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 Hard Side of Soft Power
It often seems the more well-known a concept becomes, the less it is understood. Such was the case with Francis Fukuyama’s End of History theory, which proclaimed—quite accurately thus far— that the end of the Cold War was also the end of the Hegelian dialectic struggles between opposing universalistic worldviews. With communism and fascism discredited that world was left with only one remaining self-proclaimed universal ideology, that of liberal democracy.
Soft Power and Heavy Metal
I live in Edinburgh, Scotland, and for me the star turn at this year's Edinburgh International Festival was the Beijing People's Art Theatre's production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus." This was Chinese “soft power” at its best. The play was well chosen. Strangely, for a play written four hundred years ago when England was still an absolute monarchy, "Coriolanus" is a critique of democracy, set in ancient republican Rome, as England had never experienced such a thing.
Science Diplomacy Works, But Only When It’s Genuine
The Obama Administration has embraced the concept of science diplomacy as a way to bridge cultural and economic gaps between the United States and the rest of the world. The director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, John P Holdren, regularly meets with his science policy counterparts from Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia. The US State Department has sent a series of American scientists abroad as "Science Envoys" in hopes of using scientific relationships as an olive branch to the Muslim world
Last Hope
Last week Tunisia seemed to be heading for the whirlpool that has sucked Egypt down. The secular opposition had taken to the streets to demand that the Islamist government resign. The National Constituent Assembly, charged with writing a constitution, had been shut down. The state was paralyzed. This week, all the warring parties are talking to each other. The spirit of compromise could evaporate, but my impression, from talking to people on all sides over the last few days, is that Tunisia has a decent chance of avoiding catastrophe. Why is that?
Azerbaijan Can Enter ICANN Leadership
The Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has invited Azerbaijan to join the leadership of the organization. At a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the use of national top-level domain name. Az, Vice President of ICANN Veni Markovski called on Azerbaijan to increase its participation in the work of the organization, 1news.az reports.
Moldova’s “Generation Gone”
Dumitru Condrea has big plans, but an even bigger problem. After six years working in civil society, the affable 25-year-old activist says his hope for change has eroded. He says he loves his country, but has run out of options. “If you want to change something, you need money. And I can’t make money here in Moldova.”
Colombia to Teach Spanish to 60 International Tour Guides
An initiative by the Colombian government to teach Spanish to international tour guides is due to start on Monday. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Presidential Agency for the International Cooperation of Colombia (APC); the Colombian Institution of Educational Credit (ICETEX) as well as eight universities in locations throughout the country.
The Forgotten Cuisine
Nephi Craig graduated from culinary school in 2000 and began a promising career. In a few years, he was working his way up the stations at Mary Elaine’s, Arizona’s only five-star French restaurant, led by James Beard Award–winning chef Bradford Thompson. “I was getting a great French, classical training, but something was missing,” says Craig, who is 33. “The French tradition isn’t my tradition, and I wanted to cook in the tradition of my people: Apaches and Navajos.”
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