A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.

An elegant work of diplomatic architecture

Building an embassy is a complex act of diplomacy: like international relations themselves, such architecture demands “a negotiation between representation and security”, as the architect Tony Fretton puts it, projecting a national image of sophistication and cultural engagement, and integration into local context, at the same time ensuring the protection of those who work within and around it.

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Can U.S. Public Diplomacy Build on its History?

A key goal of public diplomacy must be to communicate a nation's values to the people of the world, qualities and beliefs that transcend any particular leader or administration. It may take decades for the experience of an exchange program to bear fruit, for example, but exchanges are a central tool of public diplomacy. Effective public diplomacy requires a very long view of the country's interests and in that sense must be larger and more enduring than the popularity or unpopularity of any individual leader.

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Knesset works to ‘convince our friends we’re promoting peace’

"I don't take anything for granted," said Shai. "It isn't sufficient just to say that because people support us, we don't need to work with them as part of our public diplomacy. Sometimes the fact that people are our friends doesn't mean that they don't have hard questions for us that they need answered." One of Israel's greatest challenges, even among its supporters, is "convincing our friends that we are promoting peace," said Shai.

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A Very Diplomatic Blog: British Ambassadors Worldwide Tell (Nearly) All on the Web

Welcome to the brave new world of blogger ambassadors. Two years after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) tentatively launched a web platform for digitally minded staff, 30 diplomats now write blogs. Last week Turner became the latest UK ambassador to join the burgeoning blogroll; he rubs virtual shoulders with our chaps in Egypt and China and our woman in Guatemala.

Tags: Digital Diplomacy & New Technology, blogging, blog, united kingdom

Southeast Asian Youth Seek Democratic Change at Youth Engagement Summit (YES2009) in Malaysia

In Putrajaya, Malaysia’s fantastic federal administrative center south of Kuala Lumpur, 3,000 of Southeast Asia’s most talented youth leaders began arriving in droves at the Youth Engagement Summit YES209. Inspired by President Obama’s vision for hope and change, these active young leaders represent a rising generation working to build movements, catalyze change and transform lives in their communities, the region and beyond.

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Drawing out North Korea

To speed the process, a new long-term strategy aimed at the underlying factors at work in North Korea — and in relations with its rulers — is needed. Simply put, the U.S. and other powers need to pursue constructive economic engagement with North Korea to help the regime achieve "strength and prosperity" through economic transition and integration with the global economy. Constructive economic engagement will benefit ordinary North Koreans, who have suffered as much as any people on Earth since the Cold War's end.

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Europe Chooses Nobodies

Europe's leaders are relieved that the wrangling over the EU's new positions of president and foreign minister is finally over. But they have no reason to be proud. Once again, the EU has missed an opportunity to boost its standing on the global stage.

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It is not yet time for a Palestinian confrontation with the Obama Administration

What the Palestinians and Arabs should do is become characterized by calm diplomacy and give up loud diplomacy. Indeed, there is no need to officially withdraw from negotiations, nor is there need to yield to the Israeli campaign that depicts the Palestinian side as refusing to return to negotiations. There is no need to continue to rely exclusively on the promises of the peace process, nor is there need to officially divorce the peace process.

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