Before going out of session this December, Congress both approved a number of key international development and humanitarian assistance measures and built vital momentum that will be crucial in passing food security legislation in the 114th Congress.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has defended his decision to play golf in Hawaii with United States President Barack Obama at a time when his country was facing the worst flood in decades, calling it "golf diplomacy".

Obama clearly views Hollywood as an expression of American soft power, and its ability to shape the preference and perceptions of other nations.  As for the North Korean regime ... Hollywood movies, in their most surreal forms, constitute a direct assault on political fantasies, which underpin autocracies and their megalomaniac leaders.

Established powers' resistance to their rising counterparts' demands for a larger role in setting the global agenda fuel tensions and disrupt the existing world order. That is precisely what has been occurring lately between China and the United States, and is the impetus for China's "Asia for the Asians" policy.

A look at the events in 2014 likely to have the most lasting impact on the region and beyond.

This holiday season has stood out a bit from others, being the first time, at least as far as I can recall, that cyber warfare and the fictional assassination of North Korea's Supreme Leader have featured so very prominently in news and personal discussions. The Sony Pictures release of The Interview [...] has actually generated some interesting ideas about cybersecurity, information warfare, and a host of other issues.

One of the most admirable aspects of Obama-era foreign policy has been the decision to use American soft power to actively promote LGBTQ rights, including in Europe.

Targeting a Hollywood studio from behind computer terminals accomplishes more or less the same goal, instilling fear and insecurity at the heart of American exportable "soft power."