The tragic deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens along with three other U.S. diplomats last week in Benghazi, Libya, highlight a major disconnect between the perception of most Americans and reality — a U.S. diplomat’s life and work overseas is dramatically different from popular fiction.

The International Criminal Court has launched a new civic education programme on its operations, targeting areas that were heavily affected by the 2007/08 post election violence. The court's field outreach coordinator in Kenya Maria Kamara said the new initiative is aimed at providing accurate information about the ICC to communities in areas hit by the violence.

Diplomacy can be defined as the process by which a nation state relates or conducts its activities with other nation-states in the international arena, to achieve the set objectives of its foreign policy. The actions, reactions and behaviours of nation states in the international arena are viewed and analysed from how it conducts its diplomacy which is either the visible or invisible processes of communication between nations.

“Since last year, we have partnered with NGOs like World Vision to sink boreholes in the affected areas so that residents can have enough water for their livestock and domestic use. We also encourage them to use the water to grow vegetables and maize to complement livestock keeping.”

The Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index is a major annual study which since 2005 has polled a sample equivalent to 60 percent of the world’s population on its perceptions of other countries. It shows that South Africa’s 2010 World Cup, although it was a resounding success, damaged the country’s standing quite severely.

“The best way to advance America's interests in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. ...We must use what has been called ‘smart power,’ the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal and cultural -- picking the right tool or combination of tools for each situation."

Americans’ attention rarely strays beyond domestic discontents these days, and when it does extend overseas it is most likely to settle on the endless war in Afghanistan or the challenging puzzle that is China. Meanwhile, as has almost always been the case, events in Africa receive little notice.

Americans’ attention rarely strays beyond domestic discontents these days, and when it does extend overseas it is most likely to settle on the endless war in Afghanistan or the challenging puzzle that is China.