Vietnam’s successful cultural diplomacy in 2010 was reflected in activities dedicated to ASEAN and the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, and the effort to win UNESCO recognition of the country’s cultural heritages.

Today, they are just as apt to be out in the field meeting with village elders or local citizens and supervising development projects. Globalization has increased their work to include economic and environment regulations, drugs, disease, organized crime, and world hunger.

With 24x7 news channels setting public agenda and new age media influencing discourse on key global issues, the ministry is organising a day-long conference Friday and a workshop the next day where experts would focus on soft power and public diplomacy.

Taiwan's democracy and emphasis on human rights are its most effective forms of 'soft power, ' and its adherence to these values will influence China positively in the long run, Harvard professor Joseph Nye said in Taipei on Wednesday.

Ben Barber's recent Salon article, "WikiLeaks and the sham of 'public diplomacy': Our diplomats spout jingoistic nonsense about American supremacy -- instead of engaging with the rest of the world," shows his heart in the right place but his history way out in left field.

Israel has dismissed Egyptian claims that a series of shark attacks in the Red Sea could have been the result of a plot carried out by its foreign intelligence agency, Mossad.

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli upset Egyptians when she called the country "primitive" in an interview after her most recent visit to the country a month ago, according to report in the Egyptian press.

In a previous article, I examined the relationships – or lack thereof – between diplomacy, science, and international policy, and noted the serious image problems that plague all three enterprises. These difficulties have hobbled the practice of science diplomacy, and are compounded by a host of substantial issues, which will be addressed presently.