Don Starr says that he remembers thinking after the Confucius Institutes initiative was announced in 2004 that: ‘This is going to have a big impact.’His instincts seem to have been right. When I spoke to the long-time China educator and scholar about the now seven-year-old Chinese soft power programme, he also told me that one of the reasons it can be considered a huge success is its unexpectedly rapid expansion. ‘

Eighteen pages into his opening address at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Thursday, Jia Qinglin paused to note the importance of promoting China abroad.

How should Europe present itself in this age of smart power and public diplomacy? I suggest three images that Europe could strive to promote to foreign audiences, especially the US.

How should Europe present itself in this age of smart power and public diplomacy? I suggest three images that Europe could strive to promote to foreign audiences, especially the US.

f the United States wants to get Gaddafi out of power in Libya, communication, rather that military tools, might be more effective. Matt Armstrong, lecturer on public diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, told PRI's The Takeaway...

Over 10 days in February, the island of Lampedusa saw its biggest arrival of undocumented immigrants from nearby North Africa. Six thousand young Tunisian men and a handful of women, packed into fishing boats with as many as 200 aboard, made the perilous journey across 70 miles of open ocean to the southernmost Italian outpost.

Chinese leaders repeatedly assure other nations that they have nothing to fear from China's "peaceful rise" - its emergence as a major economic and diplomatic player on the global stage. There are indications, however, that China's increasing economic strength is translating into applications of influence and power that are less benign than Beijing would have the world believe.