When assessing America's power toolbox, comic book culture is rarely discussed as an effective instrument, but likely stands as one of the most globally influential...Tampering with the art form by amateurs is dangerous and can lead to terrible results. That is exactly what happened in the case of the EU's online comic, Captain Euro (www.captaineuro.com). It seeks to entertain by portraying its nonviolent crusader as the protector of democratic peace.

The International Conference on the African Union & Cultural Diplomacy is a gathering within the African continent that seeks to highlight Africa´s self-attained achievements with regards to its standing in the international community as well as it´s increasing emancipation from the often assumed dependency on the Western world. Applications to participate in the conference are now open.

Congratulations on becoming our nation's leading diplomat. Everyone hopes and prays that you will build on the great work of your predecessors to make the world a safer and happier place. While you have access, no doubt, to a wealth of advice and knowledge, I humbly suggest that you fully exploit the expertise of your arts community and the power of cultural diplomacy.

Peng Liyuan, China’s new First Lady, is glamourous, fashionable and one of her nation’s best-known singers, a startling contrast to her dour-looking predecessors. As she accompanies her husband, President Xi Jinping, on his first trip abroad as China’s leader, Peng appears ready to carve out a new role for herself.

After 25 years of almost no contact between Canada and Myanmar, Ottawa will launch an era of new and hopefully warmer ties this spring by opening an embassy in Rangoon and appointing a veteran Asia hand as the first ambassador there. Though Ottawa has yet to confirm the appointment of 50-year-old Mark McDowell, it was announced Saturday in the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper and independently confirmed by The Globe and Mail.

The arrival of two giant pandas from China today will likely generate a good deal of fanfare in Toronto, where the bears will be on display at the city zoo starting in mid-May. Excitement is a fairly common reaction to these odd and incredibly rare animals. But why do people seem so obsessed with pandas?

Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations Master of Arts student, Stephanie Parenti, recently published an op-ed in The Globalized World Post, an up-and-coming international relations blog, discussing alignment politics in the former Soviet Union. This accomplishment marks one of many milestones on her journey to the Foreign Service.

In an earlier post, I detailed the USC Annenberg MPD delegation’s meeting with PD officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Beijing. The outcome of that meeting raised interesting questions about MFA’s role in PD and about the domestic dimension of China’s PD, which we tried to learn more about through our meetings. In this piece, I will provide my own interpretation of what we learned here.