Jeremy Lin, international relations icon?

Jeremy Lin as a shared cultural moment in the US and China, a sports highlight (several, so far), and a chess piece in the world of diplomacy?  Shout out to Robert Wright at The Atlantic for that latter connection:

In any event, having heard a few interviews with Lin, my guess is that he’ll handle delicate questions gracefully, and that he won’t let international celebrity distract him from his on-court mission. And that’s all that’s really necessary; it’s not like he has to become a roving ambassador of good will in order to play a constructive role in international relations.

Of course, this whole conjecture about Lin’s diplomatic value presupposes that he’s the real deal–that he’ll be star for some time to come. My own guess (not that you asked) after watching last night’s game is that he will indeed hang on to star status so long as he gets better at hanging on to the ball in heavy traffic. So I’m cautiously optimistic that Jeremy Lin could wind up, so to speak, doing God’s work.

via Linsanity as a Diplomatic Asset – Robert Wright – International – The Atlantic.

For what its worth, the hype has met reality thus far–which is what makes this such an interesting subject for speculation.

Qatar Presses Decisive Shift in Arab Politics – NYTimes.com

File this under “the power of small states” as well as an interesting commentary on how soft power amplifies national interests:

This thumb-shaped spit of sand on the Persian Gulf has emerged as the most dynamic Arab country in the tumult realigning the region. Its intentions remain murky to its neighbors and even allies — some say Qatar has a Napoleon complex, others say it has an Islamist agenda. But its clout is a lesson in what can be gained with some of the world’s largest gas reserves, the region’s most influential news network in Al Jazeera, an array of contacts many with an Islamist bent, and policy-making in an absolute monarchy vested in the hands of one man, its emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.Qatar has become a vital counterpoint in an Arab world where traditional powers are roiled by revolution, ossified by aging leaderships, or still reeling from civil war, and where the United States is increasingly viewed as a power in decline.

via Qatar Presses Decisive Shift in Arab Politics – NYTimes.com.

I should note that this is a retread both in my posting and in the Times’ reporting.

‘Brady Bunch’ diplomacy – Los Angeles Times

Call it sitcom diplomacy. Last month, Katie Couric suggested it was past time to apply that magic to Muslims in America. Her example was “The Cosby Show.” What “The Brady Bunch” did for my 7-year-old immigrant self, the Cosbys did for white folks who’d never actually met a black family. “People are afraid of what they don’t know,” Couric said in a video on her website. “A Muslim equivalent to the Huxtables could be just what the country needs to stay all of this hate in its tracks. “

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve written books and lectured about growing up Iranian American. From Arkadelphia, Ark., to Olivet, Mich., and from Hebron, Maine, to Bakersfield, I encounter two reactions: fear and surprise. Fear of Middle Eastern immigrants, and surprise that I am nothing like the person they expected. Tehran’s politicians make it easy for an Iranian American to get a laugh — I need to thank them for that. But they have also created a PR challenge worthy of Sisyphus. No matter how many laughs I get, I can’t push that rock up the hill far enough or fast enough. My people need a TV show

via ‘Brady Bunch’ diplomacy – Los Angeles Times.

Power (And Your Posture)

How you sit may tell a lot about your status.  (How you stand, as well.)  Power plays an important role in leadership, and it appears that so does posture, oddly enough.

Recently, a team of researchers at Columbia and Harvard wondered not whether power can manifest itself in posture — that seems clear — but whether certain postures could make people feel more commanding. More powerful people — i.e., those who make more money and have higher-status jobs — reliably show higher levels of testosterone (no matter their gender) and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than people lower on the totem pole. The researchers reasoned that if you put low-power people in high-power postures, their hormones might respond accordingly.

via Strike a Pose – TIME.

Albright and Kissinger on the Media and Foreign Policy

How does what we know through the media shape foreign policy?  How do diplomats use the media to monitor, shape, and interface on policy?  Check out this video interview former Secretary of State Madeline Albright makes the case for CNN as the “16th member of the Security Council.”

via Drew Ludlow, The Paley Center for Media + TED = TEDWomen | The Paley Center for Media.

Turkey and Soap Opera Soft Power

Turkey’s cultural exports, not coincidentally, have also advanced its political ambitions as it asserts itself on that front, too, sending a flotilla to Gaza, defying the United States over sanctions on Iran, talking tough to its onetime ally, Israel, and giving Kemal Ataturk’s constitutionally secular state an Islamic tinge.

Politics and culture go hand in hand, here as elsewhere. If most Arabs watch Turkish shows to ogle beautiful people in exotic locales, Arab women have also made clear their particular admiration for the rags-to-riches story of the title character in “Noor,” a strong, business-savvy woman with a doting husband named Muhannad. Dr. Shafira Alghamdi, a Saudi pediatrician, was on vacation here the other day, shopping with two Saudi friends, and volunteered how Arab husbands often ignore their wives, while on “Noor,” within what remains to Arabs a familiar context of arranged marriages, respect for elders and big families living together, Noor and Muhannad openly love and admire each other.

“A lot of Saudi men have gotten seriously jealous of Muhannad because their wives say, ‘Why can’t you be more like him?’ ” Dr. Alghamdi said. Meanwhile, she was illustrating another consequence of the show: the sudden, spectacular boom in Arab tourism to Turkey. Millions of Arabs now flock here. Turkish Airlines has started direct flights to gulf countries (using soap stars as spokespeople). Turkish travel companies charter boats to ferry Arabs who want a glimpse of the waterfront villa where “Noor” was filmed. The owner recently put the house on the market for $50 million. Until lately he charged $60 for a tour, more than four times the price of a ticket to the Topkapi Palace.

via Abroad – Soap Operas in the Arab World Yield Their Own Soft Power – NYTimes.com.

Good Neighbors, Asian Edition

Chinese diplomats are busy–in Singapore, in particular.  Chalk it up to another petit success in public diplomacy and long-term relations.

 

 

World leaders popping in, shaking hands, posing for photos and perhaps even forging some genuine friendships…And although most eyes were focused on this past weekend’s APEC summit, there was another meeting held Nov.12 between Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese Pres. Hu Jintao that resulted in some interesting ‘cultural’ agreements between their two nations.

via The Diplomat Magazine – 2009.

Diplo Demeanor | Lessons from Job Interviewing

How should a diplomat be seen and behave?  Aside from stuffy protocols–which are certainly part of the job–comportment is key.  Think of a diplomat’s demeanor as something akin to a job interview:  no set rules, but qualities such as punctuality, courtesy, and body language matter a lot.  So does the ability to read people and understand cues.

She says she and her colleagues apply “the airport test” to candidates. They ask themselves: “Would I want to be stuck in the airport for 12 hours with this person if my flight was delayed?” It seems that just being yourself — albeit a formal, polite, alert and attentive version of yourself — is the best way to behave during interviews.

via The Search – The Cues in a Job Interview That Say ‘Hire Me’ – NYTimes.com.

Eight Former Sec States Make the Case for More Diplomacy

Read this–a case for more diplomacy as a useful long-term investment, including training, personnel, and public diplomacy–written by Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice:

A recent report — “Foreign Affairs Budget of the Future,” by the American Academy of Diplomacy, in cooperation with the Stimson Center — has documented the problem and the need.

The report makes the point that sending diplomats abroad without language skills is like deploying soldiers without bullets. Yet nearly 30 percent of positions that require foreign language skills are filled by officers without them. Why? Because State lacks the personnel to send to language training at a time when nearly 20 percent of regular positions in embassies and in the State Department are unfilled.

via U.S. must deploy more foreign diplomacy personnel – Eight former secretaries of state – POLITICO.com.

Anti-Public Diplomacy Campaign | “Tweaking” the Zimbabwean Dictator

The “Trillion Dollar Campaign”–by TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris’s South African office for The Zimbabwean newspaper–was aimed at wrongs committed by Robert Mugabe’s regime. So they plastered billboards with a potent artifact of Mugabe’s corruption and incompetence: The Zimbabwean trillion-dollar bill, whose printing was the result of spiraling inflation.The campaign was a bit more complex than a simple promo of The Zimbabwean. The newspaper is actually based in South Africa, after Mugabe exiled its publishers for exposing the corruption of his government. He then placed a 55% import tax on it, to make it unaffordable to average citizens. So the newspaper responded by trying to build up enough of a readership base in South Africa to subsidize its distribution in its home country.

From FastCompany