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.

Science Diplomacy Has Mixed Success

Since the end of the Cold War, deepening globalization has generated the possibility that science diplomacy may help states solve common challenges - in the areas of food, water, energy, climate, and health - that do not respect territorial boundaries. Science diplomacy refers to the way in which states make use of scientific knowledge to diplomatically represent themselves and their interests in the international arena.

Tags: science diplomacy, climate change, science and technology, international solutions, united nations

Cultural Relations: The Ties That Bind in Difficult Times

When political leaders and diplomats from different countries struggle to communicate in a cultured way, it is the artists, poets and museum curators who may bring sanity back to international relations. There is no shortage of cultural bodies, grass roots and state sponsored, that are working to keep up the dialogue between Russia and Britain.

Tags: russia, united states, cultural relations, Cultural Diplomacy, cultural exchanges, great britain

Countering the U.S. Image Problem

Tags: u.s., ferguson missouri, philip seib

Islamic State Issues Video of Beheading of U.S. Hostage

The Islamic State released a video on Tuesday purporting to show the beheading of American hostage Steven Sotloff, raising the stakes in its confrontation with Washington over U.S. air strikes on its insurgents in Iraq.

Tags: islamic state, media activists, iraq, united states, social media, new technology, digital diplomacy, terrorism

Congress Should Link U.N. General Assembly Voting and Foreign Aid

Congress has long been concerned that countries receiving American foreign aid frequently oppose U.S. initiatives and priorities in the United Nations. Since 1983, Congress has required the U.S. Department of State to prepare an annual report on the frequency with which other countries vote with the U.S. in the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA).

Tags: united states, united nations, foreign aid, aid diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, u.s. department of state

Soft Power Rules

It is time India asserted itself on the international stage in the areas of contemporary art and the other diverse realms that constitute the notion of culture to make a strong statement as a ‘soft power’. This is something that the Western world has brought into play as an important artery of foreign as well as domestic policy to project humane dimensions and to generate pride and confidence in the people.

Tags: soft power, india, Cultural Diplomacy, foreign policy

Amnesty International: Islamic State Carrying Out Ethnic Cleansing

Human Rights Watch, another nongovernmental watchdog group, reported that Islamic State has used cluster munitions in at least one location: in the town of Ayn Al-Arab, 80 miles northeast of Aleppo city. The use of such ordnance leaves many unexploded bomblets on the battlefield, posing a serious risk to civilians long after hostilities have ceased. The munitions, which eject smaller explosive bomblets over an area, were banned in 2010 through the Convention on Cluster Munitions, though many countries -- including the U.S.

Tags: cluster munitions, human rights, islamic state, ethnic conflict, iraq, convention on cluster munitions

China's Museum Boom Hatches Roast Duck Tribute

China's cultural scene has certainly flourished in recent years from art, to music and, of course, museums. Curator Cheng Guoqin says part of the reason the government supports the opening of new museums is that it improves the country's image. "The government has realized that economic success is not enough," she says. "It realizes that soft power and the creative industries must play an important role."

Tags: china, soft power, global image, museum diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, government pd

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