The Public Diplomacy Collaborative

Prof. Joe Nye on "Information Warfare vs. Soft Power"

"Information warfare can be used offensively to disempower rivals, and this could be considered 'negative soft power.' By attacking the values of others, one can reduce their attractiveness and thus their relative soft power.

"...In the nineteenth century, the outcome of contests for mastery of Europe depended primarily on whose army won; today, it also depends on whose story wins."

Information Warfare Versus Soft Power Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election, and its suspected hacking of French President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign servers, should surprise no one, given President Vladimir Putin’s (mis)understanding of soft power. Information warfare, while somewhat disruptive, has eroded, not boo...

Prof. Matt Baum on French elections, 2017 (Boston Herald):

"And though it’s unclear how the rest of the member countries would react to a Le Pen win and a French exit from the EU, Harvard University public policy professor Matthew Baum said having a right-wing populist in power would make dramatic changes to the EU 'more likely.'

“'There’s nothing immutable about these institutions of this system,' he said. 'It’s something that rose up after World War II, and it’s something that could recede.

"A Le Pen victory in France, he said, would be a victory for nationalists everywhere and would put additional pressure on Germany to hold the union together.

“'Her winning is a leg up for the populist right-wing nationalism in a number of other countries. It can reverberate. If it does reverberate, it becomes harder for Germany to hold the line,' Baum said, 'but I wouldn’t expect an immediate cascade.'”

France’s Le Pen looks to ride outsider wave Marine Le Pen, the far-right French presidential candidate whose recent surge in the polls has analysts comparing the charismatic politician to President Trump, could ride the global populist wave that landed the New York billionaire in the White House to an upset victory.

"...not acceptable and needs to end."

German minister: Russia waging fake news 'propaganda war' BERLIN (AP) — Germany's finance minister says Russia is conducting a "propaganda war" through fake news to try to garner influence abroad, and it has to stop. Wolfga

Trump’s Chief Strategist Says News Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut’ Stephen K. Bannon, one of President Trump's top advisers, gave a scathing assessment of the news media, calling it “the opposition party.”

Prof. Joe Nye, on Bloomberg TV, re Rex Tillerson

Can’t Imagine Tillerson Being in Putin’s Pocket: Nye Joseph Nye, former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, discusses President-Elect Donald Trump’s choice of Rex Tillerson to run the State Department and the Exxon Mobil chief’s relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He speaks with Scarlet Fu and Joe Weisenthal on “What’d You Miss?”…