To be sure, these problems are difficult to resolve. The issue of refugees and displaced peoples is one of the great tests of the international humanitarian ideals of the 21st century, and of the cosmopolitan aspirations of a Europe shaped by ambition to project its soft power and good governance across the world. However, when cosmopolitanism meets state interests under economic pressure, the former is often cast aside. 

Following violent anti-asylum seeker rallies by right-wing extremist in Heidenau and xenophobic PEGIDA protests, Saxony wants to revamp its international image with the campaign "Simply Saxony." The Saxon government plans to find new ways to include the debate over refugees and migrants into the state's image campaign.

Pope Francis on Sunday decried the deaths of 71 migrants in an abandoned truck in Austria, calling it an offense against "the entire human family. We entrust each of them to the mercy of God," the pontiff said in Rome, calling on world leaders "to cooperate with effectiveness to prevent these crimes."

Let’s move away from these products and focus on how soft power actually incorporates ethical standards of behavior and important societal norms that resonate with others in the world. These fundamental norms should not surprise us: liberal ideas of individualism, economic incentives, democracy and human rights. Implementing these liberal values over many decades has led the U.S. to our dominant global economic and political position.

Foreign Policy has plotted the most common Chinese-language Baidu query for each European nation onto the map below. This provides a glimpse into how Chinese netizens view the peoples and countries of Europe — a continent whose industrialization once both humiliated China and inspired its admiration, and that has loomed large in the country’s imagination ever since. 

As President, he knew he was not just fighting physical war with the rebellious Southern states; he was fighting a war of ideas in which he had to struggle to secure a moral high ground and maintain the confidence of his own people and world opinion. Most especially, his victory required Europeans to remain at least neutral in the conflict. 

Unspooling Aug. 6-10, and an initiative of the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE), a leading European training facility, the final leg of Puentes, a film development initiative, is also a showcase for fast emerging Latin American talent.