I confess that I have not been thinking much about whether the Brits will be able to top, or at least equal the Chinese in skillfully using the occasion of the Summer Olympics as a platform to advance their top line public diplomacy objectives.

I am writing today from the world city of London.

Azerbaijan's authorities have intensified their efforts to improve the country's image abroad, hiring PR companies and lobbyists around Europe to burnish its image. Lavish business meetings and events ostensibly dedicated to culture are meant to boost the country's image abroad...

Peter Frisch, a senior political analyst at the European External Action Service...recommended that the EU work with Arab nations to develop more solid tourism strategies, ensure that democratic leaders stay in power, use public diplomacy to talk to the people and reach out to them...

After decades of being banned by the Kremlin and decried for "distorting the human body", Henry Moore's abstracts, once called degenerate here, are now on display inside the very stronghold of power...We all know this exhibition is not just about art, but about diplomacy.

As Americans, we like to imagine our country as we think of ourselves: open-hearted and welcoming; efficient and practical; easygoing, above all...Whatever foreigners think of the American experiment, though, it’s unlikely the experience of crossing our border has made them think better of it.

The debate over the role of the international community in Syria is disheartening, dominated by skepticism about the ability of outsiders to have a positive impact. This stems from the fact that two main options – continuing to refrain from direct intervention or waging a fully fledged military campaign...

If the EU boasts of its reliance on "soft power," that is because it has no choice. Its head of foreign affairs, the British baroness Catherine Ashton, has been called "the world's highest-paid female politician," yet she remains anonymous and has no influence on world events whatsoever. Her position sums up everything that is wrong with the EU -- expensive but ineffective.