Barack Obama is already going down in history books as the coolest president, and now to add to his list of accomplishments, he's eaten with chef and legendary foodie Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam. 

Moshe Arens, a renowned Israeli politician and aeronautical engineer, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his impact on Israel through diplomacy and dedicated public diplomacy efforts on behalf of the country. 

An experimental attempt at some online diplomacy in China failed spectacularly last week when the US Embassy in Beijing's online question-and-answer session was abruptly disappeared.

Mexican officials, concerned about negative impressions of Mexico in the United States, have been rolling out a strategy to improve the image of their country and show how the relationship between the two nations has been of “mutual benefit," [...] The strategy includes “cultural diplomacy,” grass-roots activism and the deployment of Mexican community...

Joseph Nye has been the preeminent thought leader on the issue of power dynamics and relationships connecting global actors. [...] What is the future of this American century? My guess is that among the range of possible futures, ones in which a new challenger such as Europe, Russia, India, Brazil or China surpasses the United States and precipitates the end of the American centrality to the global balance of power are not impossible, but not very likely.

Among other projects, he founded Cuatro Puntos, the ambitious chamber music collective that has toured around the country and the globe in recent years as part of its declared mission of musical diplomacy and cross-cultural understanding. The group has also sponsored workshops here in Hartford called Chamber Music for Peace, with the goal of helping young musicians learn how to engage in their communities.