Public diplomacy is a key pillar of a country’s foreign policy toolkit. (...) Indonesian leaders have tended to focus their attention on other foreign political elites through foreign policy initiatives like the Bali Democracy Forum and interfaith dialogues rather than promote cultural diplomacy.

Social media companies and governments in the United States, France and the United Kingdom have struggled to quell the noxious online presence of the Islamic State group. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have undertaken a systematic effort to purge accounts affiliated with the militant organization.

Asian philanthropy is an emerging force in international relations. As social impact investors, philanthropists in Asia are non-state actors transforming civil society and diplomacy.

The raids involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country's history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling on Australian supporters to kill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. Abbott was asked about reports that the detainees were planning to behead a random person in Sydney.

The announcement of a formal Islamic state by insurgents in Syria and Iraq is a "declaration of war against the West and al Qaida", an expert has warned. The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (Isis) group has sought to solidify its leadership of worldwide jihad today by declaring that its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is the new caliph, or head of state.

When al Shabaab, the violent Islamist group in Somalia, took control of the capital city Mogadishu, it actively destroyed buildings and overt displays of Western institutions and influences. This included outlawing soccer. The group destroyed cinemas and viewing centers in Mogadishu during the 2010 World Cup to stop residents from watching the matches. Their first successful international attack was the twin explosions in Uganda’s capital Kampala at viewing stations during the tournament. 

The recent meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Vatican, as well as the upcoming trip to Albania, shows a Pope putting the Catholic Church firmly back on the global political stage — a reboot of the John Paul II years.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday, where he will pledge more aid to help Syria's neighbors deal with an influx of refugees and press Lebanese parliamentarians to swiftly choose a new president.