“When we speak to one another, engage to one another, etc., we’re engaging in public diplomacy,” she said. Sonenshine said that the term applies to everything, ranging from a Russian athlete talking to a U.S. physical education expert to countering violent extremism.

Japan Inc is charging into Myanmar. The rush began one night last October, when Myanmar's new president rolled out a map after dinner to show an aging Japanese power broker a prize that could be Tokyo's to develop - a swathe of land nearly as big as Macau.

China’s Ralls Corporation has sued U.S. President Barack Obama for blocking its wind farm deal, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday... Ralls claims Obama exceeded his constitutional rights and acted in "an unlawful and unauthorized manner."

Embassies perform a crucial role in maintaining diplomatic ties with foreign governments, but their function is to maintain economic, political and cultural engagement with people living in distant lands. There have been a few experiments with virtual embassies -- the United States has one for Iran.

No doubt you've seen the news about the Takeshima and Senkaku disputes: Japan is sparring with China, South Korea and Taiwan over some specks in the ocean. Why is this happening?

“The Fulbright Program has connected our two countries for 30 years in one of the most important ways possible – through the creation of knowledge and professional skills, as well as through a shared belief in educating the next generation,” says Sharon Hudson-Dean, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Harare.

When I hear ‘sports diplomacy’ evoked in conversation I often wince, knowing that 99% of the examples do not live up to the standards of the term. Athletes and coaches who work for a team outside of their country for no purpose other than for a love of the game and personal gain do not always qualify.