Performing as facilitator of dialogue and negotiation between Obama and Castro has positioned the Pope once more as a political leader and as a representative of Faith Diplomacy efforts in world politics.

In an interview with The Washington Post in November, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the U.S.-Japan alliance “the cornerstone of Japanese diplomacy,” a stance supported by the U.S. State Department, whose website asserts, “Japan contributes irreplaceable political, financial and moral support to U.S.-Japan diplomatic efforts.” However, such official comments on Tokyo-Washington ties are misleading, believes Sayo Saruta, the director of Japanese think tank New Diplomacy Initiative.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea signed a military pact that will lead to the three countries sharing intelligence and other sensitive information on North Korea’s progress toward a nuclear missile as well as the state of the country’s general military preparedness.

A new poll by Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Shibley Telhami dives below “approve/disapprove” numbers to offer a sophisticated picture of American public views of the campaign against ISIS and the broader conflict in Syria and Iraq.

In a move that heightened tensions with Israel and could lead to cuts in U.S. aid, the Palestinians on Friday delivered to U.N. headquarters documents on joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties.

Making the case for an economic return on investment in science can be difficult, but space exploration drives innovative thought and pushes the government and industry to develop new technologies, many of which ultimately find their way into the consumer market, according to a comprehensive study of the US space program by the National Research Council. And continued US leadership in space is a useful demonstration of soft power, the NRC found.

The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives ... and influencing foreign public and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and Government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world, including Somali Diaspora Worldwide.