The USIA started in 1953 as an independent foreign affairs agency within the executive branch charged with the conduct of public diplomacy in support of U.S. foreign policy. Public diplomacy complements and reinforces traditional diplomacy by communicating directly with foreign publics through a wide range of international information, educational, and cultural exchange activities.
This collection is from USIA's Office of Research and represents international public opinion and public diplomacy. Countries and/or territories within this collection may have some or all of the following information as part of the U.S. Information Agency’s collection of research: Cuban and Soviet domestic and international media news; foreign country politics and government, economy, and/or social conditions; foreign relations; relations with the U.S.; international trade relations; broadcast and print media; films and filmmaking; international news and news media information; international public opinion of Voice of America radio broadcasts; issues relating South and North Vietnam and the Vietnamese conflict; Bosnia War, 1991-1995; international public opinion on select world developments.