The US and Global Development: Telling a Different Story

MSU – CSREES Conference

Internationalizing Extension

March 26, 2003David Devlin-Foltz

The Aspen Institute

The Global Interdependence Initiative (GII)

A policy program of the Aspen Institute

A ten-year horizon; launched May 1999

Advised by Working Group of 20+ CEOs, mostly from NGOs, in first phase

Research from FrameWorks Institute

Strategic framing analysis to help groups tell a new story, move people to action

Development Communications: Some Conventional... Wisdom?

The public doesn’t matter, only influentials and policymakers matter (no “geography for kindergartners”)

Just give ‘em the facts (the truth shall make them free)

The more news the better (my name in print)

Show ‘em the victims (sympathy is goal)

What’s in it for them? (It’s all about self-interest)

Strategic Framing

People are not blank slates

Communications resonate with people’s deeply held values and worldviews

People default to the “pictures in their heads”

Re-framing can help people see an issue from a different perspective

Copyright FrameWorks

2002 Copyright FrameWorks Institute

2002 Copyright FrameWorks Institute

If people can’t see your solution, then your communications goal:

Shift worldview

Prepare people to think differently

Help people make different connections

Prioritize different issues

Copyright FrameWorks

What Research Suggests: Background from the FrameWorks Institute

People use mental shortcuts to make sense of the worldPeople look for cues to help them “file” new material; is this a story I know?People get most information about public affairs from the news media which, over time, creates a framework of expectations, or dominant frame.

Copyright FrameWorks

Communications is Storytelling

“Understanding means finding a story you already know and saying, ‘Oh yeah, that one.’”

“Once we have found (the) story, we stop processing.”

Roger SchankCopyright FrameWorks

The power of frames

Frames derive strength from underlying values; tell us what this story is “about”Condition and limit what we can see“If the facts don’t fit the frame…it’s the facts that are rejected, not the frame” --Susan Bales, FrameWorks Institute

e.g.: America is the most generous nation on Earth; don’t tell me otherwise…

Famous Frame Contests

Ketchup is a vegetableIt’s a rainforest, not a jungleTobacco is a faulty product“First strike” versus “Anticipatory self-defense” “Giving a man a fish” versus “Teaching a man to fish”

Summary of Key Learning from FrameWorks Institute Research for the Aspen Institute:

What do people already know and believe about global issues?

Why do they believe what they do?

TESTING LEADING HYPOTHESES

The public doesn’t care about international issues.

The public needs to see its self-interest.

You can prime international interest through a domestic issue.

The public has compassion fatigue.

Hypotheses all wrong; in fact…

The public supports cooperative international engagement: work thru the UN, WHO, NATO, etc.The general public responds more readily to moral arguments than utilitarian onesThe public believes we should continue addressing humanitarian concerns, and do more to uproot underlying causes of discontent“Starting locally” is not as effective as “starting globally”

The Public After 9/11/01: Still supports cooperative engagement

US should get UN Security Council approval for military action in Afghanistan “even if this means exercising more restraint” (54% very important; 30% important) --Harris poll Sept 19-24, 2001

Important “for the war on terrorism to be seen by the world as an effort of many countries working together, not just a US effort (95%, 82% very important) --PIPA/Steven Kull report 11/13/01; survey conducted Nov. 1-3,2001

Support for military intervention in Iraq? It’s better together...

Support for intervention remained higher with support of UN or allies right up to eve of war in Iraq --Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Nationwide poll of 1,751 adults, conducted Oct 17-27, 2002 et al

Polls released 3-14-03 still showed significant ambivalence about unilateral action, especially among women

Priorities in War on Terrorism

“Fighting long-term conditions that breed terrorism” judged as important as “Stopping North Korea’s nuclear weapons program” by public in survey released March 14, 2003.

Ranked behind only “Removing Saddam Hussein from power” and “Fighting Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda”

--Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, WorldView

2003 poll released March 14, 2003

So...if the public is so internationalist and “developmentalist,” what’s the problem???

The Public: The US Shoulders the Burdens of the World…But “Those People” Just Stay Poor

Believe that U.S. is doing more than its share.

Contributes more of GNP than others (81%)

On average, believe aid is 20-25% of budget

Aid doesn’t work: Only 10% of aid reaches the poor

BUT: Facts ALONE won’t shift opinion: they bounce off the frame...

The Public’s Views: We Are Family, We Are Neighbors

People think of international relations as interpersonal relations. In this cognitive model, countries are like people and international relations are like relations between members of a community or a family. Views about parenting styles and about domestic community relations influence how people see the world.

--Adapted from work by Cultural Logic/FrameWorks

US to Saudis: “Who’s your daddy?”

“Some [in Saudi Arabia] regret the kingdom didn’t give America ‘a hug,’ as one put it, right after 9/11, and admit that they need a lot more instrospection about how to change their society. Others are irritated, stunned that the U.S. – after so many decades of indulging the oil monarchy’s feudal flaws – is suddenly acting like a strict parent.”

--Maureen Dowd, “Eminem, Shakira, Osama” New York Times , November 3, 2002

If the US is “the daddy”...

Then we are in charge...

And other countries are children…

And other countries need to “grow up” and stand on their own two feet…

Or at least help out around the house.

TV News and the Dominant Frame: An earthquake here, a coup there

Coverage of global issues is typically highly episodic; events portrayed as isolated without a broader depiction of causes or solutions:

Out of over 1000 television news stories, only 84 took a thematic approach to international news. (Center for Media and Public Affairs for FrameWorks/GII Oct. 1999)

Only one out of six national stories and one out of five local stories contain even one opinion on the cause or solution to any problem. (CMPA Oct. 1999)

The Dominant Frame: Global Mayhem

Consequences of the CoverageSince the US is typically the only actor covered in the media, the public assumes the US is doing it all.The public does not know whom to blame for the world’s apparent chaos and chronic problems, nor whom to hold accountable.The “global mayhem” frame causes people to support humanitarian aid, but also induces a “refuge stance:” I pity them; but I’m glad we’re safe here at home

Challenging the dominant frame: the view from space…

“From up there all the trouble spots in the world seemed rather small… The first day or two you try to recognize the countries…Then you keep missing the countries and look only at the continents. By the sixth day, the whole world becomes a beautiful blue and white and yellow painting. So fragile. Those boundaries really disappear.

--Prince Sultan ibn Salman al Saud of Saudi Arabia, astronaut

Challenging the Global Mayhem Frame: Evoke Interdependence

The Global Environmental Systems “Prime”Thinking about global environmental systems and “the world from space” predisposes people to think interdependently; domestic environmental issues seldom have same “priming” effect

willingness to have an active role (+9 in strong support)perception the US is doing less than it should (+9)strong support for economic assistance (+15).increases the importance of most other issues

The view from space: girls’ ed suddenly looks more important

 

The global environmental frame increases the importance of most other issues: it raises prioritization of human rights abuses by 6 points, sweatshops and child labor by 7 points, poverty and hunger by 7 points, global infectious disease by 6 points, and equal education for girls by 5 points

--Meg Bostrom, Public Knowledge, for FrameWorks and GII

The “Moral Norms” Frame: Playing by the Same Rules, Making the World Better

The Moral Norms ModelLifts the importance of every issue (average +9 points); inserts values into the dialogue.

People tend to think of international relations as interpersonal relationships.

Using that metaphor, create a new persona for the US to which we can hold policies accountable

A decent person avoids: placing self-interest above values, harming or exploiting others, promoting oppression, arrogance or authoritarian behavior.

The Public Says: Play Fair

“Why is it right for the US to have WMD and other countries not to?” “How can we maintain world peace without trampling on the role, cultures, rights and values of other countries?” “We need to get our own act together before we take it on the road.” We’re one of the big problems, so we should set a good example.”

--Participants in “By the People” forum Jan. 2003

Talking about a new world

What kind of world is better and safer? Long-term development is part of the public’s response

Takes Maturity, Teamwork, Community Building, Relationship Building

Can you get there from here?THE NEWS WE’VE GOTEpisodic - PortraitGlobal mayhem frameFocuses on military, physical security

Foregrounds individualsEmphasizes American actionsRarely shows other actorsIgnores causality

Copyright FrameWorks

THE NEWS WE NEEDThematic - LandscapeGlobal ecology frameDefines a better, safer world

Foregrounds systemsEmphasizes shared responsibilitiesShows teamwork/partnershipsStates cause and effect, highlights opportunities missed, prevention

Reframing Stories

Tell stories that highlight places and conditions, not (only) individuals.Tell stories that make policy solutions visible.Highlight indigenous leadership and US partnership.Expose solutions, demonstrate efficacyGive people something meaningful to do

Copyright and Disclaimer

The description of Strategic Frame Analysis in this presentation is copyrighted material used by permission of the FrameWorks Institute. Any further duplication or use requires separate permission from the FrameWorks Institute.

Research summaries represent the Global Interdependence Initiative’s interpretation of the FrameWorks Institute’s theory and practice.

The Global Interdependence Initiative

Program description online at www.aspeninstitute.org/gii

Research results online at www.frameworksinstitute.org

The Global Interdependence InitiativeThe Aspen Institute

One Dupont Circle Washington, DC 20036

David Devlin-Foltz

ddf@aspeninstitute.org * 202/736-5812