IPDGC – IPDGC Smart Power

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: Looking Back and Struggling Forward

Written by: Barry Fulton When we launched the Public Diplomacy Institute (PDI) in the year 2000, we imagined a collaboration with the Public Diplomacy Council, a non-profit organization consisting primarily of retired Foreign Service Officers, and two GWU schools: The School of Media and Public Affairs and the Elliott School…

Reflections on IPDGC’s Origins, Vision, and Future

December 19, 2025 Cultural Diplomacy Global Communication IPDGC public diplomacy

Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC) George Washington University 25th Anniversary Conference, November 6, 2025 Keynote Address Written by: Bruce Gregory Congratulations to Babak and the IPDGC team for organizing this timely and important conference. It could be said that GWU’s Institute began on the afternoon of April…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: The Last Three Feet: An Idea Ever Popular

December 16, 2025 Global Communication IPDGC public diplomacy

Written by: Efe Sevin, esevin@towson.edu Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication brought scholars and practitioners together in a two-day conference to mark its 25th anniversary and to discuss the future of public diplomacy. I had the pleasure of being a panelist in the International Dimension session. Now, there was…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: Russia’s Investment in Dual Track International Engagement: Sharp Power and Public Diplomacy

December 9, 2025 Cultural Diplomacy Global Communication in the field IPDGC public diplomacy Russia

Written By: Yelena Osipova-Stocker Public diplomacy – the process by which international actors communicate their culture, values, and policies to engage foreign publics and accomplish foreign policy goals – has always rested on one essential ingredient: trust. Without trust, no nation can sustain influence, credibility, or meaningful dialogue abroad. Russia’s…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: The Future of Soft Power and Strategic Narratives

November 24, 2025 Cultural Diplomacy Global Communication IPDGC public diplomacy

Written By: Ben O’Loughlin …it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance. (Trump, cited in 2025 US AI Action Plan) What does that sound like to the rest of the world? What does this line signal about how…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: A Flagrant Act of Cultural Diplomacy

November 13, 2025 Cultural Diplomacy Global Communication IPDGC public diplomacy Uncategorized

Written By: Mark Taplin Not so long ago, on a fragrant July evening in Sarajevo, in the courtyard of a 19th centuryhouse-museum, a Spanish musicologist, a Bosnian singer, and a handful of traditional sevdahmusicians committed a flagrant act of cultural diplomacy. Hosted by the Spanish ambassador,the program linked the centuries-old…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: Looking Ahead to the Future of Cultural Diplomacy

October 30, 2025 Cultural Diplomacy in the field IPDGC public diplomacy

Written By: Robert Ogburn Note: The opinions and characterizations in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government. Next month, the George Washington University’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC) will mark its 25th anniversary with a two-day conference…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: The High Ground of Soft Power

October 27, 2025 Global Communication in the field IPDGC public diplomacy

Written By: Rick Ruth We come on the ship they call The Mayflower, We come on the ship that sailed the moon, We come in the ages most uncertain hours And sing an American tune… — Paul Simon When President Franklin Roosevelt passed away in April of 1945, having guided…

25 Year Anniversary Special Blog Series: The Future of Public Diplomacy

October 17, 2025 Global Communication IPDGC public diplomacy

Blog #1 Bruce Gregory Twenty-five years ago, a small group of visionary George Washington University (GWU) scholars and Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) members established the Public Diplomacy Institute (PDI), later renamed the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC). The Institute was launched in July 2000, pursuant to a…

Alumni Spotlight: Laura Brendle

February 3, 2024 Education Global Communication IPDGC

By Alexis Posel, IPDGC Communications Student Assistant Laura Brendle graduated from the M.A.Global Communication graduate program in 2018. She was the recipient of that year’s Student Public Diplomacy Award which recognized her efforts in public diplomacy studies. She currently works at Webrepublic, a digital advertising agency in Switzerland, where Laura is…