Another reason why the United States government tries its level best to ensure a free Internet is because it serves its foreign policy goals with respect to public diplomacy and outreach at very minimal cost. Internet-enabled protest movements are bringing down undemocratic governments faster

APDS Blogger: Anna Dawson

Extremist use of the media and information environment to propagate views and garner international support comes under the microscope in Germany next month...experts from government, academia and industry will focus on the issue...

As the world’s largest democracy, India has the power to set the standard for its own development through using its greatest asset: human capital....

APDS Blogger: Hend Alhinnawi

Al Jazeera's English-language news channel reaches an estimated 220 million households worldwide. Currently celebrating its fifth anniversary, even its fiercest critics have come to acknowledge both its increasing global impact and, more recently, its indispensable role in covering the wave of revolutionary ferment sweeping the Middle East.

Established thirteen years, the role of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs has been an enduring question of the State Department, the Defense Department, National Security Staff, the Congress and the many others interested in America’s efforts to understand, inform, and influence global audiences.

China is the home of pandas and kung fu, yet it took Hollywood to make the smash-hit animated movie Kung Fu Panda, the sequel of which was China's most popular film in 2011. Through massive investment, and countless censors, the Communist Party aims to boost China's "soft power," or cultural influence, abroad.