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.
Economic Crisis Raises Fears of Extremism in Western Countries
A solid majority of people in the major Western democracies expect a rise in political extremism in their countries as a result of the economic crisis, according to a new poll.
A Rock and Roll Jihad for the Soul of Pakistan
The Taliban's forerunners stole the show from Salman Ahmad one evening two decades ago. He and a growing army of Pakistani artists and cultural leaders intend to take it back -- and in the process, to rescue their nation and renew the cultural vibrancy of their ancient heritage.
Britain goes to Moscow for AngloMockba
The point, Ganguli says, is “cultural diplomacy”. AngloMockba is his fifth similar festival, with others having taken place in Marrakesh, Delhi, Mumbai (twice) and St Petersburg.
Britain goes to Moscow for AngloMockba
I’m here with the AngloMockba festival, which is best described as a cultural mission, or a one-sided foreign exchange. A handful of British cultural figures, possibly picked at random, scooped up out of London by an impresario called Pablo Ganguli, and plonked down in another city. Why? Why not?
Hail, Lugar! Beware, Limbo
I’m all in favor of expanding American centers, and I know from my conversations with the transition folks that President Obama is fond of the idea as well, but Sen. Lugar might want to focus some attention on a list of other initiatives that were approved during the end of the previous administration, that fully comport with Mr. Obama’s smart-power strategy, and that are urgent — but that remain in purgatory three and a half months after January 20.
UK Man Lands ‘World’s Best Job’
Ben Southall, 34, a charity fundraiser from Petersfield, Hampshire, emerged from a field of over 34,000 applicants. His new job requires Mr Southall to live and report from Hamilton Island, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. The process gave a global profile to Australian tourism, which has gone into decline amid the worldwide recession...The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney, says Tourism Queensland deliberately chose to launch the campaign back in January, in the midst of the northern hemisphere winter, but did not expect anywhere near the global response.
The Science of Diplomacy
Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama announced his 20-person Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a group including two Nobel laureates. He also proclaimed his intention to increase scientific research spending to 3 percent of GDP, $70 billion more per year. The news prolonged Obama's honeymoon with U.S. scientists, spurred by his senior-level appointments of highly respected specialists such as Dr. John Holdren and Dr. Steven Chu as well as his re-legalization of stem cell research in his first days in office.
An Open Court System? Tell it to the Judges
Ten judges from Kazakhstan are visiting St. Louis as part of a program developed by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program is designed "to promote public diplomacy through exchanges of cultural ideas and values." I was invited to speak to the group. I was supposed to discuss the relationship between the press and the courts.
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