Connecting in the time of Covid-19: US Embassy Moscow
With a global pandemic and lockdowns in many countries, U.S. diplomats have to find different ways to engage with people in their host countries. In this PDx episode, GW student Olivia Estes interviews Karl Stoltz, Counselor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy in...
“Infected” Olympic Games
By Saori E., MA Media & Strategic Communication COVID-19 is rampant in the world today. The virus, which originated in Wuhang, China, is being successfully contained in China. However, its neighboring country, Japan, is struggling to prevent people from getting...
The Battle of Messaging: Indonesian Palm Oil and the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II)
By Oryza Astari, M.A. International Affairs ‘20 Rainforest Action Network’s “Indonesia, Climate Change, and Rainforests” report describes destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests as one of the leading causes of climate change. Furthermore, Greenpeace describes Indonesia...
Message & Culture Clash in the Age of Covid-19
By Leah Bacon, M.A Strategic Communication and Media ’20 On March 14, 2020 Rwanda’s Ministry of Health reported its first positive case of Covid-19. The country was the first African nation to issue a two-week lockdown. This included the closure of schools and...
Terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement: A Philippine Independence Story
By Barbara Alberts, M.A. Media and Strategic Communication ’20 In February, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced he intended to terminate the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States. The VFA allowed the United...
President Donald Trump’s impeachment could ruin U.S. influence in Ukraine—but it won’t. Here’s why.
By Joli McSherry, MA Global Communication, ’20 On July 25, 2019, President Donald Trump had a good, normal call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The rest—forgive the cliché—is now history. We know that this call led to the President Trump’s eventual...
Challenges and Vulnerabilities for Public Diplomacy in Guatemala
By Halea Kerr-Layton, MA Global Communication ’21 Guatemala, the Central American country home to roughly 17 million people has unique vulnerabilities and challenges for public diplomacy presented by the competing narratives, identities, and experiences...
The Battle for Georgia: How Strategic Narratives Inform and Impact a Geopolitical Struggle
By Jenna Presta, BA in Political Communication ’19, MA in Media & Strategic Communication ‘21 In the 1990s, the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared their independence and intentions to secede from Georgia. Neither of these territories is widely...
4 Reasons Why COVID-19 Won’t Change Italy’s Stance on Migration
By Rachel Pastor, M.A. International Affairs ‘20 The destabilization of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since the 2011 Arab Spring spurred a mass exodus of people fleeing civil war, instability, and authoritarian regimes. As a Mediterranean neighbor...
The Do’s and Don’ts of Doing Public Diplomacy on Twitter
By Kaitlyn Angrove, M.A in Media and Strategic Communication ’20 Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become many people’s main sources of information, connection and entertainment. Their vast user bases and the ability to post almost...
