Mass media, in its different forms, has been used by the State to manufacture consent or create dissent in other countries. The former involves media management, the latter is more in the nature of psychological warfare used in peace time, indeed at all times, as an exercise of soft power.

As part of its initiative to harness more digital technology for diplomacy, the US State Department will be taking questions via Twitter in 10 different languages, and answering them during a press briefing every Friday for the month of January.

"Diplomacy with a laugh," is how you might describe one of the U.S. State Department's latest efforts to promote American culture abroad. This week, three Indian-American comedians began a seven-city tour of India called Make Chai Not War. But apart from their shared Indian heritage, these three comedians have very different styles.

APDS Blogger: Jerry Edling

“India is a complex nation.” For better development, collaboration with government on urban social issues is a necessity; societies must reclaim responsibility for their citizens; and populations must understand the issues that are common to us all in order to find solutions to the problems that unite us.

APDS Blogger: Jessica Castillo

While China’s economy raced ahead on the back of its low-cost manufacturing skills, India has become an information technology hub because of the skills of its software engineers. But concerns are growing that India may be losing the edge as China pours much more money into science, research and innovation.

In 2012, every country that has global clout, and every country that aspires to that status, will use smart power — a combination of soft and hard power — to achieve national goals. India is not doing badly, but it has to brace itself for hard battles in soft power in the years to come.