CPD Blog Manager: Naweed Lemar

Monday's vote to admit Palestine as a full member of Unesco, the U.N. cultural arm, was a sharp reminder of just how limited Washington's influence -- hard, soft and smart -- has become in respect of the Middle East's most intractable conflict.

The success of India's first Formula One Grand Prix stands in striking contrast to last year's Commonwealth Games fiasco...the Buddh International Circuit won high praise from race-car drivers and international media alike...India's ability to attract such international praise exemplifies its growing soft power.

This is part of a larger international cyber diplomacy effort, that the State Department is undertaking that’s weaving all of these different aspects of cyberspace together, and that includes everything from...internet freedom, to economic issues and governance issues on the internet, to cyber security issues...this basket of issues is now a foreign policy imperative or a foreign policy priority.

America's objections to the Palestinian move ring hollow across much of the world, and especially the strategically vital Middle East region. Its withholding of UN payments in response is nothing short of a combination of the absurd and the vindictive. As former Senator Tim Wirth has pointed out this will be sapping to America's soft power capacity.

Two of China’s largest film production companies, said they were each acquiring up to 20% of start-up distribution company China Lion Film Distribution, with the goal of introducing more of their films to the U.S. market. Bona Film Group Chairman and Chief Executive Dong Yu added that he thought the deal was a good opportunity to open Chinese films to the North American market and consequently promote Chinese culture abroad.

Obama should return to his original approach and test the Iranians to see if there is any room for dialogue and agreement. Engaging with Iran, putting its nuclear program under some kind of supervision and finding areas of common interest (such as Afghanistan) would all be important goals.