Articles by Helle Dale

 

Mubarak Shuts Down Social Media: Big Mistake

Helle Dale | February 04, 2011

The decision of the Egyptian authorities to turn on the Internet yesterday after a week of interruption reversed a massive, shortsighted mistake. While controlling the… Read More

 

Turmoil in the Middle East, Confusion in the White House

Helle Dale | February 02, 2011

There was a time when the U.S. government boldly supported democratic movements and spoke out unabashedly in favor of political and human rights. It wasn’t… Read More

 

A Show of Iranian Unity

Helle Dale | January 27, 2011

Iranian political dissidents are notorious for their bitter factions and for not being able to work together—probably the single biggest cultural asset the Islamic Republic… Read More

 

The End of Diplomacy As We Know It

Helle Dale | December 02, 2010

There is no such thing as secret diplomacy anymore, maybe not even plain old diplomacy. This week’s mammoth WikiLeaks dump of State Department Internet traffic… Read More

 

Death by a 1000 Cut: Is the Government Trying to Kill VOA Radio Transmissions?

Helle Dale | November 15, 2010

Does radio still play a role in a world where that is increasingly cyber-connected and populated by smart phone users? The answer, according to Google’s… Read More

 

VOA Must Do a Better Job at Depicting American Life

Helle Dale | October 25, 2010

“What are the most effective actions the United States could take towards liberty for the Iranian people and political freedom for the Green Movement in… Read More

Security

Cyber Security vs. Online Freedom

Helle Dale | October 20, 2010

By now most people are familiar with the ongoing debate about how far government should be able to go in monitoring Internet communications. Such was… Read More

 

Russian Advances in Central Eastern Europe

Helle Dale | October 19, 2010

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw (Radek) Sikorski was probably being polite when he described, in a conference call on Friday with U.S. policy experts, the U.S…. Read More

 

Tony Blair: I Love America

Helle Dale | October 14, 2010

Anyone who picks up the U.S. edition of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s brand new political autobiography, A Journey: My Political Life, will understand… Read More

 

With Enemies Like These: Facebook and Twitter Under Iranian Attack

Helle Dale | October 04, 2010

Iran’s mullahs may be hoping to capitalize on Facebook, the movie, which opens in theaters here in the U.S. this weekend, a film also known… Read More

 

China Takes a Page from U.S. Playbook

Helle Dale | September 24, 2010

If competition is healthy—most conservatives believe it is—the challenge presented by China and other nations in the field of public diplomacy ought to be a… Read More

 

That ’70s Feeling

Helle Dale | September 23, 2010

Americans appear to be taking a cue from the Obama Administration on foreign policy and the U.S.’s role in global affairs. Much like President Carter’s… Read More

 

The Noble Mission of Radio Free Europe/Radio

Helle Dale | August 19, 2010

In the age of media saturation and extravagant federal budget deficits, the question does comes up: Why does the United States need to spend some… Read More

 

No Hope and Little Change

Helle Dale | August 12, 2010

For an Administration that started with the premise of improving relations with the “Muslim world,” as President Obama likes to put it, the results of… Read More

 

Cameron and Obama: Special Relationship or Odd Couple?

Helle Dale | July 22, 2010

In an odd reversal, President Obama went all out to welcome Britain’s newly elected conservative Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday at the White House—this, after… Read More

 

Public Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics

Helle Dale | July 20, 2010

A former United States Ambassador to Thailand tells of being asked to contribute to a local university in Bangkok that wanted to set up an… Read More

 

Updating Smith-Mundt for the 21st Century

Helle Dale | July 19, 2010

Since 1948, Cold War legislation has been tying the hands of practitioners of U.S. public diplomacy and international broadcasting. The law in question is the… Read More

 

Tackling the Challenges of the Broadcasting Board of Governors

Helle Dale | July 14, 2010

The new Broadcasting Board of Governors, announced on Friday by the Obama White House, have their work cut out for them. For a variety of… Read More

 

Just Wild About Obama

Helle Dale | June 20, 2010

You can’t argue with success – or can you?  Newly released international opinion polls of the image of the United States bring the good news… Read More

 

“Iran today is a prison”

Helle Dale | June 12, 2010

It is high time the United States and Europe confronted Iran about its history of human rights abuses committed against its own people. Iran is… Read More

 

The U.S. State Department Wants to Hear from You

Helle Dale | June 09, 2010

In its ongoing search for solutions to U.S. public diplomacy challenges – some might call it a deficit – the State Department has launched yet… Read More

 

An Incomplete Strategic Review

Helle Dale | June 07, 2010

Among the slew of strategy documents from the Obama administration this spring, full of academic analysis and verbal flourishes, Congress has rightly detected a certain… Read More

 

The Gaza Storyline

Helle Dale | June 04, 2010

The storyline of the Gaza embargo has been written by now, defined by the Turkish so-called “peace activists,” clearly a misnomer if ever there was… Read More

 

State Over Defense in Obama NSS

Helle Dale | May 28, 2010

The roll out of the administration’s first National Security Strategy this week has been a classic exercise in strategic communication, Obama style – a highly… Read More

 

An Embarrassment in Shanghai

Helle Dale | May 25, 2010

As a world leader, the United States cannot be lackadaisical about the power of symbols and images. Ronald Reagan knew this and as one of… Read More

 

State’s Schizophrenic Stance on Internet Freedom

Helle Dale | May 18, 2010

To fund or not to fund – the State Department’s Hamlet like approach to Internet freedom. Having unequivocally declared Internet freedom one of the Obama… Read More

 

U.S. International Broadcasting in Leaderless Limbo

Helle Dale | May 04, 2010

Well into the second year of the Obama administration, U.S. international broadcasting services remain in a leaderless state of vacuum. Nor are these important public… Read More

 

Nobel Peace Prize for Ahmadinejad?

Helle Dale | April 21, 2010

The popular appeal of nuclear weapon free world rhetoric has not been lost on Tehran. This is an insight the Iranian regime shares with Obama… Read More

 

Rising and Falling on Internet Freedom

Helle Dale | April 19, 2010

Internet freedom could well be the defining issue of the 21st century, the issue on which authoritarian regimes stand or fall. Authoritarian regimes  are only… Read More

 

Voice of the Regime?

Helle Dale | April 16, 2010

Voice of America is finding itself in the news again, and not for reasons that should please the leadership of the institution. This time the… Read More