Strategic Communication: Who Should Lead the Long War of Ideas

摘要

As the sole remaining world superpower, the United States plays a key role in securing world order. However, the costs associated with maintaining its influence, primarily through economic and military might, are mounting. The United States' challenge is to articulate a grand strategy that balances the effective use of all instruments of national power -- diplomatic, information, military, and economic -- to achieve its national objectives. While the United States has further developed and funded its political/diplomatic, military, and economic institutions to project its influence during the opening decade of the 21st Century, it has not developed a coherent strategy to communicate effectively with world audiences. If the War on Terrorism is a struggle of ideas, then strategic communication is an area in which the United States must excel. This paper reviews past U.S. Government initiatives to integrate strategic communications, and analyzes which government agency would be best suited to craft the national communication strategy and lead the strategic communication interagency effort: the Department of State, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, or a separate Executive agency.