The Royal Ballet performing in Cuba
British Council CEO Martin Davidson and Raoul Shah visited New America this week to talk about smart power. Such power, to paraphrase one of its theorists, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., accrues to a country as the sum of its "culture (when it is attractive to others), its values (when they are attractive and not undercut by inconsistent practices) and [its] policies (when they are seen as inclusive and legitimate)."
The New Yorker's Hendrick Hertzberg, at the time of President Obama's inauguration, heralded this idea as one that would "renew the venerable doctrine of liberal internationalism in a non-stupid way."
To scan the news, you would think the very idea of dialogue was defunct: what has the upstart administration accomplished for all its overtures and openness? To listen to Davidson, though, the idea still has legs. True engagement is harder than mere strategic communications. It is also a "slow burn." And progress (when and if it does come) is difficult to measure. But it is a necessary companion to the instruments of statecraft, and --argued Davidson and Shah-- the surest way to ensure that peace and development cross borders.
The British Council works in over 100 countries, independently of the British Government. Davidson divided some of the more challenging contexts into two categories: isolated countries (like Zimbabwe and Burma) and trust deficit countries (like Pakistan and Iraq). Davidson and Shah have their work cut out for them, but they seem to mean it when they say they're creating opportunities for people to understand each other better in a turbulent world.
What would it look like if we had an American Council, and what would we do in Cuba? The British Council has brought the Royal Ballet to Havana; we put the kibosh on the New York Philharmonic for reasons that only a bureaucrat could really appreciate. The British Council is teaching Cuban English teachers, and has sent a Darwin exhibition on a tour of the island, and provides scholarships so Cubans can study in the UK. What are we doing? Trying, and failing, to bombard Cubans with political messages. Not a whole lot we can be proud of. Is this the best way to share our values? As Davidson and Shah put it, there is a stark difference between cultural relations and mere public diplomacy: in the former you are inviting dialogue, and in the latter you're messaging. We are a long way from going beyond the dueling monologues.
But there's still so much hope. To revisit Davidson's categories: as hard as the US Government has tried to force Cuba into the "isolated" group, we've failed -- Cuba is not really isolated from anyone (in no small part because of the efforts of our closest allies like the UK). And as hard as the Cuban Government continues to try to force Cuba into the "trust deficit" category, they've failed: Cubans love Americans, and vice versa.
That's why the Cuba policy is so frustrating: we have so much that we can build on, even after fifty years of conflict. But we refuse to get out of our own way.