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.
The Challenge of Chinese Soft Power
Much ado has been made about burgeoning Chinese soft power, and how China is increasing its public diplomacy and extending its soft power reach. From expanding the number of Confucius Institutes around the world, to a growing international broadcasting effort, China has been actively working to wield more signficant soft power influence.
Study finds 69 percent of US embassies use Twitter
The majority of U.S. embassies now use Twitter, a sign of the aggressive push by the State Department to bring diplomacy into the social media age. According to a new analysis from the Sunlight Foundation, 121 U.S. embassies have Twitter accounts and 54 do not.
Korea week kicks off with focus on strengthening bilateral ties
The Korean embassy began Tuesday night, a week of activities at the embassy to introduce authentic Korean culture to Kuwait. “Recently, I have realized that there has been an increasing interest in Korea among Kuwaiti people,” said Kyungsik Kim, the ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Kuwait, adding” I think cultural exchange is very important to strengthen bilateral relationships.”
Music the right medium
"Youth Excellene On Stage" is the theme of this workshop launched in 2009 jointly by the US Embassy in Thailand and a non-profit organisation, American Voices, with the aim to form a bridge between American and Thai cultures through the power of art and music, by providing budding Thai talents a chance to learn and master their skills from seasoned professionals.
The Rise of India’s Soft Power
India's soft power has now been on display for at least a couple of decades: ... Bollywood's prodigious celluloid fare has long drawn huge audiences in significant parts of Asia, Africa, and beyond; India's English-language novelists have often edged out native British writers for the prestigious Man Booker Prize; and, of course, yoga studios have become all but ubiquitous in the United States.
China’s Soft Power Deficit
Over the past decade, China's economic and military might has grown impressively. This has frightened its neighbors into looking for allies to balance China's increase in hard power. But if a country can also increase its soft power of attraction, its neighbors feel less need to balance its power.
When ping-pong diplomacy stirred Korea
Based on a real event, the film retells how South and North Korea formed a unified national sports team for the 41st world table tennis championships held in Chiba, near Tokyo in 1991...The film reminds of the "ping pong diplomacy" in the early 1970s, which saw the exchange of table tennis players between the United States and the People's Republic of China.
Majority of US embassies tweeting for diplomacy, report says
“The challenges that Ambassador McFaul is facing in Russia demonstrate how U.S. embassies that participate in social media are vulnerable to backlash from their host country. However, it is clear that Twitter is has become a valuable mechanism to circumvent traditional media channels and foster a direct dialog between foreign individuals and the U.S. government."
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