President Barack Obama’s latest speech on the Middle... generated a shrug from a region that is neither looking to Washington for leadership nor particularly convinced this American president has much to offer. Most of all, the public does not see the radical break in American foreign policy...

President Barack Obama recently named Los Angeles businessman Sim Farar as a member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, reports Bizjournal. The commission is charged with appraising US government activities intended to understand, inform and influence foreign public...

US President Barack Obama has made a rare visit to Puerto Rico, marking the first official trip to the island by a sitting US president since 1961. The visit is being seen by some as an indirect bid for Puerto Rican votes in the swing state of Florida in 2012.

Major events in the Middle East –including tensions between the U.S. and Israel, growing political unrest in many Arab countries, and the death of Osama bin Laden – have had little effect on public attitudes toward the region.

More than two years into his term, Obama cuts the image of an all-business envoy, seldom going outside normal business hours to turn on the charm with other heads of state. He appears to have built few deep personal bonds with foreign leaders, and his forays into public diplomacy are notable for their rarity.

The significance of the bipartisan rebuke of Obama and the broad consensus of the international community is evident in Netanyahu’s specific lines that received the most enthusiastic applause - when he defied Obama's suggestion that the 1967 borders be the basis of negotiations.

Portugal is more pro-multilateral, emphasizing soft power and persuasion rather than picking fights, argued Jez Littlewood, director of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton University. This, he argues, is actually similar to the position Canada used to take when it sat on the council.

The images of Barack Obama's recent visit were a publicity consultant's dream. But beyond the feel-good photography and the cheerful bonhomie, there was purpose and substance to Obama's trip, specifically the need to redefine America's relationship with Europe in a much-changed world.