On the first day of 2012, Chinese President Hu Jintao published an essay on culture in a...The language, lifted from Hu's speech at a party plenum on "promoting culture" in October last year, has been interpreted as largely hostile toward the "west" and its machinations to divide China.

The precise reason for penning the editorial now is still unclear, but it seems likely intended to address both concerns about a crisis of values in Chinese society, and the Chinese leader’s keen interest in developing the country’s soft power by creating internationally popular media.

The problem is not with the entertainment industry per se – Hollywood is one of America’s greatest exports to the world, a form of soft power as well as storytelling that can inspire hearts and minds.

One of the goals of this blog series is to develop greater awareness and knowledge of how culture intervenes in public diplomacy. In public diplomacy, culture’s web of influence spans across policy, practice, and research, and encompasses both sponsor and intended public.

The Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) lined up a host of cultural activities to celebrate the 100th Year of the Emergence of Delhi as the capital city. In its 5th year, India’s ‘Signature Festival’ maintained its strong position on the international cultural map... The festival served as a significant platform for cultural diplomacy, cutting across geographical barriers and looking beyond cultural stereotypes.

Many countries are trying every means possible to expand their cultural capacity. The United States, European Union member countries, Japan, Korea, and Singapore are all active players in the new-round competition in cultural soft power.

Since the start of the 21st century, using pandas as a diplomatic tool has become increasingly passé, according to Woo. China now uses other forms of soft power to export its culture and influence abroad.

How does culture sell a nation? Monocle and the V&A host a lively discussion on museums as soft-power ambassadors, with panellists including nation branding expert Simon Anholt, the senior French heritage curator Lurence de Cars and the Minister of State at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.