Cities are the future of the world. Over half the world's population lives in cities, and by the middle of the century more than seven in 10 people will live in cities, according to the United Nations. Almost all this urban growth will take place in emerging economies.
 

Tags: united nations, city diplomacy, global cities, development, sustainable development, urban development, state of the world's cities, megacities, u.n. human settlements program

In July 2010, Joe McSpedon, a US government official, flew to Barcelona to put the final touches on a secret plan to build a social media project aimed at undermining Cuba's communist government... Their mission: to launch a messaging network that could reach hundreds of thousands of Cubans.

Tags: cuba, united states, twitter, social media, propaganda, communism, joe mcspedon, usaid, humanitarian aid, digital diplomacy, cuban twitter

In late March, both Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited Germany. While trade and investment were the main discussion topics, the remarkably coincidental visits of the two Asian powers are suggestive. In addition to new economic agreements, Germany may be offering something of even greater value to China and to South Korea: reconciliation with Japan.

Tags: china, south korea, germany, history, japan, conflict, holocaust

The future is now. The economic crisis has sped up globalization, and we are already living in a new era. The strength of the BRICS countries has to compete with growth in the “double MIT” (Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Malaysia, India, and Thailand) and more. Of the world’s major global companies, 25% are in these countries.

Tags: globalization, foreign service, foreign ministry, diplomacy, ICTs, hacking, internet

For the last month and a half I have been following the Ukraine crisis on my Twitter account, and it has offered an unprecedented way to get a real understanding of what people think about the situation and how they think it should be resolved. 

Tags: ukraine, digital diplomacy, g7, summitry, twitter, public diplomacy, russia, europe, united states, canada

As one of the most bankable stars on the planet, Johnny Depp has the luxury of keeping his PR obligations brief. But he was jumping through press hoops this week as he made his first trip to China to sell moviegoers on his new sci-fi film, "Transcendence," which opens here April 18.

Tags: china, celebrity diplomacy, film diplomacy, beijing, united states, soft power, hollywood, media, japan, Cultural Diplomacy

She’s known for taking selfies, being snapped on holiday and for being one half of the “world’s most talked about couple,” but in recent days, Kim Kardashian has diverted her fans’ attention to something far more serious.

Tags: celebrity diplomacy, syria, twitter, #savekessab, bashar al-assad, kim kardashian, social media, armenia, armenian genocide, turkey, kassab, conflict, civil war, middle east

A severed hand travels down a conveyor belt in a coal plant -- the pale, smooth skin of the hand half buried in shards of black coal. This macabre yet visually arresting scene sets the tone for "Black Coal, Thin Ice," a Chinese arthouse thriller that has achieved the miraculous triple whammy of winning over critics, captivating audiences, and pleasing the notorious Film Bureau censorship panel.

Tags: film diplomacy, cinema, china, censorship, film bureau, black coal thin ice, united states, hollywood, diao yinan, berlin international film festival, SARFT