One implication of this is that the burden on U.S. public diplomacy has never been greater. As the role of publics expands, it becomes ever more urgent that the U.S. better understand them and effectively engage with them across a far wider spectrum (it's incomprehensible that Congress wants to slash funding for these functions at precisely the time they are most needed).

Hungary has taken the rotating presidency of the European Union at a hugely important moment. Having been the UK’s Europe Minister during Britain’s last EU Presidency in 2005, I have some experience of the hard, diplomatic work involved.

Reeling from war crimes accusations during a major offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza more than two years ago, the Israeli military is studying the wide distribution of cameras as a tool to make its case to the world.

In the context of the Libyan civil war and unfolding revolutions across the Arab region, Turkey is stepping up efforts to make its mark as a role model and diplomatic broker. EurActiv Turkey contributed to this article.

If anyone was underestimating the spread of these tools it only took the social media-infused revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt a few months later to spell out how wired the world has become and how unpredictable the uses of social media will be. For public diplomacy practitioners it served as a reminder...

Paris has the Institute de Monde Arab, Madrid has the Casa Arab, but what about London? Home to Edgware Road, “Kebab” & Chips, and one of the largest expatriate communities of Arabs in Europe, it’s almost ironic that the United Kingdom has yet to house a permanent major cultural center to signify this strong bond between the United Kingdom and the Middle East.

One of the consequences of the various uprisings gripping the Middle East will be a forced reappraisal of what American interests are in the region. No one is quite sure what will replace the old order that is in the process of either being swept away or seriously rattled, but I think it's clear that what follows will entail a rethink of U.S. policy.

At the close of a week heavy with international change, natural and political trauma, as the American nation awaited news about its economy and its President’s second term candidacy, Richard Goldstone, retired South African justice, former U.N. International Criminal Tribunal prosecutor...