Arndt enters into a fair bit of detail about the chronological decline of cultural diplomacy/policy in American foreign policy and public diplomacy programs. To me, the most interesting points raised in his post revolve around untapped and underutilized student and university programs. Or, more accurately, programs that are failing to remain relevant with the times. I find Arndt's proposition that the government promote the creation of new overseas outreach and development programs for graduate students particularly intriguing. With the economy the way it is right now, I can imagine that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of students that would jump at the chance to travel overseas and gain real experience in their field of study. By leveraging the student population, the US would have an enthusiastic, energetic, and competent diplomatic force abroad. Of course, this would require some baseline cultural training for the student ambassadors, to maximize their effectiveness in their host countries. Part of the cultural training would also necessarily include a test of "American" culture; not to create a cookie-cutter ambassador, but to ensure that we don't send people who are ethnocentric or parochial in their cultural views. The absolute best result would be a corps of ambassadors that are representative of American values and interests, without obviously being mouthpieces of the US government.
That was quite an interesting article to read - and I definitely concur with you about the missed opportunities that these programs could provide. Sure, there are study abroad programs, but they tend to be quite insular and keep students within a smaller group - at least, I know that mine did. If the government were to sponsor a larger program to send students abroad in volunteer placements (granted, with a stipend or else not many people would be able to do so) as well as for educational opportunities. The important thing would be for the programs to promote cross-cultural dialogue, and ensure that the participants wanted to serve as cultural representatives - and maybe bring something back to the US as well. Because while there are a lot of stereotypical examples of American culture abroad, a lot of our country's perceptions of other countries and cultures are based on stereotypes as well. I think that the US could benefit from more cross-cultural exchange, with the emphasis on exchange.
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