With the recent earthquakes that devastated Haiti and Chile, the concept of aid diplomacy has arisen in the global consciousness. Aid diplomacy is predicated on the notion that in times of crisis, nations can do well in public diplomacy terms by doing good works for those in need.

In his telephone call to new British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday night, President Obama underscored his commitment to the "special relationship" between the two countries. That was a diplomatic necessity given the long alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, but the reality might be that the concept has outlived its usefulness.

We're back at that old game of winning the hearts and minds of people who want to kill us. Except the problem is becoming a homegrown one. Faisal Shahzad may have had any number of motivations to detonate a bomb in Times Square, but his intent was harming his fellow Americans.

Amid the ongoing war of words between the U.S. and Iran, one of the more unusual broadsides from Tehran is that a terrorist organization bent on overthrowing its government has for years used America's second-largest city as a safe haven.

The Obama administration's decision to seek a new way forward in U.S.-Burma relations recognizes that decades of trying to isolate Burma (aka Myanmar) in order to change the behavior of its government have achieved little. As Burma's ruling generals prepare to hold elections later this year — for the first time since 1990 — it is time to try something different.

China wants to teach the world its language and culture, and Ms. Zheng is one of about 325 guest teachers who have volunteered to work for up to three years in American schools, with their salaries subsidized by the Chinese government. A parallel effort has sent about 2,000 American school administrators to visit China at Beijing’s expense.

In late March, twelve students from the Masters in Public Diplomacy (MPD) program at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism participated in a weeklong conference in Dubai as part of a student exchange with the American University in Dubai's (AUD) Mohammed Bin Rashid School for Communication (MBRSC).

So, is this finally the new Russia, reaching out without the defensiveness that has so long characterized its attitude toward the rest of world? Particularly with regard to the United States, the answer is "No."