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.
President Barack Obama dislikes Britain, but he’s keen to meet the Queen
President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain this week. His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling. First Brown wasn't granted a press conference with flags, then one was hastily arranged in the Oval office after the Brits had to beg.
Cultural Diplomacy
If [people are] open to it, arts and culture can increase understanding. We can then use cultural diplomacy to change our relationship to the world," said Cynthia Schneider, a cultural diplomacy expert for Washington DC's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, about the Kennedy Center's "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World.
Slumdog’s triumph: The importance of soft power
"Slumdog", with a $13 million tag, offers myriad possibilities to introduce soft-power as an additional tool to the various means now being deployed to contain radical and distorted Islam...The Indian state machinery appears to be oblivious to the utility of soft power and a meeting between those in charge of projecting India's soft power and some of Bollywood's thinking luminaries is called for.
Barack Obama Must Grow as a Statesman if He is to Lead the Free World
The president may not yet appreciate the huge importance of the Special Relationship, but when he crosses the Atlantic for the first time as president he will begin to understand the great significance it carries in the hearts and minds of the British people. It is imperative that Obama acknowledges and pays tribute to the tremendous sacrifice of Britain’s armed forces alongside American troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq...something he has never done in a major policy speech.
Showing the Way by Learning to Listen
There is a discernible shift in American foreign policy stance under President Barack Obama...In dispatching his Middle East envoy, Senator George Mitchell to the region, Obama told Mitchell, "start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating". The move, according to observers, signals a sea change from the way business was done in the previous eight years.
Tatarstan’s Capital Hosts Turkish Film Festival
A Turkish film festival called "Hello!" has opened in Kazan and will feature several prize-winning movies...Though cultural ties between Tatarstan and Turkey have strengthened during the last decade, this festival is the first in the history of bilateral cultural relations.
US actress/activist Jurnee Smollett shares her experience with Swazis
Smollett brought her intellectual insight to emphasize drama, acting and the benefits of self-empowerment as well as civic involvement. She has had roundtable discussions with local artists and women’s groups.
What Hillary Failed to Do in Asia
So what should America’s long-term strategy toward China look like? To start, Washington should revisit its assumptions...What Clinton still needs to work out is a big-picture view of the world’s largest nation. If she fails to think strategically, the result will be an even stronger China. If she succeeds, China may turn out just as strong-but become a much more cooperative and restrained partner.
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