Iran was never tackled in the same way as Iraq was, but with a 17-year long US trade embargo on Iran and no real diplomatic relations for 30 years – the two countries are clearly not friends. Earlier this year, US Secretary of State Clinton labeled Iran as “awful” in a speech about internet freedoms. But do we think Iran is “Evil”?

The rise in emerging market (EM) hard power over the past decade has been dramatic. The crucial question that arises then is whether soft power in the emerging world has risen commensurately to its hard power. If it has, then the combination of rising soft and hard power will give many EM countries more global clout.

To improve Israel’s image in the United States, one of the best things is to bring opinion makers to the country. And just like in Israel where the likes of Yaron Dekel and Keren Neubach often play a big role in setting the national agenda, in the US, there’s no greater barometer for public opinion than the radio talk show host.

The video project was voluntary and the students had to raise the funds to see it through. The Israeli Student Union offered advice on logistics. "We discovered a huge potential for improving Israel's public diplomacy efforts around the world through this creative and groundbreaking project," said Maayan Friedland, a Student Union spokesperson.

Chinese leaders, determined to persuade America that they mean no harm, have recruited Sun Tzu to their cause. China is hamstrung by a contemporary culture that has little global appeal. Since the present is a hard sell, China is having to lean heavily on the distant past.

Each country has a sizable diaspora from its neighbour – Tajikistan’s population is 15% Uzbek, while Uzbekistan’s is 5% Tajik – and shared cultural values. Those factors indicate that public diplomacy, an approach used frequently in Central Asia, could lead to significant progress in bilateral ties, observers say.

The "hip hop jam session" between African American hip hop musicians and Sfax native El General is at the core of the hip hop diplomacy: critical cross-cultural exchange and dialogue achieved through musical collaborations. The interaction between youth through a shared global language (hip hop and social media technologies) may be a "bab" for this bilateral political and cultural education.

China's most expensive film, a bloody blockbuster about the Japanese army's massacre of civilians in Nanjing, will be released in cinemas across the country on Friday as Beijing steps up its efforts to project its "soft power" across the world.