Retired Gen. David Petraeus and Michael O’Hanlon are correct that we should protect funding for the State Department and USAID, because doing so enhances our national security. But neither Gates nor Petraeus and O’Hanlon are willing to reduce defense spending in order to provide additional funds for the soft power supplied by State and USAID.

While a large number of self-financing students come to India every year, experts blame poor diplomacy of high commissions abroad who are entrusted with popularising the scholarship schemes in their respective countries through media and educational bodies. “Bureaucratic approach of our embassies and lack of transparency in the selection process deters common student to apply for these scholarships,” said an office of Indian Foreign Service.

A White House plan to modernize the major U.S. food aid program, by donating cash rather than American-grown food, is in trouble after fierce lobbying by farm groups, food processors, shippers and others who set out to sink the idea months before it was unveiled in President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget...It would be the biggest change since the Food for Peace program was created in a mixture of Cold War "soft" diplomacy.

Projects funded by the Chinese include gyms and stadiums in Ghana, a hospital in Zambia and an opera house in Algeria. We also look at a Chinese footwear manufacturer's plans to create a global hub for the shoe industry in Ethiopia, and discuss reaction in China to the government's huge investments in Africa. Browse it all on our series page.

Sri Lanka’s eastern town of Pullumalai saw the opening of a new public market and a bus station recently, which has been built with the funding support of USAID. The US Embassy in Colombo said, the US$ 477,000 facility (Rs. 60 million) will help enhance transportation and livelihood opportunities for the people living in the Eastern province.

Public diplomacy through the distribution of aid has been a staple component of the public diplomacy strategies of various countries. This month we have seen numerous governments provide aid to the people of Haiti. Since the tragic earthquake of January 12, countless stories of aid diplomacy have appeared in the news.

Is the Arab Spring going to lead to a U.S. foreign-aid fall? Will America’s deficit and its election politics combine to reduce non-military, soft-power U.S. programs abroad?

Governor Romney delivered a major speech at the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday, focusing on foreign assistance, global development, and how U.S. policy should evolve in these fields... Governor Romney sees foreign assistance as a form of "soft power." It is clear that Governor Romney sees foreign assistance as an instrument of American power and influence.