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.

After Vote, Brazilians Lash Out on Social Media

A day after President Dilma Rousseff squeaked out a close electoral victory, Brazilian voters vented their frustrations one way they know best: on social media.  Online debates between supporters of the president and her unsuccessful rival Aécio Neves were hostile, in a country with one of the world’s deepest penetration of social-media use.

Tags: social media, digital diplomacy, new technologies, brazil, public opinion

Chinese Book Fair Attracts Scores of Cambodian Students

Throngs of Cambodian students from various Chinese schools flocked to see the fifth edition of a Chinese book fair on Monday, seeking reading books which are helpful to their studies.

Tags: china, cambodia, Cultural Diplomacy, soft power, books

Coalition Targets Ideology of ISIS

“It is only when we contest (ISIS') presence online, deny the legitimacy of the message it sends to vulnerable young people and expose (ISIS) for the un-Islamic cult of violence it really is ... that (ISIS) will truly be defeated,” Allen said.

Tags: isis, media diplomacy, social media, digital diplomacy, united states, counter terrorism

Is UCD’s Confucius Institute Out of Step?

In the US there is growing disquiet over China’s attempts to exert ‘soft power’ by claiming a footprint on university campuses.  In the space of a week, two US universities, Pennsylvania State and University of Chicago, have decided to shut down their Confucius Institutes amid concerns over threats to academic freedom.

Tags: united states, china, soft power, confucius institutes, Cultural Diplomacy

Western Female Jihadis Deploy the ‘Soft-Power’ of Isis Online

Hundreds of young Muslim women from the west who travelled to Syria to marry fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, are part of what experts call, the “soft-power” of the militants. Isis has used social media to attract new recruits and build an image of the group as a reincarnation of the just and righteous state to which many Muslims aspire.

Tags: isis, female jihadis, digital age, syria, iraq, the levant, soft power, non-state actors

USAID in Latin America: More Than Just Aid

After being expelled from numerous Latin American countries for dubious activity, the United States organization USAID has developed a reputation of an organization that while providing aid is also developing ways to undermine governments in a number of the continent’s countries.

Tags: usaid, latin america, international aid, office of transition initiatives, soft power, united states, cuba, obama

Diplomacy Lab Makes National Policy Research Part of Undergrad Study

An active partnership between the U.S. State Department and William & Mary, the Diplomacy Lab continues this year with multiple projects (...)The Diplomacy Lab, which was established in 2013 with William & Mary and the University of Virginia as founding partners, is designed to satisfy the need for more research on pressing international issues, while providing undergraduate students with actual policy experience.

Tags: us state department, william & mary, university of virginia, Institute for the Theory & Practice of International Relations, Project on International Peace & Security, AidData, counterinsurgency, john kerry

Counterterrorism Messaging Needs To Move From State to CIA

The State Department is trying hard to counter online propaganda from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The information battleground includes Twitter and video messages, terrain that ISIL knows well. In addition to having too little money and too few people, the department is forced to conform to federal rules requiring that its work be identified as coming from the U.S. government.

Tags: us state department, cia, counterterrorism, richard stengel, online propaganda, isil, iraq, united states

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