Nicholas J Cull
Biographic Data
| ID | 616177 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nicholas J Cull |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nicholas J |
| FAMILY NAME | Cull |
| SIGNATURE | CULL N J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern California |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0716-8079 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 164 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Clandestine Documentary Film V. Apartheid: Phela-Ndaba/End of The Dialogue (1970), Last Grave at Dimbaza (1974) and The South African Government’s Response
This essay uses film, interviews, and hitherto unexplored paper archive sources to examine a key period in the propaganda struggle over the Apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. The chief focus is on Phela-Ndaba/End of the Dialogue (1970) and Last Grave at Dimbaza (1974). These two documentaries were created through clandestine filming techniques by Morena Films, a collective cofounded by South African exile Nana Mahomo of the P…
History and Digital Public Diplomacy: Media Disruption and Global Public Engagement Online in Historical Perspective
This chapter will focus on one specific dimension of digital diplomacy—digital public diplomacy—and consider the value of history in understanding both the micro-processes at work within foreign ministries and the macro-trends unleashed in wider society, which in turn generate the wider landscape of foreign policy. It identifies a three-phase pattern to the introduction of new technology to public diplomacy. 1) A period of symbolic use when the c…
From Soft Power to Reputational Security
Soft power, from its first articulation at the end of Cold War, served as the core idea underpinning the public elements of diplomacy around the world. Public diplomacy had flourished in the Cold War as a set of activities by which the leading nations sought to advance their foreign policy through engagement with foreign publics. Soft power was the perfect idea for the post-Cold War world. It succeeded because it fitted an international system lo…
Cold War Frequencies: CIA Clandestine Radio Broadcasting to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe by Richard H. Cummings
There is a long tradition in the West among veterans of Cold War–era shortwave radio stations to spend their retirement documenting the history of their agencies. Perhaps it is both a symptom of the dedication of personnel to their work and a reaction to the relative lack of scholarly interest in propaganda and public diplomacy compared to the mainstreams of military or intelligence issues. Examples include Alan Heil of Voice of America (VOA), Te…
British Cities versus Apartheid: UK Local Authority Activism as City Diplomacy
This essay considers the phenomenon of British local authorities mobilizing to oppose the policies of apartheid in post-war South Africa. Activities include boycott, divestment, twinning agreements, media campaigns, and re-naming/memorialization. The activity is placed in the context of a transnational anti-apartheid network overseen by the United Nations organization. The campaign is shown to be inversely related the level of national government…
Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy
The Tightrope to Tomorrow: Reputational Security, Collective Vision and the Future of Public Diplomacy
A global crisis exists today, driven by a toxic mix of populist politics and disruptive social media. For public diplomacy to respond, it must remain true to its core principles: 1) begin by listening; 2) connect to policy; 3) do not perform for domestic consumption; 4) look for credibility and partnership; as 5) the most credible voice is not your own. 6) Public diplomacy is not always ‘about you’; but 7) is everyone’s business. These core princ…
Alban Webb, London Calling: Britain, the BBC World Service and the Cold War
Timothy Barney. Mapping the Cold War: Cartography and the Framing of America’s International Power
In recent years the collective understanding of the Cold War has advanced exponentially. Scholars have expanded their perspective to encompass all regions affected by the conflict, and in the process have emphasized the ways in which the Cold War was decidedly hot. They have also substantially rethought the role of culture. Whereas twenty years or so ago scholarly discussion of Cold War culture was most often limited to the red scare and the inju…
The Tragedy Of American Public Diplomacy, 1989–1999: The Last Decade Of The United States Information Agency Reconsidered
Africa’s breakthrough: Art, place branding and Angola’s win at the Venice Biennale, 2013
The Long Road to Public Diplomacy 2.0: The Internet in US Public Diplomacy
The United States has a long history of deploying new technology as a mechanism for public diplomacy (the conduct of foreign policy by engagement with foreign publics) but it was relatively slow to make full use of the on-line technologies known as Web 2.0. This essay reviews the early work of the US Information Agency (1953–1999) in the field of computer and on-line communications, noting the compatibility of a networking approach to USIA's inst…
Projecting Tomorrow Science Fiction and Popular Cinema
Cinema and science fiction were made for each other. The science fiction genre has produced some of the most extraordinary films ever made, yet science fiction cinema is about more than just special effects. It has also provided a vehicle for filmmakers and writers to comment on their own societies and cultures. This new exploration of the genre examines landmark science fiction films from the 1930s to the present. They include genre classics suc…
Broadcasting Empire: The BBC and the British world, 1922–1970
Simon J. Potter Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012 x+261 pp., bibliography (archives only), index, £125.00, (cloth) Recent years have seen a flurry of important publications in the fields of bot...
The legacy of the Shanghai Expo and Chinese public diplomacy
Sinking and swimming at the Yeosu expo: Public diplomacy and nation branding in South Korea, 2012
Reading, viewing, and tuning in to the Cold War
For many years the historiography of Cold War culture was dominated by two rather parochial clichés. The first held that studying the Cold War and culture meant discussing the impact of the McCarthy-era purges on cultural production in the United States; the second, that it meant the study of films or literature with explicit Cold War content. Recent scholarship has taken a much broader approach. Within the United States, the Cold War has provide…
Speeding the Strange Death of American Public Diplomacy: The George H. W. Bush Administration and the U.S. Information Agency
The Reagan administration knew how to throw a great party, and the celebration held on November 17, 1988, in the Organization of American States building in Washington, DC, was no exception. Stretch limos jammed that part of town. Guests included media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the president himself. The gala dinner honored the achievement of Charles Z. Wick, who had served throughout the Reagan years as director of the U.S. Information Agency (US…
The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989
Public diplomacy played an increasingly important role in the post-World War II years. In The Cold War and the United States Information Agency, Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of public diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, chronicles the birth, growth, and demise of the U.S. Information Agency (usia), America's vibrant and visible propaganda organization. In a clear, crisp account that draws…
The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945–1989
Published at a time when the US government's public diplomacy has been in crisis, this book provides an exhaustive account of how it used to be done. The United States Information Agency was created, in 1953, to 'tell America's story to the world' and, by engaging with the world through international information, broadcasting, culture, and exchange programs, became an essential element of American foreign policy during the Cold War. Based on newl…
Public Diplomacy in a Changing World
Theorizing Public Diplomacy Moving from Monologue to Dialogue to Collaboration: The Three Layers of Public Diplomacy - Geoffrey Cowan and Amelia Arsenault Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories - Nicholas J. Cull Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy - Eytan Gilboa The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance - Manuel Castells Public Diplomacy and Soft Power - Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Hard Power, S…
Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories
Public diplomacy is a term much used but seldom subjected to rigorous analysis. This article—which draws heavily on a report commissioned by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the spring of 2007—sets out a simple taxonomy of public diplomacy's components and their interrelationships. These components are (1) listening, (2) advocacy, (3) cultural diplomacy, (4) exchange, and (5) international broadcasting. It examines five successful a…
Was Captain Black Really Red: The TV science fiction of Gerry Anderson in its Cold War context
It is night. Over ominous electronic chords the camera tracks up a dark city alley. Footsteps echo. We are looking through the eyes of an unknown assailant. A bottle falls, a cat screeches, the cam
Kennedy On Film
Nicholas J. Cull on the film history of John F. Kennedy, the Hollywood president
Film reviews
Fascinating Fascism Hero Ying xiong China 2002 An Actor's Revenge Yukinojo henge Japan 1962 DVD United Kingdom 2002 Bob le Flambeur France 1955 DVD USA 2002 La Commune (Paris 1871) France 2001 DVD France, 2002 Hearts and Minds USA 1974 DVD USA 2002 The Killers 2 The Killers USA 1946 The Killers USA 1964 DVD USA 2002 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp United Kingdom 1943 DVD USA 2002 Solaris 2 Solaris Solyaris USSR 1972 DVD USA 2002 Solaris USA 2…
Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories
Public diplomacy is a term much used but seldom subjected to rigorous analysis. This article—which draws heavily on a report commissioned by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the spring of 2007—sets out a simple taxonomy of public diplomacy's components and their interrelationships. These components are (1) listening, (2) advocacy, (3) cultural diplomacy, (4) exchange, and (5) international broadcasting. It examines five successful a…
Public Diplomacy in a Changing World
Theorizing Public Diplomacy Moving from Monologue to Dialogue to Collaboration: The Three Layers of Public Diplomacy - Geoffrey Cowan and Amelia Arsenault Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories - Nicholas J. Cull Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy - Eytan Gilboa The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance - Manuel Castells Public Diplomacy and Soft Power - Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Hard Power, S…
The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989
Public diplomacy played an increasingly important role in the post-World War II years. In The Cold War and the United States Information Agency, Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of public diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, chronicles the birth, growth, and demise of the U.S. Information Agency (usia), America's vibrant and visible propaganda organization. In a clear, crisp account that draws…
Selling peace: The origins, promotion and fate of the Anglo‐American new order during the second world war
(1996). Selling peace: The origins, promotion and fate of the Anglo‐American new order during the second world war. Diplomacy & Statecraft: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-28
The Green Party
The Tightrope to Tomorrow: Reputational Security, Collective Vision and the Future of Public Diplomacy
A global crisis exists today, driven by a toxic mix of populist politics and disruptive social media. For public diplomacy to respond, it must remain true to its core principles: 1) begin by listening; 2) connect to policy; 3) do not perform for domestic consumption; 4) look for credibility and partnership; as 5) the most credible voice is not your own. 6) Public diplomacy is not always ‘about you’; but 7) is everyone’s business. These core princ…
Broadcasting Empire: The BBC and the British world, 1922–1970
Simon J. Potter Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012 x+261 pp., bibliography (archives only), index, £125.00, (cloth) Recent years have seen a flurry of important publications in the fields of bot...
The man who invented truth’: The tenure of Edward R. Murrow as director of the United States Information Agency during the Kennedy years
The international cultural history of the Cold War should begin with the most obvious point of contact between the realms of culture and politics: state-sponsored propaganda.1 For the United States
Richard Nixon and the Political Appropriation of 'Friendly Persuasion' (1956)
Censored! The Prolife Alliance
Overture to an Alliance: British Propaganda at the New York World's Fair, 1939–1940
On April 30, 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the New York World's Fair open. Moments later a flood of eager humanity surged onto the one-and-a-quarter thousand acre former municipal dump in Flushing Meadow, Queens, now home to what the New York Herald Tribune termed “the mightiest exposition ever conceived and built by man.” While Europe shivered on the brink of a war, the United States focused its attention on the distinctive silho…
Radio propaganda and the art of understatement: British broadcasting and American neutrality, 1939–1941
(1993). Radio propaganda and the art of understatement: British broadcasting and American neutrality, 1939–1941. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 403-431
Modern Warfare in China in 1924–1925’: Soviet film propaganda to support Chinese Militarist Zhang Zuolin
(1995). ‘Modern Warfare in China in 1924–1925’: Soviet film propaganda to support Chinese Militarist Zhang Zuolin. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 407-424
Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American "Neutrality" in World War II
Journal Article Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American “Neutrality” in Work War II. By Nicholas John Cull. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. xvi, 276 pp. $29.95, ISBN 0-19-508566-3.) Get access Wayne S. Cole Wayne S. Cole University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 82, Issue 3, December 1995, Page 1274, ht…
Selling War: The British Campaign Against American "Neutrality" in World War II
Selling peace: The origins, promotion and fate of the Anglo‐American new order during the second world war
(1996). Selling peace: The origins, promotion and fate of the Anglo‐American new order during the second world war. Diplomacy & Statecraft: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-28
Shanghai Document—‘Shankhaiskii Dokument’ (1928): Soviet film propaganda and the Shanghai rising of 1927
(1996). Shanghai Document—‘Shankhaiskii Dokument’ (1928): Soviet film propaganda and the Shanghai rising of 1927. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 309-331
Censored! The Prolife Alliance
No Laughing Matter: Vaughn Meader, the Kennedy administration, and presidential impersonations on radio
Introduction: The Battle for Britain—Political broadcasting and the British election of 1997
(1997). Introduction: the Battle for Britain—Political broadcasting and the British election of 1997. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 437-443
The Natural Law Party
(1997). The Natural Law Party. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 507-510
Overture to an Alliance: British Propaganda at the New York World's Fair, 1939–1940
On April 30, 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the New York World's Fair open. Moments later a flood of eager humanity surged onto the one-and-a-quarter thousand acre former municipal dump in Flushing Meadow, Queens, now home to what the New York Herald Tribune termed “the mightiest exposition ever conceived and built by man.” While Europe shivered on the brink of a war, the United States focused its attention on the distinctive silho…
The Green Party
The Munich crisis and British propaganda policy in the United States
(1999). The Munich crisis and British propaganda policy in the United States. Diplomacy & Statecraft: Vol. 10, The Munich Crisis, 1938 Prelude to World War II, pp. 216-235
Richard Nixon and the Political Appropriation of 'Friendly Persuasion' (1956)
Samuel Fuller on Lewis Milestone's A Walk in the Sun (1946): The legacy of All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Kennedy On Film
Nicholas J. Cull on the film history of John F. Kennedy, the Hollywood president
Film reviews
Fascinating Fascism Hero Ying xiong China 2002 An Actor's Revenge Yukinojo henge Japan 1962 DVD United Kingdom 2002 Bob le Flambeur France 1955 DVD USA 2002 La Commune (Paris 1871) France 2001 DVD France, 2002 Hearts and Minds USA 1974 DVD USA 2002 The Killers 2 The Killers USA 1946 The Killers USA 1964 DVD USA 2002 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp United Kingdom 1943 DVD USA 2002 Solaris 2 Solaris Solyaris USSR 1972 DVD USA 2002 Solaris USA 2…
Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present
A truly international, authoritative A–Z guide to five centuries of propaganda, in both wartime and peacetime, which covers key moments, techniques, concepts, and some of the most influential propagandists in history. This fascinating survey provides a comprehensive introduction to propaganda, its changing nature, its practitioners, and its impact on the past five centuries of world history. Written by leading experts, it covers the masters of th…
The man who invented truth’: The tenure of Edward R. Murrow as director of the United States Information Agency during the Kennedy years
The international cultural history of the Cold War should begin with the most obvious point of contact between the realms of culture and politics: state-sponsored propaganda.1 For the United States
Was Captain Black Really Red: The TV science fiction of Gerry Anderson in its Cold War context
It is night. Over ominous electronic chords the camera tracks up a dark city alley. Footsteps echo. We are looking through the eyes of an unknown assailant. A bottle falls, a cat screeches, the cam
The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945–1989
Published at a time when the US government's public diplomacy has been in crisis, this book provides an exhaustive account of how it used to be done. The United States Information Agency was created, in 1953, to 'tell America's story to the world' and, by engaging with the world through international information, broadcasting, culture, and exchange programs, became an essential element of American foreign policy during the Cold War. Based on newl…
Public Diplomacy in a Changing World
Theorizing Public Diplomacy Moving from Monologue to Dialogue to Collaboration: The Three Layers of Public Diplomacy - Geoffrey Cowan and Amelia Arsenault Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories - Nicholas J. Cull Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy - Eytan Gilboa The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance - Manuel Castells Public Diplomacy and Soft Power - Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Hard Power, S…
Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories
Public diplomacy is a term much used but seldom subjected to rigorous analysis. This article—which draws heavily on a report commissioned by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the spring of 2007—sets out a simple taxonomy of public diplomacy's components and their interrelationships. These components are (1) listening, (2) advocacy, (3) cultural diplomacy, (4) exchange, and (5) international broadcasting. It examines five successful a…
The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989
Public diplomacy played an increasingly important role in the post-World War II years. In The Cold War and the United States Information Agency, Nicholas J. Cull, a professor of public diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, chronicles the birth, growth, and demise of the U.S. Information Agency (usia), America's vibrant and visible propaganda organization. In a clear, crisp account that draws…
Reading, viewing, and tuning in to the Cold War
For many years the historiography of Cold War culture was dominated by two rather parochial clichés. The first held that studying the Cold War and culture meant discussing the impact of the McCarthy-era purges on cultural production in the United States; the second, that it meant the study of films or literature with explicit Cold War content. Recent scholarship has taken a much broader approach. Within the United States, the Cold War has provide…
Political science (35 works) · Law (32 works) · Sociology (28 works) · History (26 works) · Politics (25 works) · Diplomacy (17 works) · Media studies (17 works) · Economic history (13 works) · Public Diplomacy (13 works) · Law (12 works)