The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) recently sponsored a fascinating conference on "Virtual Diplomacy" in Washington, D.C. What is virtual diplomacy? Richard Solomon, the President of USIP explained that virtual diplomacy is diplomacy mediated by electronic technology. This covers a lot of territory, as the conference made clear, from virtual space on an embassy website to building alternate cyber-routes around censorship and oppression to finding out about democratic principles and institutions. The conference highlighted how electronic technologies can support diplomacy as a tool for planning, decision-making, conflict prevention, mediation and management, networking, information sharing, communication, and building understanding and political will on the part of leaders and the public. Richard Solomon, President of the United States Institute of Peace summed up virtual diplomacy as follows: "One deals with reality through virtual processes."

Image used with permission from the United States Institute of Peace.

Two types of technology were the center of attention --- broadcast television and the Internet. However other technologies were considered, including shortwave radios, spy satellites, geographic information systems (GIS), and smart highways.

The excellent group of speakers at the Virtual Diplomacy Conference included eminent diplomats and public officials, military leaders, scholars, journalists (including representatives of print, television, and radio media), publishers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and technical wizards from companies such as Apple Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems, and Xerox PARC. Keynote speakers included Walter Wriston, former Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, and George P. Schultz, U.S. Secretary of State under President Reagan. All of the presentations were compelling, thought-provoking, and informative.

Gutenberg Revisited

Several speakers compared the current impact of information technologies to the incredible transformative impact of Gutenberg's invention of the removable type printing press during the 15th century. Francis Fukuyama, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, suggested that Gutenberg's invention and the resulting societal impacts strengthened the link between power and technology. Now, in Fukuyama's view, the opposite is occurring so that the link between power and technology is diminshing, resulting in a much greater degree of decentralization. this challenges our notion of sovereignty. Private enterprise, previously an American phenomenon, is now global. As a result, tariff negotiations are no longer the most important element in trade negotiations. Security is still perceived as the first requirement of national sovereignty, but the security of our nation-states lies beyond our borders. Wealth and power are less and less linked to territory and increasingly linked to other factors. For example, in the case of Hong Kong, China will only control an empty shell if it doesn't watch out: the most important factors underlying Hong Kong's economic success can be transferred to other locations. According to Dr. Fukuyama's assessment, Gutenberg's technological innovation resulted in an increasingly homogenized society. Now society is more diverse, so that we run the danger of fragmentation.

French diplomat Jean-Marie Guéhenno also evoked a comparison between the impact of today's electronic technologies and Gutenberg's transformative technological innovation. According to Monsieur Guéhenno, Gutenberg's printing press "changed the relationship between religion and power. We are not yet aware of the implications of the current transition; it's still in progress." However, some things are becoming clear:

1. the current transition is the opposite of Gutenberg, creating a new universalism;
2. the current transition changes the nature of power; and
3. the current transition has fundamental implications for institutions, including governments.

Guéhenno commented that "Diplomacy is traditionally associated with territory. We're moving beyond a situation where territory defines diplomacy. Going beyond traditional diplomacy. Diplomacy is maybe ill-equipped to look at this world where territory is no longer the defining principle, as it is, when we think for instance, in the Middle East of "land for peace." Territory has been the currency of diplomacy." This corresponds to Fukuyama's ideas.

Monsieur Guéhenno's assertion that the emerging electronic technologies are creating a new universalism appears to contrast with Dr. Fukuyama's suggestion that the emerging technologies are resulting in a decreasingly homogenized, increasingly diverse society. However, I think the two conceptualizations are complementary. Several speakers referred to the Internet as a "Global esperanto" system of communication across boundaries of space, time, and culture --- a universal structure at the macrolevel. Concommitently, we are seeing the rapid emergence of a global, interconnected economy --- based on market principles of competition. At the microlevel, there is great diversity, in accordance with Fukuyama's ideas. Special interest groups (both good guys such as diplomats and bad guys such as terrorists) are finding a haven on the Internet. Furthermore, there's a very problematic divide between Internet haves and have nots, including nations as well as groups within nations. As one dramatic indication of the magnitude of this divide, John Gage, Director of the Science Office at Sun Microsystems, pointed out: "Fifty percent of today's human beings will never make a telephone call." Wow!

John Gage invoked a comparison with Gutenberg's printing press to show the change in sheer magnitude of the current technological revolution. Gage pointed out that with Gutenberg's printing press, it was only possible to print about 100 to 200 copies of a book per week --- a vast quantity by comparison with the technologies that came before, but miniscule by comparison with today's electronic printing, not to mention the audience that can be reached via Internet-based publishing. Gutenberg's printing process was extremely limited; fine points such as footnotes could not be accomodated. Compare that with today's embedded hyperlinks!

The CNN Effect

David Gergen, Editor at Large of U.S. News and World Report, and an advisor to four presidents, chaired a panel that examined the impact of mass media on international affairs. The panelists included Pam Benson of CNN, Tom Donilon, formerly an assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in the Clinton Administration, Margaret Tutwiler, the State Department's official spokesperson during the Bush Administration, and Lt. General Anthony C. Zinni of the U.S. Marine Corps. The panelists presented an illuminating discussion, centering upon the "CNN effect" ----how instantaneous coverage of world events, presented to a global audience, has had a profound effect upon the practice of international affairs.

CNN's Pam Benson reported that the first incident of the CNN factor occurred during the Tiananmen Square demonstations in April 1989. The demonstrations were covered live on CNN, as they happened, until officials of the Chinese government insisted, on the air, that the broadcast cease. The Chinese goernment pulled the plug on CNN's coverage with all the world watching.

Gergen explained that the CNN effect is taking the initiative away from governments. This creates tremendous challenges --- as well as opportunities. With instantaneous media coverage, the media wants a government opinion before government officials have had any time to formulate an official position, let alone a response. For example, when the media asked for an opinion of the attempt to overthrow Ghorbachev, the State Department's response was, "We're seeing it happen." Tutwiller explained, "A correspondent wants an answer now --- but the president needs to confer with lots of people before a statement can be made. You need discipline to resist pressure from the media." Tutwiler further commented: "I don't believe policy should be driven by visuals. It should not be driven by television. And in my experience, it is not." Tom Donilon concurred: "You must be disciplined not to be influenced, drawn away from your objectives, by visuals."

However, Margaret Tutwiler acknowledged that diplomacy has been adjusted because of media coverage. For example, she pointed out that in Operation Provide Comfort, the Bush Administration initiative to provide help for the Kurds in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, visuals influenced and contributed to policy quite differently than cable traffic. As opposed to cool text, the CNN coverage of the cold, hungry, desperate Kurdish Nation taking refuge on bleak mountainsides with vengeful Iraqi troops poised to strike at them provided the human dimension in riveting television images that could not be ignored.

Tutwiler addressed a related issue: what happens when the media starts to cover a crisis that has been in progress already for quite a while. "Visuals weren't even there for many months early in the Bosnia crisis --- the networks didn't cover it. Policy stayed steady once media coverage heated up."

In presenting statements via the broadcast media, Tutwiler pointed out that diplomats must communicate with different audiences simultaneously. In Desert Storm there were three audiences for State Department news briefings: (1) Americans, especially those with loved ones in battle; (2) Saddam Hussein and his advisors; and (3) Other countries. Tutwiler explained that she and her colleagues designed their briefings intentionally day by day with the intent to cool off or heat up the new, the diplomatic impact. This highlights one advantage that the broadcast media can offer: diplomats can shape news statements so that they help to convey the desired message to allies and adversaries in the international arena. And indeed, Tom Donilon stated that the media is an "alternative channel to conduct diplomacy."

Donilon made it clear that television is still the most powerful medium for communicating the news. However news coverage on TV is not meeting the challenge. According to Donilon, "My quarrel is not with news stories not covered but with how much it's covered. We need more foreign news. ABC has seen a reduction by half in foreign news. NBC has seen a reduction by two thirds in international coverage. There are more outlets accessible for international news, but the broadcast news isn't doing enough to give the public this news."

David Gergen posed a question related to this issue: "Andy Kohut's polls show a decreased interest in foreign affairs. What is the impact of this?"

Tom Donilon replied: "We need more international news because the US has global interests --- more important in impact that the O.J. Simpson trial." For example, Latin America is the second fastest growing region for American trade. But hardly anyone wanted to go with Secretary of State Christopher on his trip to Latin America because there is so little awareness of this trend, which has vital implications for American diplomacy and trade.

The media poses a special challenge for the military. Lt. General Anthony Zinni commented, "We find television cameras on the beach when we get there, quite literally." Zinni explained that the issues underlying a situation where the military becomes involved "are easier to deal with earlier, but that's before media coverage heats up public interest. We need to find a way to generate support for objectives earlier." This seems to support Donilon's contention that the media should inform the public about international news issues more effectively. Often, media priorities are at odds with military priorities. General Zinni reported that a journalist once said to him, "This operation's boring, General. You're a success." Apparently the success of the operation made it less exciting --- and less newsworthy!

General Zinni explained that he tells his subordinates, "The media is like terrain, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's a fact of life." Somalia was one place where the media was clearly part of the terrain. As Zinni explained, "In Somalia, the media framed the context. The media presents a constant lense on activities. Without due process, the media judges the effectiveness and validity of military initiatives."

Media coverage can have an effect on military operations: commanding generals back at headquarters may see the media coverage and, as a result, intervene in an initiative around the world. As a result, "There's a danger of micromanagement." Zinni offered an example of this problem: During Operation Provide Comfort (aid to the Kurds), a general watching the coverage on TV ordered "Drop blankets." But the Kurds really needed food, not blankets, despite the impression created by the images shown in the media. The troops on the scene knew this. In fact, when blankets were dropped, the Kurds searched them, assuming there must be food inside.

In response to General Zinni's comments, David Gergen coommented, "My impression is that the military went to school to understand the press...The military understands the press better than the media understands the military. Margaret Tutwiller concurred: "The military has succeeded in learning to put on a compassionate face, in addition to looking tough and firm."

Welcome to the Net

Robert Kahn, who was "present at the creation" of the Internet in the 1970s at the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Administration (ARPA), commented that some people have described as the single best investment ever made by the U.S. Defense Department. Kahn reflected that hardly anyone ever asks him how the Internet works --- they just want to know how to use it. In actuality, the Internet is a collection of federated networks that function together by means of a democratic framework. The Internet is a "digital information infrastructure." Kahn explained that there are four main components of the Internet:

• The Community of Internet Users. Increasingly, this means private indivduals and small groups, rather than just large companies and universities. The Internet community is expanding by leaps and bounds.
• The Technology. The hardware and software that interconnect the federated networks that make up the Internet as well as linking individual users to this set of networks.
• Management of the Internet. A system has been established to make it possible to manage the Internet and to coordinate all of its component networks. Another speaker, Mark Wieser, Chief Technologist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, pointed out that this management structure is based on an international agreement that didn't exist 5 years ago --- it's brand new, based on an emerging global need. This management structure assigns addresses to "locations" on the Internet (sort of like a postal addresses for routing letters) so that email messages can be sent effectively and people can find information on the Internet.
• Commercialization of access to the Internet. Companies called Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide ordinary mortals with a way to get on the Internet through their telephone lines, using home computers. There are now about 4,000 to 5,000 internet service providers. A few years ago there were only a few ISPs so that most people who accessed the Internet did so through their job or a university where more powerful network access than a mere phone line was available.

According to Robert Kahn, the biggest challenge in establishing the Internet was to convert it to an open architecture (as opposed to a proprietary architecture). The open architecture system that was established for the Internet has resulted in everyone being able to use the standards and protocols of the Internet without having to pay a fee to someone.

Mark Weiser of Xerox PARC focused on the World Wide Web (WWW), the newest and probably one of the most popular parts of the Internet. The WWW powerfully supports images, animation, digital video, and audio in addition to text. Weiser compared the activities of people who publish on the World Wide Web with people who browse the Web. Web publishers use their websites to dissemilate viewpoints, persuade, and dialog with other people. The people who browse the Web gather information; they "lurk," that is, they observe other communities; and they dialog --- with web publishers and their fellow browsers, with communities of interest. Weiser explained, "The web is two-way. Every web access is literally an exchange. Browsing is trackable. It enables dialogue."

One fascinating example of the impact of Web-based publishing on political discourse comes from Israel. The web site of the Israeli Knesset features RealAudio exerpts of speeches made in the Knesset by the elected members. This is changing the nature of political speeches because it puts the words of the politicians on the WWW where people can listen to them whenever they want. This is far different from speech excerpts that appear on the television news or even printed transcripts of the speeches. Politicians are now more circumspect about what what they say on the floor of the Knesset so the speeches have become less emphatic --- and less interesting.

Mark Weiser at the Virtual Diplomacy Conference. Weiser came up with the amusing soundbyte, "Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggie" while looking for a stick."

Weiser reports that the current technology unfortunately deals only with the surface of things, exacerbating the problem of information overload. But --- good news! ---there are several technologies on the way that will make it possible to move past the surface, deepening communication and enhancing information access. These emerging technologies include: (1) information visualization; (2) ubiquitous communication; and (3) filtering agents. Information visualization will make it possible to see both the periphery and the center --- not just the surface. With ubiquitous communication, Weiser predicts there will be wireless technology everywhere with satellite telephony covering the globe and low cost, hand-held computers. Filtering agents will make it possible to finetune information searching and navigation. Weiser predicted that these strands of innovation will result in a fundamental transformation:

Old model <-----------> New model
rational <-----------------> evocative
emotionless <------------> range of emotions
contextless <-------------> center & periphery
unfamiliar <--------------> familiar
nerd culture <------------> everyone
insecure <----------------> rich classifications

Mark Weiser made it clear that we are at the early stages in the evolution of the Internet. He predicted that, "Those experienced in human communication will set the tone, not technologists."

Geographic Information Systems

Jack Dangermond, President of the Environmental Systems Research Institute, discussed Geographic Information Systems (GIS) --- which feature computer-based maps and satellite images --- and the application of this tool in supporting diplomacy and conflict resolution. Dangermond commented, "The roots of much conflict have to do with geography." And also with the "stuff" --- the natural resources --- associated with territory. These natural resources can include land, water, biological resources, mineral resources, etc. Geographic Information Systems can be applied to solving problems that feature biological, land use, economic, physical, and social dimensions. Geographic Information Systems can also be applied to creating models of processes such as biological processes and the spread of fire. Dangermond reported that the time lapse between collecting and showing map data is collapsing, oftentimes substantially increasing the value of the information presented.

Geographic Information Systems provide a valuabe tool for helping to mediate disputes over territory and natural resources for a number of reasons. GIS communicates information intuitively, organizing understanding. These systems facilitate communication. They provide a framework for compromises and tradeoffs. Geographic Information Systems provide a framework for organizing models of reality. Geographic Information Systems offer a holistic, integrative approach to understanding and solving problems, cutting across areas of expertise and understanding. Geographic Information Systems can be applied to support policy making, planning, decision making, situation management, and situation monitoring.

Geographic Information Systems offer an ideal tool for people working together to find common ground because they provide a framework for discussion. People in academia, government, non-governmental organizations, and business as well as citizens can benefit from the application of Geographic Information Systems. Dangermond described a case where a GIS program was used very successfully in Papua, New Guinea. In a more undeveloped society such as New Guinea, visual information can communicate information very well to less educated people.

Dangermond reported that 35,00 to 40,000 entities are building GIS systems. this includes the cities of Paris, Moscow, and Los Angeles; as well as companies such as Sears and McDonalds. A Geographic Information System is commonly applied to resolving issues such as where to build housing, where to plant crops, etc. There's an interactive map on the web showing the best way and how long it will take to walk to a cafe. Several GIS projects were demonstrated at the Virtual Diplomacy Conference, including ReliefWeb, from the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

A Geographic Information System was used in the Dayton Peace Talks to help get the three parties --- Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia --- to agree on territorial boundaries. In particular, Slobadan Milosevic, the Serbian leader, had to be shown a "fly through" GIS simulation of a disputed valley in Bosnia in order to convince him that the lay of the land could not accomodate the dividing line that he was seeking to impose. Seeing the GIS model of the land was convincing.

Technology's Impact on Democracy

Several speakers looked at the impacts of electronic technologies on democracy and democratic institutions, both in the United States and internationally. This included Joseph Duffy, Director of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), Kevin Klose, Director (Designate) of the USIA's International Broadcasting Bureau, Lawrence Grossman, author of The Electronic Republic, and David Gergen.

It was very exciting to hear Joseph Duffy's description of how cyberspace is integrated into the USIA's initiatives. A major goal of the agency is to expand the depth of understanding of democracy, and "to try to explain America to the rest of the world." Duffy explained, "Two years ago this spring, the USIA decided that other countries were not really understanding this democracy tack we were on because we were so limiting it to constitutions and elections and that there was something more to democracy than everyday civil society and civic education necessary to maintain it. So we decided it was a theme with which we could work in partnership with many peoples around the world because there was a group in our country involved with these issues as they pertain to the United States." As the nations of the former Soviet Union and other formerly Communist or dictatorial regimes strive to reinvent themselves more in accordance with democratic principles, they need help in understanding just what democracy is all about.

As a centerpiece of this initiative, the USIA decided to sponsor conferences with an Internet component, in partnership with nongovernmental organizations. The first conference was held in Prague two years ago; before presentations were even completed at the conference, the transcripts were available on the World Wide Web both for conference participants and "a worldwide community of people concerned with these issues." Duffy made it clear that he sees the value of the Internet primarily as a supplement, an extension to, face-to-face conferences and meetings. "The cybernetwork is no substitute for meetings." However, the USIA provides a wide range of information on its interactive World Wide Web site, supplemented by the Internet initiatives of partnership NGOs. This is a long term initative --- a very exciting one. Duffy reflected, "Democracy is always hard work. It's never a final achievement. It never gets into the genes."

Kevin Klose reinforced Duffy's account of the USIA's activities. Klose focused on the broadcast component of the agency's initiatives, including Radio Free Europe, Radio Marti, and the other radio broadcasts in over fifty languages around the world, together with World Net, the television component, which report news and support American values and world interests. All of this started with the establishment of the Voice of America back in 1942. The total cost of these broadcast initiatives is $400 million per year. It seems like a good investment. By the best estimates, over one hundred million people each day listen to the broadcast services sponsored by the United States Information Agency.

Kloss explained, "Democracy is a mass movement; it can't happen from the top down. Democracy as a mass movement requires a mass media." Kloss pointed to the recent demonstrations in Belgrade, protesting stolen elections, as an example of such a mass movement. When the Milosevik government tried to contain independent media such as Radio B92, the first independent radio station in Serbia, the USIA helped to get accurate information broadcast into Serbia. Kloss explained that it is now possible to access the Voice of America broadcasts via the Internet, providing additional range and flexibility to its message. This interlinking of broadcast and narrowcast technologies is "part of the revolution of the twenty first century," according to Kloss. He emphasizes that it's important to use all media to communicate accurate news and democratic values. "As we look at the technology world of the future, we need to consider shortwave radio." In Africa, Russia, and elsewhere in the world, shortwave radio isa major source of communication. We need to keep this in mind.

Related to this, Larry Grossman pointed out that audiotape and fax have served as critical communication channels in recent crises. Audiotape was the principal medium for circulating Ayatollah Khomeini's ideas in the build up to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. When the Chinese government suppressed the Tiananmen Square demonstrations, fax served as a valuable medium for sending news in and out of the country, in the face of rigid control of other media. And today, the Internet is proving very hard for central governments to control and restrict.

Kevin Kloss described a case in Belarus where an opposition candidate for president, running against a powerful ex-communist incumbent, could not get air time to present his ideas on any of the Belarus television stations. When he sought air time on the USIA-sponsored station, he was readily accomodated. Thus his ideas -- and the fact of his candidacy --- reached the people of Belarus and although he did not win, the voter turn out in the election was 52%; the dictatorial incumbent did not want turn out to reach above 50% so this was a small victory. This example shows one way that the USIA-sponsored broadcast media initiatives can support democratic values.
Larry Grossman focused on democracy in the electronic age within the United States, including the implementation of foreign policy. According to Grossman, "We are no longer in a leisurely democracy where we vote every two years and let the leaders make the decisions and then, if we don't like the decisions, we throw them out. We ourselevs, for better or worse, participate. And we have this hybrid form of government, a representative republic combined with direct democracy, which we have never experienced before." Grossman commented, "Politics used to be the main source of entertainment --- now it's sports and entertainment. News divisions, formerly at the center of networks, are now at the margins. Rather than being a source of civic engagement, there's less. This is a problem."

What has been the impact upon diplomacy? Grossman explains that the CNN effect has driven diplomacy underground. The Oslo Accords are an example of this. Complex, difficult diplomatic negotiations cannot take place in the glare of instantaneous media attention so it must be carried out quietly, out of the eye of the media. At the same time, the CNN effect has resulted in public diplomacy "going retail" --- the media's mass audience is explicitly targeted, both to communicate information and (perhaps more important) to convince the public to support specific diplomatic stands and initiatives. These trends makes things more complicated.

According to Grossman, "I would argue that the public is becoming the fourth estate." This development poses problems for setting public policy agendas, including diplomatic policy. David Gergen reported that, "Special interest groups have 800 numbers that are directly linked to Congress. This creates an impact. When people call the 800 number, their call is linked directly to Congress, flooding the phone lines." Related to this Gergen pointed out that, "Public opinion doesn't have much context to be grounded in when some crisis emerges." Despite this, public opinion is increasingly influential in determining policy.

Related to this, we are seeing an increased reliance on polling to assess the will of the "fourth estate." David Gergen reported that there has been a 4000 percent increase in polls over the last decade. Another problem pointed out by David Gergen is that the public is only episodically involved in policy issues and crisis areas in the world; public attention is brought into focus only when there's a crisis situation.

Conflict Prevention, Management, and Reconciliation

The Virtual Diplomacy Conference featured three concurrent panels on (1) Conflict Prevention: Great Lakes Region of Africa; (2) Conflict Management: Chiapas, Balkans, Burma, Liberia; and (3) Conflict Reconciliation: Belarus, Serbia, Bosnia, Middle East. Speakers included: Enid Schoettle, UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA); Sharon Rusu, ReliefWeb, UNDHA; Michael Reagan, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development; Donald Krumm, Refugees International; Gordon Smith, Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Ann Solomon, U.S. State Department; Adolpho Dunayevich, LaNeta; Richard Johnson, U.S. Army, Ret.; Warren Strobel and Tiffany Danitz, Washington Times; Walter Stadtler, George Mason University; Aryeh Neier, Open Society Institute; Kevin Klose, USIA; Veran Matic, Radio B92, Belgrade; Henry Perritt, Villanova University School of Law; and John Wallach, Seeds of Peace.

Since these sessions were concurrent, it was not possible to attend all the sessions. Here are some highlights from the Conflict Reconciliation panel. Henry Perritt, Professor of Law at Villanova University School of Law, described Project Bosnia, a very exciting project that promotes the rule of law in Bosnia and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe by connecting legal institutions, the press, and sources of government information through the Internet. This project is based on the premise that there is a symbiosis between democracy and the existence of the rule of law as well as the existence of a free press. Project Bosnia is designed to promote effective legal institutions that will provide an underpinning for stable democratic governments --- and enduring peace. According to Perritt, "Peace requires the rule of law. The rule of law requires functioning legal institutions. Legal institutions need to communicate." Project Bosnia features an Internet-based legal system for Bosnia." Why use the Internet? Professor Perritt explained: "The Internet has low barriers to entry. Make the raw materials of democracy available on the Internet." Project Bosnia has arranged to send donated computers (from law firms) to press and judicial offices in Bosnia. And it has sponsored student internships (or "externships") where students go overseas to work directly with legal authorities in Bosnia to help implement and refine effective legal institutions. Related to this, Perritt urged that legal institutions need to coomunicate with the Commission for Real Property Claims of Displaced People and Refugees.

Veran Matic, Editor-in-chief of Radio 92B, the principal independent radio station in Serbia (Belgrade) since 1989 recounted his experiences using the Internet to circumvent the Serbian government's efforts to jam its broadcasts, which culminated in actually shutting off B92's transmitter altogether. Radio B92 is the first independent radio station in Serbia. Its broadcasts of independent news concerning the more than 182 days of civic protest in Belgrade drew the ire of Milosevic's government. Undeterred, Matic and his colleagues uploaded the Radio B92 news broadcasts onto the Internet using a computer program called RealAudio (the same technology that has transformed speechmaking in the Israeli Knesset). With RealAudio, a microphone can can be plugged into a computer to record and save the sound, in this case a radio broadcast, in digital format so that it can be accessed by others via the Internet. From there, not only individuals could pick up their news broadcasts; other media like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty could pick up the B92 broadcasts off the Internet. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty broadcast the stories back into Serbia. As Bob Schmidt of the U.S. Institute of Peace reported in the Washington Post (3/31/97), "For the first time since the annulment of the elections, Serbs could follow what was happening in the streets of Belgrade." This completely foiled the Milosevic government's efforts at censorship; eventually, Radio B92 was permitted to go back on the air. Schmidt reported that B92's victory over censorship "gave the Serbian pro-democracy movement its first widely visible victory against the regime of Slobadan Milosevic and broke Milosevic's control of Serbia's domestic news media." The B92 website features this comment: "the guys at B92 have taken the idea of underground resistance to extremes." Yes, and they have shown the world that the Internet is a powerful tool for building alternate cyber-routes around censorship and oppression, using technology and techniques that are available to ordinary folks with basic computer skills, not just brilliant computer programmers with elite skills. Veran Matic commented, "As Belgrade has now become a free city, we want it to become a digital city."

Matic emphasized the importance of OpenNet, an Internet access provider in Serbia that houses the B92 website on its server which is an initiative of the Soros Foundation. Related to this, the USIA is creating a center for Internet access in Belgrade.

John Wallach, President of Seeds of Peace, described the Seeds of Peace program, which is centered around a summer camp in Maine. Teenagers from areas of the world such as the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia where there is political tension and distrust, often based on decades and even centuries of deep-rooted animosities based on ethnic and religious differences, come to the camp for swimming and other activities normally associated with summer camp, as well as conflict mediation activities designed to help them work past the hatreds and biases that they have grown up with. In the course of these activities, play and dialogue, these young people become friends. They go back to their home countries --- Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, etc. --- as emmissaries for a new outlook on old attitudes. These new attitudes and new friendships are nurtured through electronic mail, which is coordinated through the Seeds of Peace program. What a great program!

Beyond the Technology

One speaker early in the conference reported on a comment made by Bill Gates of Microsoft during a recent visit to Africa. Gates enthused that the Internet would bring Africa up to parity with the rest of the world. But, alas, this assessment appears to be merely marketeering hype, however well intentioned. Several speakers at the Virtual Diplomacy Conference made it clear that the technology is not the whole story.

Lt. General Paul Van Riper of the U.S. Marine Corps emphasized the importance of the intellectual concepts underlying technology as well as the the historical context and the cultural context into which the technology is deployed. For example, "In 1939, everyone had the technology. The Germans had the intellectual concepts." The German army was actually smaller than it's opposition, but possessing superior intellectual concepts for using technology gave Germany an edge.

Van Riper reported that in Somalia and other recent situations, "In our arrogance, we would never look at the culture, just the technology." Yet in Somalia, despite extroaordinary technological superiority, failure to understand and strategize around the culture on the ground lead to humiliation for the United States and, ultimately, failure for a well-intentioned initiative. Furthermore, the outcome of this initiative diminished the potential for effective engagement in that part of the world in the future. "The tragedy is shallow thinking. In Somalia, we dominated the electromagnetic sphere. They didn't use the electromagnetic sphere." Related to this, another conference speaker, John Gage of Sun Microsystems, commented, "The Somalis don't read leaflets; they communicate via formulaic expressions, like "The mother of all battles." (This is Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's famous phrase, applied in another culture that relies heavily upon formulaic phrases.) Yet the U.S. troops and their allies used leaflets to try to communicate with the Somalis...

General Van Riper recommended, "First do an historical analysis. The chip doesn't eleminate this requirement." He also recommended that we need to get past "sound bytes and bumper stickers" in conceptualizing military and diplomatic strategy. The General warned that "shallow, glib concepts predominate" at a time when the world is shifting fundamentally from a framework of intellectual concepts grounded in linearity to a nonlinear conceptual framework. According to Van Riper, "Too many experts view that we're winning. But the world is really non-linear. All [these experts] used the tools of linearity, not the tools of nonlinearity.Those who are going to compete against us are going to look for asymmetrical means." Not only is the technology changing, but the entire framework for understanding the world --- something that must still be fully grasped by most policy makers and strategists.

Ismail Serageldin, Vice President for Environmentally Sustainable Development at the World Bank, made an impassioned case for all the people around the globe who are being left behind in the Information Revolution. Serageldin pointed out that 750 million people suffer from chronic hunger in the world today. Furthermore, there is tremendous population growth, especially in Africa and South Asia. Rural populations will outgrow urban populations. The world is changing not only in the area of technology, but in terms of demographic, economic, political, and social trends. Serageldin pointed out that "A rising tide does not lift all boats." The social reality is that, alongside the communications revolution, there is abject poverty and growing inequality. Ismail Serageldin identified several critical trends:

• Globalization of the economy.
• Greater recognition of a private sector role.
• Disengagement by the rich.
• Urban violence (For example, between 1992 and 1993, the murder rate in Moscow increased by 50%).
• More groups (ethnic, religious, etc.) are looking for recognition.

Serageldin also pointed out that there are contradictory tendencies in international development. For example, 78% of private capital has flowed to 12 countries, including: China, Brazil, Mexico, Malasyia, and Thailand. Economic development money has not been distributed equally across the developing countries of the world; this is something that calls for international attention.

In closing, Ismail Serageldin indicated that there are five principal challenges that the global community must solve:

1. Doubling food production without destroying ecosystems.
2. Tripling energy supply without degrading the environment
3. Making cities livable
4. Conserving the planet's biodiversity for future generations.
5. Addressing social disruption and dislocation.

Virtual Diplomacy Exhibitors

The Virtual Diplomacy Conference featured an exhibition hall that included the following participants:

• AEC Software
• Cambridge Research Associates
• Chadwyck-Healey
• Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
• Evidence Based Reseach, Inc.
• ExperNet Inc.
• Global Communication Solutions, Inc.
• IBM Corporation
• Infostructure International
• Institute of World Affairs
• International Boundaries Research Unit
• Iridium LLC
• Open Source Solutions, Inc.
• Program on Peacekeeping Policy, George Mason University
• ResponseNet/VITA
• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Science Applications International Corporation
• Telediplomacy, Inc.
• TeleSuite Corporation
• U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (ReliefWeb)
• United States Agency for International Development
• United States Department of State Bureau of International Organization Affairs
• United States Information Agency
• United States Institute of Peace
• University of California IGCC/LLNL/SunTREC
• Villanova University School of Law, Villanova Center for Information Law and Policy