Over the past two years, in a departure from the policy of reassurance it adopted in the late 1990s, China has managed to damage relations with most of its neighbors and with the United States. Mistrust of Beijing throughout the region and in Washington is palpable.

In the realm of public diplomacy reports, there are too few that should be on your required reading list. “Social Media Strategy: Bringing Public Diplomacy 2.0 to the next level” (820kb PDF) is an exception.

If the heart of foreign policy is its vision then a cardiogram of South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy would start with some fairly lively scratches: Nelson Mandela's lofty but somewhat naive vision of external relations...

On 12 March, the Arab League called on the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal contends that “American liberals and the Western European chattering classes,” are the people mainly complaining about US presence in the Arab world, not Arabs. While the Obama administration, plagued by “American self-abnegation,” relies on the international community to intervene in the Libyan conflict, the United States may be losing the confidence of the Arab street.

Almost 11 years after the tragic events of 9/11, there is little agreement on defining an effective public diplomacy, and outlining public diplomacy goals, according to the blog Public and Cultural Diplomacy. The failure of the Bush administration’s public diplomacy strategy, followed by the current administration’s intent to restore America’s credibility abroad signal America’s willingness to adopt more collaborative relations with the Muslim world in tackling global challenges.

Foggy Bottom is flat out denying a British news report on Sunday that said State Department money would be awarded to the BBC to combat Internet censorship around the world. "The BBC World Service is to receive a "significant" sum of money from the US government...

President Barack Obama has called for a new relationship between the US and Latin America based on equal partnership. Speaking in Chile, he said Latin America was fundamental to the prosperity and security of the US.

When the United States Africa Command was created four years ago, it was the military’s first “smart power” command. It has no assigned troops and no headquarters in Africa itself, and one of its two top deputies is a seasoned American diplomat.