Over the past ten years since 9/11, event after event in and outside Afghanistan has overshadowed the need to connect with the Afghan people and to deliver on their basic expectations for peace, justice, and prosperity. Even though NATO member-states increasingly appreciate the importance of public diplomacy at home and abroad, they have largely faltered to engage and listen to the Afghan people on how to secure Afghanistan.

Good cultural diplomacy is always drawn from the unique.  American country music is one area that projects a wholly American image of the rugged hero sitting high in the saddle or a scorned yet powerful woman singing about lost love. Country songs are about what the French would call la condition humaine, universal stories strummed on a guitar. As such, country music has a vast global appeal.

How country music shapes America's brand status. 

The world of the Indian diplomat has changed. An important chronicler of this change has been former diplomat Kishan Singh Rana (IFS, 1960), ambassador and high commissioner to many countries and author of many books including Managing Corporate Culture (2000)...

India's strength does not lie with its nuclear weapons or its missiles or the size of its armed forces. India real strength lies with the IT, its culture, its civilization and its vibrant democracy. Today, India's soft power is everywhere, in every nook and corner of the world and you see India through its dance, through its music, though its food...

The trial of hedge-fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam has riveted the financial world and shined a light on the phenomenal success and insularity of the Indians, Pakistanis, Bengalis, and Sri Lankans flooding the American financial sector, writes Gary Weiss.

External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna is starting a three-day official visit to Nepal from 20 April 2011. His visit comes at a time when Nepal is passing through political and economic uncertainties. The deadline for the drafting of the constitution is drawing nearer and the exercise has to be completed within the next forty days.

Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit to Pakistan has reinforced the stable and mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by the two countries. A significant part of the visit was dedicated to public diplomacy whilst interacting with children and students – the future of Pakistan.