Putting "Community" in Diplomacy

American Diplomacy has been under the microscope for a few years. There's no need to review the reasons, numerous reports, rhetoric, and legal spats but all for all of the formal diplomatic channels and official statements, one thought keeps returning to me: let's expand our diplomatic corps. I'm not talking about the Department of State's foreign service officer corps who serve our country in largely invisible (but vital) roles - but I'm talking about the citizen diplomat corps. This group has no term limits, no budget oversight by Congress or OMB, no political agenda, no constraints to carefully craft the proper wording at a press conference. What they have is a commitment to promoting cultural understanding and advancing world peace.

Citizen diplomats are ordinary folks of all ages who travel abroad on any type of exchanges (educational, cultural, technical, humanitarian, business, and so forth) and are inspired to participate for the opportunity to experience another culture and society. (Yes, they are just like us...) In turn, citizen diplomats are also on the receiving end of exchanges by hosting visitors from abroad in their homes, allowing them to share American culture and society. (Yes, we're more than TV sitcom re-runs and Hollywood movies.) These episodic exchanges (hosted by members of Sister Cities International and a wide range of other exchange organizations with rich histories) happen by the tens of thousands each year around the globe. Their complementary foreign affairs role is unchallenged by professional diplomats and politicians of all stripes. The tales of cultural and educational exchanges during the Cold War are legendary.

Citizen Diplomacy has its role and it's a powerful one, but I would argue that this format has it limitations being, by nature, short term (a few days to a few years if you are in school) and individual-based experiences. To recalibrate our standing in the world, we need Community Diplomacy. This is a new term (as best I have researched, but I'm sure someone will correct me. I should note that the term "City Diplomacy" is taking root in Europe with the UCLG as a leader in looking at the role of local government in conflict prevention, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction, but the role of local government is too narrow.)

Community Diplomacy is what local Sister Cities programs foster: long-term city-to-city relationships that engage all sectors of a community and individuals of all walks of life, including politicians, educators, business executives, government professionals, scientists, nonprofit leaders, students, and so on. For example, one community may provide clean water while the other is providing microenterprise opportunities for artists. As sister cities get to know each other over decades, cultural divides disappear. Short individual experiences become relationship-based group experiences. As the equality between communities and citizens grows, the cultural misperceptions and media bias tend to fade. When all this falls aside, what's left - world peace?

Question of the Day: Can Community Diplomacy make a difference in world views of the U.S.?