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How US leaders can best support protesters in Iran

Democracies tend to be more effective in speaking to their own people than in communicating with foreign audiences. Part of the reason is that public diplomacy, the practice of engaging and informing the people of other nations, is still considered an elite practice confined to the marble halls of the State Department and foreign ministries.

But public diplomacy — because it is so people-centric — can make the difference between long-term peace and global upheaval.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for wearing an “inappropriate hijab” has sparked mass protests from the people of Iran. It is unknown whether this growing fire of unrest will be extinguished or if it will erupt into a conflagration. Regardless, this is the time for world leaders to speak directly to the Iranian people through a variety of means that align with their needs and resonate with their concerns. With President Biden, we now have a leader whose Iran policy appears to be non-dogmatic. This is a potential gift to the people of Iran that could also benefit the world. 

Public diplomacy presents a variety of steps that U.S. and global leaders can take to fulfill this opportunity in Amini’s memory, so that some good may come from this tragedy: 

The above strategies can all be employed without feeding baseless conspiracy theories, bolstered by the government in Iran about foreign puppeteers. It is high time for public diplomacy to take its rightful place in all global diplomatic efforts. This is the time for its unequivocal integration in Iran-related foreign policy. 

Goli Ameri, the CEO of Startitup, is the former U.S. assistant secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, serving under the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy. She also serves on the advisory board of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy. Jay Wang is the director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy and an associate professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.