© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 DOI 10.1163/187398609X430624 brill.nl/mjcc MEJCC Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication 2 (2009) 76–99 Humor Against Hegemony: Al-Hurra, Jokes, and the Limits of American Soft Power William Lafi Youmans University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA Abstract In 2004, the United States launched an Arabic language satellite television station, Al-Hurra (‘the free one’). As a mass media outlet designed to enhance American geopolitical influence, it is considered one manifestation of a ‘soft power’ strategy. Soft power, however, is only effective to the extent that it can rely on ‘willing interpreters and receivers’. his article considers humor in Al-Hurra’s workplace and among its intended audience as a gauge of the availability of such interpreters and receivers. Humor, this article contends, reflects greater political discourses and attitudes, and therefore outlines the limits to American soft power in Arab regions. Keywords international broadcasting, public diplomacy, Al-Hurra, soft power, humor Introduction Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States government launched a global ‘war on terror’ to combat groups and individuals it consid- ered threats to its national security and its allies. While employing the hard power techniques of conventional warfare against ‘asymmetric,’ meaning weaker, non-traditional groups and states it claimed to harbor and support them, the United States also initiated activities to enhance its ‘soft power’. hey were designed to diminish anti-Americanism or to at least reduce the recruiting pool for extremists, through discursive, informational, and cogni- tive means. By winning the ‘hearts and minds’ (Khalaf 2004: 11) of the peo- ple, the United States would gain better political traction in the region and reduce popular resentment. One of the most visible soft power efforts was through government-funded international broadcasting, one manifestation of public diplomacy efforts (Kaminski 2007). According to the American government, ‘the public