The practice of public diplomacy has evolved over past decades towards countries such as Egypt. From cultural exchanges and international development efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Jimmy Carter peace initiatives with the U.S. and other allies, the relations between the U.S. and Egypt have been defined by numerous public diplomacy initiatives. Likewise, the challenges the U.S. faces in engaging and “winning” audiences in the Middle East have also drastically changed, over the last ten years.

This debate is broadly about American power. But power is a nuanced concept. It manifests itself both through military muscle and cultural influence. The candidates’ stump speeches rarely delineate this distinction. But global publics do. Recent opinion surveys suggest that people outside the United States question American hard power and increasingly embrace U.S. soft power.

APDS Blogger: Lydia Marcos

Tara D Sonenshine is the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs at the US Department of State. In an interview with Forbes India, Sonenshine discusses initiatives to promote public diplomacy with India and how the Indian diaspora in the US is an important voice in this process.

While the US was flexing its muscles in Iraq and Afghanistan... taking a much less outspoken but nonetheless more effective approach of "soft power" penetrated the abandoned regions. The role of the frontrunner among new patrons of the developed world was unambiguously taken by China, which has established itself as the number one trade partner and a prominent investor not only in Africa...

I particularly like the idea of “using food as a foundation for public diplomacy programs to learn about different cultures and discuss important related issues such as nutrition, sustainability and food security.”

Recently, American Voices held its annual Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academy in the city of Duhok, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq... At American Voices, we believe that cultural diplomacy requires sustained engagement and as such this year marked our sixth summer performing arts academy program in Iraq.

“Min hem ya neem,” bellowed the baritone Kurdish Hamlet. To be or not to be—always a good question to be asked of any public diplomacy venture.