Well, we've always had soft power, which seems to have been despite the government, not because of it. We have the soft power of Bollywood, Indian cuisine, fashion, yoga and the Indian brain that has done so well with science, computers and so on

If the French came up with the Alliance Française to capture the attention of the Global community, China has now started the Confucius institutes as effective healthy rivals. The traditional Asian recluse now has centres that look at imparting to the world the niceties of their culture and allow foreign nationals an opportunity to learn and enjoy Chinese martial arts, language, calligraphy, food, music and dance.

Enter The Associated Press (AP). Its recent deal with the KCNA to open a bureau in North Korea...has put the spotlight on the AP’s much-vaunted credibility as an independent, credible news source. Given the stakes of the event as a template for future cultural diplomacy with the DPRK, we here at SinoNK think it is both appropriate and worthy of all the attention.

"What has been the whole outcome of these drone attacks is that you have directly or indirectly contributed to destabilizing or undermining the democratic government. Because people really make fun of the democratic government – when you pass a resolution against drone attacks in the parliament and nothing happens. The Americans don't listen to you, and they continue to violate your territory," he said.

There's a strange sense of deja vu in Jamaica at the moment. Bunting adorns buildings. Roadside vendors sell the national flag. Patriotic songs are on everyone's lips, and breasts swell with pride. Politicians are enjoying a holiday from scrutiny as citizens tune in to Usain Bolt and the gang chasing Olympic glory in London. It's 6 August 1962 all over again.

The durability of national governments in the Middle East and North Africa is now determined by the extent to which leaders can expeditiously and effectively address the primary cause of the Arab Spring: shameful levels of underdevelopment of the people in the context of abundant socio-economic potential.

The British Foreign Office was left in a spin when forced to explain how a relatively junior diplomat had enjoyed an amusement park ride with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. Proving that international relations with a pariah state have their ups and downs, the British charge d'affaires, Barnaby Jones, was firmly strapped into the seat in front of the dictator and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.

In an effort to harness the “soft power” of diaspora groups, the U.S. Department of State and USAID recently convened more than 500 United States residents with heritage from 124 countries for the second annual Global Diaspora Forum.