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.
Obama’s Pakistan problem
While U.S. officials have been at a loss to explain the Pakistani reaction to the tripling of U.S. foreign assistance to Pakistan, one Washington South Asia hand suggested the Pakistani general’s complaints could be intended for domestic consumption. While the Pakistani griping over the U.S. assistance bill has made it hard for its champions to defend, Pakistani officials describe an alternative perspective, in which Pakistan’s problems are a result of past U.S. policy.
President pledges to promote ‘soft power diplomacy’
President Ma Ying-jeou said Thursday that his administration is planning to send 10,000 Taiwanese students abroad for study or goodwill visits every year as part of the government's "soft power diplomacy." The government also hopes to see 20,000 foreign students come to Taiwan to study every year so as to allow the international community to get to know and support Taiwan through such exchanges, Ma said.
China media offensive seeks to win hearts, global influence
China is seeking to expand its "soft power" around the world through an international propaganda offensive in which its Communist Party leadership is investing billions of dollars. The ambitious strategy originated with party leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao, who sees "soft power" - as influence on other countries through culture and ideas is often described - as "an increasingly important factor in national strength."
The US has lost its focus on Europe. It’s up to us to get our act together
In his commitment to social justice and universal healthcare, and in the positive role he sees for government, Obama is closer to the political values of contemporary Europe than any of his predecessors. Strip away the obligatory rhetoric about American exceptionalism, and what he says on most domestic issues would fit comfortably into the programme of any mainstream European party. In the substance of his domestic policies, he is almost a European.
The Afghanistan Narrative Gap and Its Consequences
One of the important challenges of President Obama’s administration is to sell the continuation of our “overseas contingency operation” (or perhaps FATAVE) in Afghanistan to an increasingly disenchanted audience at home and abroad. But there is a worrisome absence of a good narrative–a coherent collection of stories–about why we are there and what we hope to accomplish.
The world’s best foreign minister
Nothing illustrates how far Brazil has come or how effective the Lula-Amorim team has been than the events of the past few weeks. First, the countries of the world cashier the G8 and embrace the G20, guaranteeing Brazil a permanent place at the most important table in the world. Next, Brazil becomes the first country in Latin America to be awarded the right to host the Olympics.
Remarks With Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on American Power and Persuasion
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, that’s a great question, because I think that new media is the reality. And part of what we’re trying to do is to bring that into public diplomacy and make it one of those tools in the toolbox, to try to not just have government-to-government contacts and official sorts of communication, but really try to reach out to the people in countries to have a better idea of who we are, what we stand for.
Pakistan at ‘Critical Phase’ Against al-Qaeda
The foreign minister of Pakistan vowed that President Asif Ali Zardari’s government had forged an “unprecedented national consensus” to defend a “stable, democratic country where terrorism and extremist ideologies have little or no support” in an address to the Council on Foreign Relations Wednesday afternoon.
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