Film Forward is a new U.S. government program whereby the Sundance Institute, in collaboration with federal partners, pick 10 recent local and foreign films to screen around the world.

The yellow gloves to promote unity against poverty aren't just a symbolic gesture. Neither was getting elected to congress in the Philippines. Manny Pacquiao is celebrated like no other Filipino athlete. But his legacy may one day be more important for what he does outside the ring.

The assassination of bin Laden was a watershed moment; Obama decided to realize the international role of authority that the US has assumed since World War II.

Few people have influenced the contemporary debate over the contested notion of power in recent years as much as Joseph S. Nye. A long time Harvard Professor, Nye served in the US government, and combines the insights of a practitioner and scholar to examine the nature and uses of power in a changing world.

China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes. This has become particularly poignant at a time when, in stark contrast, the U.S. public diplomacy enterprise is facing shrinking budgets.

China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes.

Osama bin Laden was a powerful man, although he used it for vicious ends. He had hard power, the power of explosives and kamikaze strikes, but he also had soft power, the ability to turn young people into ruthless suicide bombers. The most fearful part of Bin Laden's strength is not his unpredictable way to launch terrorist attack, but the charisma that united anti-US forces from all over the world.

Last year more than 57 million Chinese traveled outside the country, making the Chinese now the world's fourth biggest spenders on tourism. My uneasiness stems from the fact that Chinese tourists of tomorrow are quickly becoming the successors to the "ugly Americans" of the last century.