Confronted with the shortcomings of international political processes many scholars and diplomats have frequently turned to the non-governmental sphere in search of more practical action on global challenges. It is not uncommon to find today calls for global civil society engagement, public-private partnerships, and citizen diplomacy in almost all contexts of international relations.

SHANGHAI --- Zhao Qizeng, China’s leading proponent of public diplomacy, wrote, “Culture is the soul and life of a nation.” That concept is the driving force behind much of China’s exercise of soft power, and other countries that deal with this superpower need to understand the value the Chinese place on their language, traditions, and other cultural elements of their national life.

SHANGHAI --- Zhao Qizeng, China’s leading proponent of public diplomacy, wrote, “Culture is the soul and life of a nation.” That concept is the driving force behind much of China’s exercise of soft power, and other countries that deal with this superpower need to understand the value the Chinese place on their language, traditions, and other cultural elements of their national life.

As people in Santa Lucija, a village in the small island nation of Malta, look forward to its annual Chinese Film Festival this summer, the China Cultural Center in Malta has pledged to organize more cultural events this year to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Santa Lucija, the only Maltese village with a partnership with Jinchang district of Suzhou city in east China, began to offer its citizens a feast for their eyes in 2007 when it organized a Chinese film festival at the end of the summer.

On May 30, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies (CNAPS) at Brookings hosted a discussion examining the use of public diplomacy in Northeast Asia. Leading experts discussed the objectives, practices, opportunities and challenges in public diplomacy for China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Why did you join Twitter? .... I’m interested in the public diplomacy aspect of your job. I come to this job at a crucial juncture in the relationship between Israel and the United States. We face great challenges in getting our message across.

During the 20 years since the demise of the Soviet Union, and after a unipolar moment for the United States, China has emerged as the newest superpower. All its predecessors at this exalted level, going back even before Rome, have established their positions by amassing formidable military strength. But China is going about matters differently.

A little over one month ago, Jewish Twitter received a conspicuous new member: Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren (@AmbassadorOren). On his feed (which, he told me, he mostly writes himself), Oren shies from controversy, instead thanking various U.S. dignitaries for visiting or hosting him, linking to op-eds he’s published or speeches he’s given, and wishing folks a happy new week on Saturday evenings.