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.
‘Dramatic Disparity’ Between Afghan Military, Diplomatic Strategies
While there has been much discussion over the U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, there hasn't been much of a public conversation on U.S. diplomacy there. Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations talks to Renee Montagne about diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan.
China: from soft power to superpower
A superpower is generally understood to be a nation, empire, or civilization that can project power globally; that is, a nation that possesses economic, political and cultural or "soft" power along with overwhelming military or "hard" power. It's certainly not hard to appreciate China's emerging economic power.
The Spanish Pavilion: A Brand Story Of Continuity (Videoblog)
As the host country of both the Olympics and the Expo in the same year (1992), Spain clearly sees the Shanghai Expo as an instrument of public diplomacy and national image projection. Pavilion Communication Director Pedro Molina discusses how the country tells the story of “From the City of Our Parents to the City of Our Children” in three scenes.
A ‘Private’ Visit to a State Monument
It was, indeed, a first for a US Secretary of State to visit Dzidzernagapert Armenian Memorial Monument. What was, indeed, puzzling about the visit was that it was dubbed a “private” visit by one of the most visible—public—officials in the world.
How Would Some South Africans Respond to Holland Winning the World Cup?
There is plenty to be said for the strong Dutch team at the World Cup in South Africa...With a long history built around their “Total Football” style of play, they’re probably the most talented nation never to win a World Cup final. But considering the Dutch role in Apartheid, would the Dutch winning in South Africa be bittersweet?
Finding and Teaching Fractals in Ghana
Around 1987, I noticed a funny thing about aerial photos of African villages: they look a lot like fractals, the repetitive shapes from computer graphics. Rectangular architecture had nested rectangles within; circular houses were in circles of circles, sometimes down to very small scales. A Fulbright fellowship gave me a year of travel in west and central Africa...
In ambitious India, workers add social savvy to the skill set
They call her India’s Miss Manners, and she is at the heart of a multimillion-dollar industry to make Indian companies more competitive globally by improving their workers’ social skills. Pria Warrick has become the guru of graces for a new generation of call-center techies, chief executives, animation artists, MBAs and Bollywood film stars, all of whom are helping drive India’s rise as a world economic power but sometimes without a certain polish.
Petraeus’s impossible mission in Afghanistan: armed nation-building
But no one, no matter how brilliant, can achieve the impossible. And the problem in Afghanistan is the impossibility of the mission. The United States is pursuing a nation-building strategy with counterinsurgency tactics – that is, building a nation at the barrel end of a gun.
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