41. The Power of Ideas That Won the Cold War is Still Needed
- Author:
- Christopher Datta
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- To win the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan did something for which he is never credited: he dramatically increased the budget of the United States Information Agency, the public diplomacy arm of our struggle against communism. Senegal, in September of 1999, was about to hold a presidential election. Because of USIA's long history of promoting journalism in Senegal, the embassy decided to work in partnership with the local Print, Radio and Television Journalists Federation to hold a series of workshops on the role of journalists in covering elections. USIA was uniquely organized to promote democratic development through the long term support of human rights organizations, journalism, programs that helped build the rule of law, educational programs that encouraged the acceptance of diversity in society and, perhaps most importantly, through partnering with and supporting local opinion leaders to help them promote democratic values that stand in opposition to ideologies hostile to the West.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Elections, Democracy, Rule of Law, Ideology, Networks, and Journalism
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, United States, Europe, Iran, Soviet Union, West Africa, Syria, and Senegal