According to a U.S. State Department official, the concept of “smart power” ― the intelligent integration and networking of diplomacy, defense, development, and other tools of so-called “hard” and “soft” power ― is at the heart of the Obama administration’s foreign-policy vision. Currently, however, Obama’s smart-power strategy is facing a stiff challenge from events in the Middle East.

The increasingly assertive role in international politics being promoted by Bejing since the Group of 20 was set-up has been accompanied by a strategy of cultural diplomacy designed to project soft power to the rest of the world.

But can Israel implement an effective public diplomacy and harness “soft power” with the citizenry of its neighborhood? The answer must be yes; but Israeli public diplomacy strategy and analysis over the past decade provide little guidance for outreach to Arab publics.

As oppressive Arab regimes totter and topple under the pressure of democratization movements, Israel needs to engage directly with the region’s increasingly politically empowered peoples. But can Israel implement an effective public diplomacy and harness “soft power” with the citizenry of its neighborhood? The answer must be yes; but Israeli public diplomacy strategy and analysis over the past decade provide little guidance for outreach to Arab publics.

Western countries are urgently considering a number of options for intervention in Libya, ranging from military operations to diplomatic initiatives and stepped-up humanitarian assistance.

Late last year, a senior official from the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing announced that there were now over 40 million foreign learners worldwide studying Chinese.

If you're wondering whether this a joke -- it indeed is. But it also isn't. The Global Times is not in the business of emulating The Onion, the popular online spoof newspaper, but in the serious business of exercising Chinese soft power by providing its take on news around the world.