How do you create that elusive quality of 'culture'?... One popular strategy is the international sporting event. It is no secret that the Olympic Games, Formula One Grand Prix and World Cups are viewed by leaders not just as money-spinners, but as opportunities to demonstrate all their country has to offer and to recast national stereotypes for the better.

It's been important for me … to do these shows because it shows the world that the people of the Middle East are global citizens and appreciate laughter just like anyone else," [comedian Maz] Jobrani says afterward. "It helps bring the East and West closer with laughter. Kind of a comedic diplomacy.

The time has come for South Korea to improve its diplomacy in the Middle East. Experts say more and more people in the Middle East believe that Korea merely views the region as a market for builders and exporters.

One legacy of the 9/11 attacks was a distortion of American policy: By the standards of history and cost-effectiveness, we are hugely overinvested in military tools and underinvested in education and diplomacy.

While governments can do important work to promote peace, tolerance and understanding can come only from people, and not government bureaucracies, Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy Judith McHale told South Asian Seeds of Peace participants at the State Department.

For the last 45 years, the Israel Museum has been both the crown jewel of this country’s cultural heritage and a bit of a mess. It has the most extensive holdings of land-of-Israel archaeology anywhere (including a heel bone pierced by an iron nail with wood fragments, the world’s only physical evidence of crucifixion), an encyclopedic collection of Judaica and an exceptional group of Modernist artworks.

Colloquially, America goes by "Uncle Sam" and is known to many of its allies as "a beacon of hope." But a country with as many enemies as it has friends is bound to attract a fair share of taunts and insults, too. Below, what everyone loves to call the United States behind its back.

The Obama administration's treatment of Netanyahu at the first meeting created the impression of a deep crisis in American-Israel relations. The meeting last Tuesday, however, repaired the damage and lifted the mood music after recent tensions.