USC Center on Public Diplomacy

CPD Faculty Fellow Bruce Gregory has compiled a list of recent must-reads in public diplomacy, featuring topics such as AI, soft power, globalization, cultural & sports diplomacy, and shifting global perceptions of U.S. leadership.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/latest-must-reads-public-diplomacy-july-2026

"Even before the Internet the Cuban leadership realized that outreach to other countries was a way of ensuring the Revolution’s survival. A small country could show the world how to withstand the pressure of its powerful neighbor," writes Ambassador Paul Hare for the CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/cubas-public-diplomacy-can-it-be-effective-against-trumps-threats

"Messages detach from their original setting almost immediately. They move across domestic and foreign publics at once, get reframed by intermediaries, and return carrying meanings the sender never offered," writes Naseem Qader for the CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/influence-without-persuasion-public-diplomacy-legibility-infrastructure

"Some passports provide access to much of the world, while others face growing barriers to international travel," writes Naseem Qader for the CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/ticket-was-never-enough-access-and-public-diplomacy

"Every effective diplomat, scholar, and practitioner of diplomacy eventually discovers that countries cannot be understood from the outside looking in," writes Dr. Lamia Zia in a new CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/landing-land-smiles-my-first-lessons-indonesia

“...To stay at number 4 in a soft power world of 193 nations remains a remarkable achievement, a tribute to how often Britain still succeeds in offering to the world its distinctive blends of tradition and modernity," writes David Ellwood for the CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/british-soft-power-force-attraction-versus-force-example

The may be over, but its biggest lessons extend far beyond the game. In the latest installment of his series, USC Master of Public Diplomacy Director Jay Wang explores how the 2026 World Cup reshaped perceptions of the U.S., highlighted the power of diaspora communities, and showed that the most effective public diplomacy comes through lived experience—not messaging.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/world-cup%E2%80%99s-bigger-story-public-diplomacy-beyond-game

A new 'Public Diplomacy in the News' roundup features MMA diplomacy, America's soft power at a crossroads, & more

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/public-diplomacy-news-trumps-world-cup-intervention-mma-diplomacy-more

"The destruction of cultural heritage sites, particularly in contemporary conflicts, is a potential opening for external powers to shape influence, legitimacy and security in post-war environments," writes Linda Jisun Lee for the CPD Blog.

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/strategic-heritage-engagement-bridging-hard-power-and-public-diplomacy

"A country aspiring to captivate foreign audiences must identify and cultivate widely appealing resources rooted in its culture, values, foreign policy, and overall accomplishments," writes Daniele Carminati in a new CPD Blog article

🔗: https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/soft-power-and-globalization-attraction-relies-connectivity