Hare Publishes OpEd on the Impact of Wikileaks on Diplomacy
Amb. Paul Webster Hare, Senior Lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed in which he discusses the impact recent activity by Julian Assange and Wikileaks is having on the practice of diplomacy.
Hare’s Op-Ed, entitled “Julian Assange and WikiLeaks Are Harming Diplomacy More Than the Clinton Campaign“ was published on Oct. 26, 2016 in The Conversation.
From the text of the Op-Ed:
The U.S. election has given WikiLeaks an opportunity to revive its image as a world leader in “transparency” leaks.
For several years, its leader, Julian Assange, seemed a forlorn and frustrated figure confined to a small office of the Ecuadorian embassy near the Harrods department store in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood. But now WikiLeaks is back where it wants to be – in the world political spotlight. Yet lost in the swirl of intrigue is the turmoil Assange’s activities have wrought on the practice of diplomacy.
It’s time for diplomacy to reassert itself in a world that seems increasingly willing to reject consensus-building in favor of stoking nationalist fervor.
You can read the entire article here.
Hare was the British ambassador to Cuba from 2001-04. He worked for 5 years in the private sector, in law and investment banking, before serving for 30 years in the British Diplomatic Service. Hare served overseas in Portugal, New York, at the UK Representation at the EU in Brussels, and in Venezuela as Deputy Head of Mission. He has written two policy briefs for Brookings: “The Odd Couple; The EU and Cuba 1996-2008,” and “US Public Diplomacy for Cuba: Why It’s Needed and How to Do It.” Learn more about him here.