No-one has been more skeptical about Chinese soft power than Joseph Nye, the man who first coined the phrase twenty years ago. In particular, Nye has criticized Beijing’s efforts to acquire soft power through centralized schemes, like the spread of Confucius Institutes or the establishment at the end of last year of the China Public Diplomacy Association. Despite “spending billions of dollars to increase its soft power … China has had a limited return on its investment,” he recently argued.

Regarding Argentine pressures on the economy and its inaccuracies campaign, the message read by Governor Nigel Haywood is enthusiastic about the reaffirmed support from the UK to the Falklands (the Queen’s speech opening Parliament), the recent overwhelming results of the referendum on the Falklands’ future and the Islands’ international public diplomacy strategy to explain to the world the Falklands’ right to self determination and the fact it is a democratic, modern community with a self sufficient successful economy.

Over the past decade there has been a near universal surge of interest in public diplomacy. Yet, as more nations venture into the PD realm it is becoming increasingly clear that understandings of PD concepts and practices are anything but universal. One area where different views are emerging is the role of the public. Who is the “public” in public diplomacy?

We spend a lot of time looking at country rankings--everything from the best places in the world to be a woman to the worst countries for food security. These realities on the ground all feed into overall perception--or branding--of countries. If perception is favorable, that can translate into investments as well as commercial and economic development. And that, if done right, can lead to better lives for all citizens.

A recurring theme in this year's presidential election is (fear of) American decline, with both candidates seeking to convince voters that they will reverse recent trends and foster an American resurgence... Power is most usefully conceived as capability, and stronger states can generally do more things and affect others more than weaker states can. But having a lot of power doesn't translate directly into influence, which is the capacity to get others to do what you want.