“There will be increasingly capable opposition forces. They will — from somewhere, somehow — find the means to defend themselves as well as begin offensive measures. And the pressure will build on countries like Russia and China because world opinion is not going to stand idly by.”

Launched a bit over a year ago, more or less coinciding with the eruption of the Arab Spring, the ministry’s Arabic Facebook page on Thursday reached the milestone of 100,000 fans. The fact that so many people have said they “Like” the page, however, does not mean that all of them really do.

Deep cuts in broadcasting are projected... President Obama’s proposed budget comports badly with the aspiration stated in the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ (BBG) 2012–2016 Strategic Plan to become the “world’s leading international news agency” by 2016.

Furthermore, despite making impressive efforts to cultivate its soft power, Joseph Nye concludes that China “has had a limited return on its investment.” Perhaps most importantly, while the past decade has undermined global opinion of U.S. power and policy, China has been unable to develop strong alliances.

Wednesday was a day for public diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as cultural figures from the two countries met for talks in Moscow, mediated by Russia. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents agreed...on the need for more public contacts between the two sides...

Efforts to stabilize Somalia have been intensified.. Getachew Reda, a public diplomacy and communications director general at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday said the coordinated military operations, to wipe out Al-Qaeda linked extremist group in "disarray".

"Modern international relations lie between peoples, not merely governments." The above quote is from a State Department report entitled Memorandum on the Postwar International Information Program of the United States. The report was completed in July 1945...