Sports diplomacy builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools – in this case the game of basketball – to bring people together to foster greater understanding.

Part of the Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, this exchange builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools – in this case the game of basketball – to bring people together to foster greater understanding.

If the BCCI gets together with the ministry of external affairs, the potential for track two, or 'doosra' diplomacy can be exploited to the fullest with countries with whom we have outstanding issues. The 'doosra' may well prove more productive than the mainstream efforts of our envoys because it appeals directly to the masses.

As part of the “Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative,” the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and U.S. Soccer announced today that the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will take to the soccer field and lead a event for Japanese youth...

Michael Brooke, the Public Diplomacy officer at the US embassy said: “We hope the visit will inspire more women and girls to become involved in sports and experience the benefits of participation; improved health, greater self-esteem, and greater academic success.

This summer the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will be jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland: An excellent opportunity for the European community to bond over its favorite sport, and for Ukraine, which for a long time has been aspiring EU membership, to promote its image.

APDS Blogger: Molly Krasnodebska

Throughout the last decade, no message was promoted stronger in the European Union than the idea of a new Europe, which has overcome its past of war and totalitarianism, and has emerged as a normative power standing for international cooperation, democracy, and human rights.

And yet when it comes to the recent events in Ukraine, discussed below, European soft power appears rather meager.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) SportsUnited division announced a basketball exchange program that will send four Zimbabweans -- three teenage girls and a coach -- to the United States for twelve-days of dynamic activities as part of the new Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative.