Building the systems and structures to manage that, particularly in managing a potentially messy and dangerous confrontation in the Baltic states or South China Sea, is going to be a challenge. Other more subtle forms of communication -- unacknowledged direct telephone calls, messages delivered through spies, envoys and allies -- have also not gone away. But they will now be taking place at the same time as what could be frantic social media changes. 

Now there are serious decisions that need to be made in the coming months and years by Japanese foreign policy makers. Both an independent and new foreign policy for Japan in different parts of the world and a new approach to the alliance system with the U.S. may be necessary. Globetrotting may make Japan more visible up to a certain point. 

Unless the Pakistani state changes its tack, the country will continue to lag behind on not just development indices but also reel under jihadism and insecurity. The future of Pakistan depends upon how it deals with its identity, image, and the dissenters who wish to contribute to improving it.

There are many things that can unite Pakistan with Bangladesh and India. We have shared history, more or less common language, common heritage, literature, art, and culture. These commonalities can be enhanced through track II diplomacy, which in turn can be expanded and taken to another level through skilled diplomacy of leaders. 

In times of terror, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an icon of world peace. The spiritual leader speaks to S Gurumurthy about his mediation in Colombia to bring the armed rebels to the negotiation table and how he applied the Gandhian principle of non-violence, and ancient Indian values of yoga and meditation to rid the world of violence and mould it into One Family.

Sri Lanka's social and economic relations with the US expanded rapidly in the late 1970s. Hundreds, if not thousands of Sri Lankan students are studying in the US and many Sri Lankan professionals have reached the top of their careers in the US. The number of Sri Lankan doctors listed in the New Jersey telephone directory is staggering.

The Ministry of Defence should be congratulated not only for taking this most important initiative to hold this Seminar and for the sixth consecutive year, but also for the deciding on a topic “Soft power and its influence on global issues” which is most relevant to the world at this particular time, for Soft Power is essentially the power of Diplomacy which lays absolute emphasis on persuasion, and is the need of the hour. 

What do these three recent events tell us about Russian foreign policy? Putin is able to think strategically, using all hard and soft power tools to promote Russian foreign policy interests. To the average Western observer, Russia's recent actions in the Caspian, Iran or its CSTO military exercise are viewed as three different and unrelated things.