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.
Jijiwa and his Effort to Make voice of Nigeria a Global Voice
Jijiwa’s deliberate re-branding, re-equipment of studios and general re-orientation of Voice of Nigeria staff for the past four years, is a strategy of making voice of Nigeria, more competitive, technologically-challenging and providing an environment where the station would truly become the international radio station of first choice for anyone genuinely interested in Nigeria and Africa.
Tony Blair: The struggle against militant Islam
We have to escape the false choice between the use of hard or soft power. Only a combination of the two will work. One of the most damaging aspects of the politics of the past ten years has been the posing of the policy challenge as between a so-called 'neo-conservative' right who were held to promulgate a purely military solution; and a so-called 'liberal' left that preferred diplomacy. Most sensible people know that here - as, in fact, in many areas of twenty first century politics - such labels are unhelpful, counter-productive and distort the challenge.
Rwanda: President Paul Kagame Nominated for the Time 100 Magazine
His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, has been nominated for the TIME Magazine '100 Most Influential Person of the Year'. Ranked 24th- the highest ranked African- President Kagame outpolled global luminaries such as Russian Premier Vladimir Putin (35th), Morgan Tsvangarai (32nd), Oprah Winfrey (98th), Australian PM Kevin Rudd (114th), UK's Gordon Brown (132nd), recently elected South African President Jacob Zuma (180th) and, even more surprisingly, US President Barack Obama, who was ranked 37th.
The Road to Moscow
Perhaps unsurprisingly in view of Russian history, today’s more confident Moscow often overreacts and overplays its hand, exacerbating almost any dispute it enters. As a result, even when Russia has an arguably legitimate case, like when Georgian forces attacked Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia in August 2008 or when Ukraine failed to pay its debts to Gazprom, Russian public diplomacy often suffers from exaggerated, haughty and dismissive rhetoric that undermines Moscow’s positions and rubs many the wrong way.
Personal Closeness in Diplomacy Boosting Turkey’s Soft Power
In the last few years, Turkey's foreign policy has started to be much more influential than it was in the past, which is in part attributed to its leading politicians' personal relations with leaders of foreign countries, interpreted by political scientists and strategists as being the "human factor" in diplomacy.
Please look after our Turners, Mr Wen
The decision to send more than a hundred paintings by the English Romantic artist J M W Turner to be exhibited in Beijing – after the successful visit of the Terracotta Army to London – was a hugely symbolic move, part of a "wider approach to building understanding between the two countries". It was supposed to cement Gordon Brown's position as a global statesman, and strengthen his relationship with the nation he sees as the world's most significant rising power.
Cricket Breaks Down Israel Boundaries
The charity worked with the poor, with gangs, and with the disabled. In recent years, it has taken its "street cricket" to countries around the world. This week marked its first attempt to bring together Arabs and Jews. For two days, schoolchildren from the Bedouin village of Hura have been coached in bowling, batting and fielding. Tom Rodwell, the chief executive of Cricket For Change is supervising. He says cricket lends itself to cohesion: "It's non-contact, not like football or basketball. And everyone has their moment, everyone has their turn."
Iran’s Strategic Penetration in Latin America
Ahmadinejad's popularity at home is falling, and he may want to show his people that he is being welcomed as a hero abroad. Since Ahmadinejad's ascendancy to power, he has made three diplomatic tours to Latin America in search of an alliance of ‘revolutionary countries'. He visited Venezuela in July 2006, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador in January 2007, and Venezuela and Bolivia in September 2007.
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