But when Western diplomats avoid making public statements in support of human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan, Azeri society loses confidence in Europe. Moreover, private diplomacy is failing to yield results; and year by year the restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association increase.

This year's Summer Institute in Public Diplomacy brings together its largest cohort from 14 countries. The program runs from July 21-August 2 at USC.

Sharing culture is hard when you can't entertain another point of view, tough when you have to stick to your line, and impossible when what you say can immediately be turned into a headline and used as a stick to beat you. This is the lot of modern governments.

Strip away the ostensibly benign surface of public diplomacy, cultural exchanges and language instruction, and it becomes clear that the U.S. and China are engaged in a soft power conflagration – a protracted cultural cold war.

This huge increase in cultural interaction has big political implications, because what happens in the cultural arena increasingly affects what politicians can do: cultural misunderstandings create political problems, while an attractive culture gives countries a licence to operate in international affairs, and a chance of being heard.

The students are members of the volunteers in the program to promote the use of English among Thais, and students from the Thai - New Zealand cultural exchange program. The premier expressed her admiration in the students' enthusiasm in learning the Thai language and cultures, while thanking all the Thai foster families for welcoming and taking care of their Caucasian guests.

Erdem Gunduz, the “Standing Man” performance artist who instigated a wave of peaceful protests throughout Turkey, participated in the Kennedy Center’s Cultural Exchange Visitors Program in 2007. The two-week arts education program, developed with the State Department, brought four modern dancers and two hip-hop dancers from Turkey to Washington and New York.

The Lo’Jo, a community of global citizens who play a special music of their own, will give performances in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and France.