A new study calls for a rethink by US leaders in the way they conduct public diplomacy in the fight against extremism.

The study, Beyond Words, authored by Amy Zalman, calls on leaders to craft communications strategies that focus more on presenting good US policies and much less on semantic ploys. Public leaders need to put in play a different combination of evocative words and key messages, and the messages need to be much simpler. Above all, US public diplomacy must avoid any impression of theological debate or positioning.

According to Dr Greg Austin, an EWI Vice President, “Political leaders should avoid provocative words making too much of history or religion. They make no contribution to public diplomacy goals at all. Simpler, universal messages are better: for example: ‘murder is not religion’ would be a good message fronting US public diplomacy to counter violent extremism.”

“The fight against extremism demands complex, high intensity public diplomacy strategies in which individual words and terms that might be contested should not be a part,” Dr Austin said. “Use of words referencing contested concepts central to the cause of extremists is more likely to play into their hands than serve the cause of countering such extremism.”

EWI’s Ambassador-at-Large for Countering Violent Extremism, Azmat Hassan, observed that “Communicators must be more aware of the complex, delicate communication strategies that work in target communities.” Ambassador Hassan has held senior diplomatic appointments in the Middle East for Pakistan.

Beyond Words is the third publication in its Countering Violent Extremism series. Other titles are Lessons from the Abrahamic Faiths and Videopower and Cyberspace.

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