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.
‘Burning hot summer’: Sudanese struggle to ignite Arab Spring-like uprising
"I think my country Sudan has really hit rock bottom." Those were the last public words uttered by Usamah Mohamad, a 32-year-old Sudanese web developer-turned-citizen journalist, in a video announcing he would join protests against President Omar al-Bashir. Mohamad, popular under his Twitter handle "simsimt," was arrested the same day his video was aired. For the next month, his family had no idea where he was. Finally they learned he was in Khartoum's high security prison and were allowed to visit him last week.
Syria: destruction and a dearth of diplomacy
President Obama's decision last year to call for the fall of the Assad regime, in which he was followed by Britain and other allies, was, it can be argued, a mistake. The reasons were understandable. First, the regime was behaving appallingly. Second, the US did not want to be behind the curve in another phase of the Arab spring, particularly as the Damascus government was, unlike the Mubarak government in Egypt, one which it had always disliked and which was tied to regional foes of America in the shape of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Children of war
In 2009, while I was working in public diplomacy on NATO's international staff in Brussels, I was asked to produce a promotional campaign to be posted in the Washington, D.C., Metro system for NATO's 60th-anniversary summit in Strasbourg and Kehl. In response, I asked member countries to suggest powerful images that showed Allied forces in action in Afghanistan.
China`s public diplomacy and activist
The Chinese people I met while I was studying in the U.S. in the early 2000s gave me the strong impression of being aggressive in pursuing their goals. In many cases, five people shared a one-room studio to save on rent, though things might have changed now that China is the world’s second-largest economy in gross domestic product and trade. Back then, those who talked loudly at restaurants and attempted to buy a 10-dollar chair at half price at garage sales were mostly Chinese.
Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Paradox: Insulting Women, Islam, and “Prostitutes”
In London, two Saudi women are set to participate in the Olympics today. But back in Saudi Arabia, millions of women and girls are effectively banned from practicing sports inside the Kingdom. Also, they aren't allowed to drive, although there is no law stipulating that.
Jamaican to receive White House honor today
Jamaican-born Dr. Claire A. Nelson, founder and president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), will be honored by the White House today as a "Champion of Change."
On Diplomatic Appointments and Our Focused Development Plan
The said newspaper reported that at least six heads of Namibia's diplomatic missions will be recalled back home if a proposal drafted by presidential advisor on foreign affairs, Tuliameni Kalomoh, sails through unopposed.
The Interview: Joseph S. Nye
China’s ability to get what it wants through attraction and persuasion rests on a number of factors: its culture (witness the Confucius Institutes it promotes); its values (particularly a successful growth model); and its foreign policies (for example, the pledge not to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries).
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