Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Friday said in international relations, Pakistan needs to use the persuasive approach of ‘soft power’ to promote its image in the world community. [...] Aziz said instead of ‘hard power’ based on coercion, the soft power associated with culture and economy was more effective to attain the preferred results.

India has been ranked in the top 10 nations in terms of its digital diplomacy performance over the last year by Diplomacy Live, a global research, advocacy, consulting and training platform. India and Mexico are the only two countries from the developing world in this list. India's high ranking is despite a relatively modest budget for public diplomacy. 

The BBC World Service has launched its first ad campaign in seven years, in a seemingly counterintuitive move to promote the international service to the British public. The BBC said the decision to promote the World Service at home – it is synonymous with being a popular and trusted news source in foreign countries – was to address the misconception that it is solely for overseas audiences.

Xi Jinping’s three-day stopover in Prague on his way to Washington [...] Xi’s visit to the Czech Republic deserves some attention as it indicates Beijing’s approach towards the EU in general. It also offers insight into the limits of Beijing’s soft power, relying mostly on economic incentives and undermined by its own sense of insecurity.

The secret to successful public diplomacy for a state may sound like a surreptitious potion whose recipe lies with the magicians. However, it is the art of devising and executing strategies, just in the accurate proportion, to transform the way the local and international public perceives a certain state. So, where does this recipe come from? It comes from the human mind.

No denying that sports and games do great branding for a country. When Mabia Akter Simanta, a weightlifter from Bangladesh won the first gold for her country at the 2016th South Asian games and stood on the victory stand, tears rolled down her cheek. It was tears of joy and happiness. 

Since democratic elections officially signaled the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has taken pride in describing itself as a ‘Rainbow Nation,’ filled with people of diverse races, cultures, and sexualities [...] Digital artist Tiger Maramela wanted to try and contribute to this activism through art, producing a colorful, striking collage series that examines the South African narrative of post-apartheid unity.

The first overseas Confucius Institute (CI) was set up in South Korea in 2004. It is a non-profit educational organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Chinese language (Mandarin) and culture. And because their modus operandi is to operate within learning institutions, there are continued criticisms from encroaching on academic freedom to even espionage.