Meridian International Center Releases the Open Diplomacy Playbook

A practitioner's guide to how American influence is built by business leaders, mayors, scientists, athletes, and artists 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WASHINGTON, DC — [September17, 2026] — Meridian International Center today released the digital Open Diplomacy Playbook, a practical guide to how leaders outside government shape American influence abroad. Built from interviews and written contributions from nearly 30 practitioners across business, science and technology, subnational government, and sports and culture, the Playbook offers case studies, sector-specific guidance, and concrete points of coordination with U.S. missions overseas. 

The Playbook argues that the United States has more sources of diplomatic power than at any point in its history, and that most of it operates without strategic awareness or coordination.

"Meridian has spent sixty-five years convening the people who shape American influence globally," said David Bohigian, CEO of Meridian International Center. "This Playbook takes decades of best practices and puts timely lessons in the hands of the leaders who need it." 

The Playbook is organized around four sectors: 

  • The Corporate Sector examines the expanding role of business leaders as diplomatic actors, showing how private sector visionaries build durable relationships, navigate geopolitical disruption, and align commercial strategy with broader diplomatic purpose. Case studies include Boeing's technology partnerships in Brazil, Citi's decision to remain in Ukraine, and United Airlines' direct government engagement during COVID-19. 
  • Science and Technology highlights how researchers, engineers, and technical experts shape the norms and standards that govern emerging technologies, emphasizing early engagement and the role of technologists in informing governance before rules harden. Case studies include the OECD AI Principles process, which helped establish the first intergovernmental AI standard in six months. 
  • Cities and States traces how state and local leaders have become active diplomatic actors with their own networks and leverage, advancing trade, investment, and cross-border coordination where local relationships often prove more durable than national ones. Case studies include California's investment diplomacy with Japan, the Great Lakes states' coordination with Canadian Provinces, and the evolution of Sister City relationships into trade and innovation platforms. 
  • Sports and Culture turns to how artists, athletes, chefs, and musicians build trust and open channels across borders, and why that influence is strongest when engagement is authentic rather than message delivery. Case studies include Dizzy Gillespie's 1956 jazz tour, which achieved in Athens in one evening what formal diplomacy had not, and the Pinning Dreams wrestling program in Jordan, which shows the same principle nearly 70 years later. 

The scale of non-governmental engagement around the world is substantial. U.S. foreign direct investment abroad reached $7.14 trillion at the end of 2025, while $5.86 trillion in foreign investment flowed into the U.S. American firms accounted for $940 billion in R&D investment in 2023, roughly 43 percent of spending by the world's top 2,000 R&D investors. Foreign investment into U.S. states and cities supported more than 204,200 new jobs in 2024, and arts and cultural industries contributed $1.2 trillion to U.S. GDP in 2023. 

"Diplomacy is no longer confined to embassies and negotiating rooms," said Frank Justice, Vice President of Open Diplomacy Programs at Meridian. "It happens in boardrooms, city halls, laboratories, and on playing fields. Open Diplomacy underscores to these leaders that their work carries critical diplomatic weight, and it gives them the tools to act on that." 

Contributors include Jane Fraser, Chair and CEO of Citi; Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma; Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City; Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr., the 12th NASA Administrator; Sally Roberts, two-time Olympic bronze medalist and CEO of Wrestle Like A Girl; and, more. 

The Open Diplomacy Playbook will have a full launch at the 15th Annual Meridian Summit: Shaping American Influence on October 16, 2026, where the Playbook will be presented in print, sections, and as a full report.

If you are interested in attending the Summit, please sign up for the Interest List here, or email Riley Nelson, Associate Director, Communications and Marketing at RNelson@Meridian.org. 

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About Meridian International Center
Meridian is a nonpartisan center for diplomacy founded in 1960 and headquartered on a historic campus in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to empower leaders to advance the next era of diplomacy. Our programs strengthen American leadership by accelerating collaboration on shared challenges, increasing economic competitiveness, and building geopolitical resilience. We equip leaders from business, science and technology, cities and states, culture and sports with the insights, networks, and resources to navigate a complex world. 

Media Contact: 

Riley Nelson 

Associate Director, Communications & Marketing 

Meridian International Center 

Rnelson@meridian.org  

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