Submission Date
4-27-2015
Document Type
Paper
Department
History
Adviser
Richard King
Committee Member
Edward Onaci
Committee Member
Rebecca Evans
Committee Member
Richard King
Department Chair
Ross Doughty
Project Description
This paper analyzes the development of American public diplomacy in the Middle East region from 1945-1961. The purpose of the paper is to situate the public diplomacy effort within existing histories of the Middle East and Cold War propaganda and to analyze the methods used by the U. S. to shape foreign opinion. Analysis reveals that the U.S. felt the need to implement a foreign information program under President Truman, which was later expanded and corrected under Eisenhower, and included a switch from short-term objective seeking to long-term goodwill fostering. The methods were primarily focused on two target audiences: educated community leaders on one hand, and the masses on the other. This research highlights the successes of the previous U.S. public diplomacy program which was later revived post-9/11, but has struggled to reduce anti-Americanism.
Recommended Citation
Goss, Christopher M., "“A Battle for Hearts and Minds”: U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Cold War Middle East" (2015). History Honors Papers. 1.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/history_hon/1
Included in
Diplomatic History Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, United States History Commons
