Beyond the “Obama Effect”: Refining the Instruments of Engagement Through U.S. Public Diplomacy

Abstract

The election of President Barack Obama in 2008 was hailed by many as a positive development for the image of the United States abroad. Yet the Obama presidency, by itself, does not constitute a public diplomacy strategy. This article addresses the state of U.S. public diplomacy at the start of the Obama administration and references how media reaction to Obama’s election provides insight into the role of the presidency in U.S. public diplomacy and its ability to translate popularity into tangible policy gains. Public diplomacy is considered in this article as both a communication strategy and foreign policy imperative that has been neglected as an institutional means to amplify the global popularity of the president and U.S. foreign policy objectives. The article argues that the confluence of Obama’s personal communication efforts and policy strategy and the global context of ubiquitous social media technologies indicates a productive moment for U.S. public diplomacy planners and policy advocates to capitalize on the president’s popularity through a reinvigorated strategy of engagement.