What do American comedy shows, such as South Park, an animated cartoon sitcom, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a parody of news broadcasts, have to do with public diplomacy? Well, more than you think.

Congressional lawmakers are scrambling to prevent America's international media arm from going off-air in China, arguing that a plan to shift much of its reporting to the Internet won't do much good in a country notorious for its web censors.

Over the summer, there were numerous instances of sports diplomacy in practice throughout the world.

The steepest decline in American prestige took place during the Bush years, and President Obama doesn't look like he has the wherewithal to reverse the trend. Overleveraging of credit led to a housing bubble in the US and then to a full-blown financial crisis that enveloped the world in 2008.

Britain's soft power which was becoming more perceptible with the migration of more than 20 million Britons from the years 1650 to 1950 to outside of Europe would continuously spread the English language, teaching administration, customs and Christianity. The term “Anglicization” was used exactly like the more recent “Americanization” to describe the process of dissemination of the English culture. The passage of time proved that neither hard nor soft power guaranteed the sustenance of the Empire.

The American image now faces several new and worrisome challenges: doubts about its superpower status, a decline in favorability among some of the closest allies, and giving more and more consideration to the People’s Republic of China as superpower.

Today the significant opportunity in brand building is to maximize one idea across the globe, to create an inspirational rallying cry for a global consumer movement. It isn’t easy to communicate across different cultures and countries while having one overall brand that really makes an impact.The digital revolution is about getting people to love your brand, no matter where they are in the world.

Few Americans know, or much care, about the opinions foreigners hold of the United States. This was displayed during the ignorant and solipsistic debate over when or whether the United States will pay its debts, which concluded Tuesday with a promise that it will soon be renewed.