This book considers how public diplomacy is employed as an instrument of statecraft by Middle Eastern and Asian governments to leverage soft power. Senior, mid-career, and junior academics and think tanks synthesise their expertise to deploy historical, geopolitical, and economic approaches in their analyses, and observe how new practices of public diplomacy have been developed, tested, and applied in the two regions. Building and extending on the extant scholarship, which remains mostly focused on East Asia, it incorporates the Middle East not only as a recipient but also a practitioner of public diplomacy. The thematic focus is underpinned by case studies of individual nation-states, enabling analysis of concrete examples that shed light on the evolution of Asia-Middle East ties.

This volume is an essential reference for scholars and policymakers in the fields of international relations, international political economy, and area studies who seek to explore relations between these two geographical areas beyond traditional diplomacy.