The Times' editorial series on food diplomacy explores the possibility that the United States could improve its global image and enhance national security by launching "a high-profile food diplomacy initiative planned, funded and executed for the purpose of improving national security through humanitarian means."

Understanding and influencing public attitudes and those who shape them, beyond the traditional diplomacy of government-to-government contact, is the "work" of public diplomacy in our globalized world.

More than ever, almost daily improvements in communications technology and the ability to have a true transnational flow of ideas and information, has transformed the conduct of public diplomacy. It has made it both more important and more challenging for the successful formation and execution of foreign policies by governments and a range of multi-national authorities.