...while the Turkish model of democracy has made Ankara very popular amongst the youth and Islamist movements from Sana’a to Tunis—who see Turkey’s democratic success as a potential path they wish to take—Turkey could soon be one of many voices in the region, notably Cairo, promoting different models of local democracy and their soft power will be tied to how many states adopt their model.

...the Arab Spring could serve as an opportunity for Israel to re-think important aspects of its public diplomacy and political programs. In this respect, Israel’s relationship with one (albeit non-Arab) Muslim country could serve as a model to guide Israeli leaders as they redefine our relations with countries closer to home. That country is Indonesia.

One lesson of the Arab Spring is that news now travels very fast indeed. Within hours of the 20,000 copies of the second issue of Egypt Independent being pulped, the story had spread not only in Egypt, but globally, as the article in London's The Independent attests.

In the context of the Arab Spring, India is promoting Islam as an important aspect of Indian history and culture. One way to examine it is to look at the way Indian mass media portrays Islam. This is important for public diplomacy because what India projects to the rest of the world has to accurately reflect what is happening internally to gain credibility.

APDS Blogger: Anna Dawson

The long-introverted political outlook of Turkey was transformed by economic growth that allowed its soft power to expand beyond national boundaries. An import substitution economy gave way to an export growth economy that opened Turkey to the world.

Philip Seib says the network helped Qataris "put their country on the map". Members of the audience nod ­furiously. Seib then points out how Al Jazeera was a "public diplomacy creation . . . probably one of the most successful in history". The Al Jazeera representative on the panel suddenly looks distinctly uncomfortable.

Egypt's dominance is emblematic of the important role hashtags played in organizing real-time updates and reaction to big news events this year. Egypt had "a far more mature and extensive social media environment" before its uprising than Tunisia did before its revolution, and the Egyptian protests went on to forge microblogging celebrities.