American intelligence analysts, like most U.S. observers, have often referred to the process unfolding in the Middle East as the “Arab Spring,” with its implicit message of democratic birth and freedom.

"We know nothing about the form of future tragedy," German playwright Botho Strauss once wrote. But that isn't true any longer. Now we can picture the form of our tragedy -- all we have to do is watch it on YouTube. The images of the London riots are a preview of our future.

The incidental influence that the United States exerts simply through people around the world observing its behavior is consistently underestimated, just as the influence the United States can exert intentionally by exercising its economic, military, or other instruments of hard power tends to be overestimated.

The Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs was established in May 2006. So far, this Division has reached out more to countries where the Indian diaspora is concentrated and has sought to attract them to come to India and study through the “Know India Program”.

“The Sunshine Policy had been the most effective tool that influenced North Korea. All the changes in North Korea we see now are the results of the Sunshine Policy, including marketization, consumerism and increased dependency on external input,”...

Late last year, the National Economic Council (NEC) reportedly resolved that going forward, Nigeria would no longer play 'big brother' to countries in trouble without getting anything in return. It also proposed that the nation's foreign interventions and assistance would henceforth be guided by 'national interest'.

“This is a great platform to showcase Taiwan’s soft power,” Tony K. M. Chang, Taiwan Design Center CEO, said Aug. 16. “Through the event, we hope to connect Taiwan’s design proficiency to the international community, as well as helping industries understand the importance of design and how it can enhance product value.