5 Ways to Talk about Trump: Explaining President Trump through Metaphor Analysis
Metaphor is a central part of how national narratives are constructed. If, as cognitive linguist George Lakoff suggests, we view the United States (US) as a family and the world as a community, then public diplomacy professionals are like family counselors and town...
How “America First” is Ruining US-German Relations
Trump’s foreign policy centers on “America First,” which is a drastic shift from the way the United States has handled foreign relations in the past. Over the past few decades, the United States has been the leader in building democracies, protecting the rights of...
How RT is Exploiting Grievances in Catalonia and Dividing Europe
Populism represents the newest challenge facing the European Union. In the past year, a string of elections and referendums in Italy, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic and Austria elevated anti-establishment and nationalist sentiments. The shift in international order...
Trump’s Dangerous Narrative
America First really means America Alone. It is a narrative in conflict with the contemporary American identity, harkening back to the isolationists of the 1940s. Before Trump, the predominate American narratives about its place in the world were hegemonic. We,...
Five Reasons Why China’s Cross-Strait Communication Is Losing Ground
View of the Taiwan Strait from Taipei Harbor ©Yukai Wang Since the beginning of 2018, dark clouds have been gathering above the Taiwan Strait. From China opening the controversial M503 flight route (see the route map below) to the U.S. Congress passing Taiwan...
Why U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry could only reinforce its dictatorship
Venezuela is going through the worst period in its history. With hyperinflation and a humanitarian crisis ramping up, people are leaving the country by the thousands. However, all these problems and issues are constantly framed by the Government in ways that shape...
How ISIS seduces European Muslim women–and what Europe can do about it
Why are so many Muslim women in Europe susceptible to ISIS propaganda?
The Many Narrative Failings of Trump’s Jerusalem Decision
By Joshua Axelrod Jerusalem is a city with a long, complicated history that means something different yet equally profound to many groups. With that in mind, it is no wonder that President Donald Trump’s choice to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of...
A Lost Opportunity for Diplomacy?
Mark L. Asquino, U.S. Ambassador (ret). Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow, SMPA (2010-11) The photo from the 2018 Winter Olympics speaks volumes. It shows Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, with glum expressions, sitting in the VIP section in front of Kim Yo-jong,...
Two Tragedies: Benghazi and Niger
By Mark L. Asquino, U.S. Ambassador (ret.) On September 11, 2012, Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, a former colleague of mine, and three other official Americans were killed by terrorists in an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Their untimely...
