase the effectiveness of public diplomacy in the war on terrorism. He specifically champions a revived United States Information Agency (USIA) and vigorous ideological engagement on various issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian dispute; democracy and market economics; media policy; education reform; and state building. Public diplomacy, the author claims, should always serve the national interests of the US….[t]he work adds to the growing body of literature on public diplomacy by presenting some of the structural and practical elements that impede effective communication. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through practitioners."-Choice