American Diplomacy’s Public Dimension

Bruce Gregory taught graduate and undergraduate courses on public diplomacy at Georgetown University and George Washington University for nearly seventeen years. Prior to that, his 33-year government career included positions at the Department of State, U.S. Information Agency, 13 years as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and three years on the faculty of the National War College. Publications include peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, public policy reports, and a bimonthly literature review.

“This book makes multiple contributions, and while in no way exhaustive, I want to recognize three of them. … This is an ambitious book. … Those who study and/or practice diplomacy (and public diplomacy) will likely extract the most value from this book. It is an advanced analysis, and while it is well-written, the content is intensely packed together. … The book also serves as a springboard for further research and ideas for honing the practice.” (Katherine A. Brown, Journal of Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4 (1), 2024)“The book takes readers from the foundational experiences of the colonial American frontier, through the maturing of the Republic to the multiple global outreach campaigns waged during the twentieth century, into our own era of digitally powered diplomacy. … This is a book for the ages which belongs at the right hand of every scholar and practitioner with an interest in diplomacy’s public dimension.” (Nicholas J Cull, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 20 (4), December, 2024)

• Introduction.- Part I Precursors and Concepts.- Chapter 1. Colonial Era Foundations.- Chapter 2. Turning Points in a New Nation.- Chapter 3. Framing Practitioner Communities.- Part II, 20th Century Practitioners.- Chapter 4. Borrowing from Civil Society, 1917-1947.- Chapter 5. Foreign Service – Building a Foundation, 1948-1970.- Chapter 6. Foreign Service – Transforming Diplomacy, 1970-1990.- Chapter 7. Cultural Diplomats.- Chapter 8. International Broadcasters.- Chapter 9. Soldiers.- Chapter 10. Covert Operatives and Front Groups.- Chapter 11. Democracy Builders.- Chapter 12. Presidential Aides.- Part III 21st Century US Diplomacy.- Chapter 13. Reinvention and Fragmentation.- Chapter 14. A Failure to Communicate?.- Chapter 15. Drivers of Change.- Chapter 16. What Happens Now?.- Acronyms.- Selected Bibliography.- Acknowledgments.- Index.