China has been making major efforts to increase its ability to influence other countries without force or coercion. [...] China has emphasized its cultural and economic strengths, but it has paid less attention to the political aspects that can undermine its efforts.

On June 17, 2015, Meridian International Center collaborated with the U.S. Department of State to present "Getting the People Part Right II: The Human Resources Dimension of U.S. Public Diplomacy in 2015". The report examines how the U.S. Department of State can improve public diplomacy’s effectiveness by rethinking how we are recruiting and selecting public diplomats, improving their training and advancement, and strengthening their influence on policymaking.

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times today launched the Chicago Forum on Global Cities. This three-day forum on the future of global cities is bringing civic, business, cultural and academic leaders from London, Beijing, Paris, Dubai, Singapore and beyond to Chicago.

A FULLY fledged academy that will train officials in economic diplomacy was on track to being realised, International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Thursday while delivering her budget vote speech in Parliament. As per the National Development Plan (NDP), the department would train all its officials in economic diplomacy through the academy as a core competency for their work abroad.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes the first year in office, his greatest momentum has been in the least expected domain — foreign policy. As a state chief minister with limited exposure to the world of international relations, Modi, it was widely believed, might face a handicap on the diplomatic front...

LONDON — During the British general election Ed Miliband scored a hit that few noticed. In a speech at Chatham House he accused David Cameron of pursuing an “isolationist” foreign policy that has led to the “biggest loss of influence for our country in a generation.”

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama lost a vote on trade policy in the Senate. The strange thing is why he lost. For years, conservatives have voiced impatience with Obama's foreign policy. But this time, all but one Republican voted for him, and all but one Democrat voted against him. Foreign policy used to be one of Obama's political strengths.

On 29 April Indonesia executed seven foreigners and one Indonesian for drug offences. The refusal of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to offer clemency despite pleas from foreign leaders has been analysed in a number of ways.(...)But was his decision instead a deliberate act of public diplomacy, designed to send signals to those missing the Sukarno era?