APDS Blogger: Zhaleh Boyd

Education and exchange have long been staples of U.S. public diplomacy efforts—longer even than the term ‘public diplomacy’ has been in use. Loyola University--Chicago (Loyola) has taken education and exchange diplomacy where no other foreign university has gone before: Vietnam.

Peace cannot be taken for granted. The ongoing border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia are challenging the very essence of ASEAN's existence - a no-war policy between its member states.

ASEAN foreign ministers have discussed the possibility of hosting the FIFA World Cup. This initiative underlines the need for both academics and practitioners to include sports issues in international relations.

In a sign of the importance that India is attaching to its ties with East and Southeast Asia, India hosted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at its Republic Day celebrations last week.

Indian premier Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Malaysia comes at a time when India is also rediscovering its long historical and cultural links to the region, which scholars once dubbed ‘Greater India’. It coincides with efforts by numerous Indian bodies such as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to rebuild the cultural bridge with a part of the world that is so close to India, and yet somehow distant.

The exhibition aims to introduce a broad range of typical images of the daily life in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries in all fields including culture, science and technology, economics, politics, diplomacy and sports.

Since international influence played a vital role in bringing about democracy in Thailand in 1992, inevitably it is interesting to know, what exactly are the ASEAN, US, UN and EU responses to the recent Thai crisis?

Since bilateral issues cannot officially be tackled in the multilateral forum of SAARC, this comment reflected the common feeling among SAARC member States that the Indo-Pak relations overshadow SAARC meetings. The incapacity of its member States to discuss political issues restrains SAARC’s credibility as a regional organization...