The CPD Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars and practitioners from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect CPD's views. For blogger guidelines, click here.
![IHH, Flickr](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.55.55%20PM.png?itok=a0KzO12L)
As an emerging middle power Turkey has been actively seeking to exert influence, specifically in the Middle East and in Africa through means of public diplomacy. Educational exchanges, cultural institutions, media outputs, international conferences, infrastructure aid, and humanitarian assistance are Turkey’s most notable governmental and non-governmental public diplomacy tools.
![The poster from BLCU, photo taken by author](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.50.10%20PM.png?itok=9emOVd5Y)
On the sad occasion of Nelson Mandela’s death, it’s worth recalling his words on languages: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
![](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.48.49%20PM.png?itok=uVqSLnsG)
Public diplomacy (PD), if defined as the act of a government engaging directly with a foreign public, then many governments are currently conducting PD towards the Filipino public in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan's devastation. Most public diplomacy scholars and practitioners refer to the foreign aid assistance in the wake of a disaster as "aid diplomacy." This aid diplomacy is often spoken about in terms of foreign aid packages, goodwill gestures, and how foreign aid can help to increase a public's positive attitudes towards the aid-providing country.
![Ethan Mc Pein Yockam](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.44.09%20PM.png?itok=rntcIhyK)
APDS Blogger: Shannon Haugh
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![Sharon Hahn Darlin, Flickr, Suzhou Train Station, China](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.39.16%20PM.png?itok=4U4-lXXR)
The great imperialists of the 19th Century built railroads to solidify their control of vast expanses of land and incorporate their territory into modern industrial economies. And although the construction of railroads may seem archaic today, the government of China has demonstrated their continued relevance in both internal state building and external diplomacy.
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When your Thanksgiving dinner table feels like an international crisis, this advice shows how public diplomacy principles can come to the rescue.
![Flickr, Creative Commons](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog-listing-230x140/public/uploads/Screen%20Shot%202014-03-06%20at%204.09.06%20PM.png?itok=hU4virHw)
Congratulations are in order for CPD as Jay Wang took the helm this fall and began engaging with the public diplomacy community as the new CPD director. As often happens with such beginnings, the focus intuitively turns to the future. I would like to suggest a counter-intuitive move and challenge public diplomacy scholars around the world to explore the contributions of ancient heritages to the practice of public diplomacy.
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