Democracy News

US Senator Highlights Importance of New Media in Supporting Grassroots Movements
January 12, 2010
By: Ben Russell | Printer Friendly

Senator Richard Lugar, one of Congress’ foremost foreign policy thinkers, recently stressed the importance of new media in public diplomacy.  In a piece written for Foreign Policy Magazine’s web edition, the senator outlined the role that mobile technology, text messaging and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can play in disseminating American values abroad and empowering  disenfranchised people across the globe.

Modern communications and social networking technology, Lugar writes, are part of a “21st century statecraft” that can be used to “support civil rights movements abroad, connect people to information, and help those in closed societies communicate with the outside world.”  He notes that the State Department has already tapped into the potential of new media to aid its public diplomacy efforts, citing cooperation with Twitter and its role as an information source during Iran’s election protests as an example.

Lugar goes on to endorse efforts like Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s “Civil Society 2.0” initiative, which will provide advice to nongovernmental organizations in the uses of new media, and encourage the administration to continue looking for innovative ways to employ modern communications technology constructively.  Such an approach to diplomacy and development, Lugar says, is essential in winning the “global war of ideas.”

Sources:

Foreign Policy Magazine Online - Twitter v. Terror
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/06/twitter_vs_terror?page=0,0