Approaches to American Cultural Diplomacy

Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Charles Frankel, the then newly nominated Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, was to entitle his recently completed study for the Brookings Institute on American cultural diplomacy as: The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs. In so doing, Dr. Frankel sought to bring to the attention of top American foreign policy formulators and observers what he considered to be a long-overlooked and potentially dynamic force in contemporary international relations--the ever-increasing contact and intercourse among scientists and artists, educators and students from various nations of the world. In seeking to expose what he considered to be the "senseless blindspot" of American foreign policy analysts and international relations theorists. Professor Frankel aptly summed up his major reservations concerning previous musings over the role of government-directed cultural relations by noting:\n"There are today many opinions and many disagreements about how to conduct the educational and cultural relations of the United States with other countries. Few of these opinions, and fewer of their disagreements, issue from a careful attempt to examine fundamental principles. In comparison with the sophisticated study and analysis devoted to United States military, economic or diplomatic policy, little systematic intellectual attention is given to educational and cultural policy."