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.
US Soft Power
Public diplomacy (PD to its friends) is one of the less celebrated but more intriguing investments in U.S. foreign policy. For decades, it has earned lasting allies for our country and helped multitudes understand and embrace our core values, including human rights, freedom of information, strong civil society and education for all.
Indian Prime Minister Tells Zuckerberg Social Media Creates A New Form Of Diplomacy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Mark Zuckerberg that social media can show governments where they’re going wrong, and allow heads of state to connect more personably than ever before. During a townhall Q&A at Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters, the two leaders talked about the modernization of India and discussed topics from the 40,000 questions and comments submitted by the public.
Soft Power At Work
True, neither the pope, let alone Argentina, have the political, military or financial power to enforce the UNGA-approved principles. But they can exercise their “soft power,” which is the ability of a country — or, in this case, the Vatican — to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion, be it (again, in this case) financial or political. In fact, soft power, a given for important states, is a must for those nations lacking such attributes.
Anti-Extremism Group Gets State Department Support, But Twitter Remains Wary
The group, led by former U.S. envoy to the United Nations for management and reform issues Mark Wallace, as well as former Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, and others, is hosting a summit on Monday that “will draw more than 100 youth activists and government officials to New York City from dozens of countries,” it says. The efforts are aimed at preventing young people from being lured into extremist ideology, particularly on the Internet.
Japan, Cuba Eye First Public-Private Dialogue Meeting in November
Japan and Cuba plan to hold the first meeting of a joint public-private conference in early November in Havana as part of efforts to expand bilateral economic ties, a Japanese government source said Sunday.
Transition With or Without Assad?
Russia knows that soft power requires hard power. Given the mutually hurting stalemate in Syria, the only way to convince Assad that the terms of peace will not be against his interests was to back him up militarily.
What Data Tells Us About Public Interest In Climate Change And Its Global News Coverage
Turning first to the question of whether the public is actually interested in climate change, Google web searches show that the countries searching most frequently on the topic tend to be those most affected by changing climatic conditions [...] This suggests that being affected by the phenomena increases public interest: it is not wealthy countries idly researching a topic they hear on the news, it is affected populations trying to understand more about what they are experiencing.
Public Editor: It Took Resourcefulness to Cover ‘Ping-Pong Diplomacy’
The first official visit since the 1950s to what was then a closed, even secretive Communist country, the tournament remembered as “Ping-Pong diplomacy” changed the course of history. It broke China’s deeply hostile relationship with the United States, and led to the momentous visit by President Richard Nixon the following year.
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