That open-air midday prayer video on YouTube illustrates the operational capacity of Turkey as a natural extension of European soft power in the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey would definitely hold greater sway in the region if it was a member of the EU. But that requires visionary European leaders.

The Prime Minister said the international community needed to use a combination of military action or "hard power" and "soft power" like diplomacy and financial aid. He argued that the people of the Arab world had made clear their aspirations for greater freedom...

While Beijing’s mission to the E.U. in Brussels rarely used to engage with the diplomatic community and issue statements on China’s core interests, she said, its soft-power strategy in the region is winning over some of Europe's political elites.

The survey's banner findings concern American public opinion's shift towards Asia over Europe, particularly among the younger generation of Americans. For the first time ever, more Americans (51 percent) believe that Asian countries, such as China, Japan, or South Korea, are more important...

Because being "pro-Europe" is a faith cult rather than a policy, its adherents dare not raise a peep of protest at its outrages. Not for the first time in Europe's history, a centralised superstate stalks the continent with a retinue of uncritical appeasers unable to see the wood for the tax-free salaries.

NATO Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy Stefanie Babst pointed out that the pace of cooperation between NATO and Serbia depends on the country alone...The public needs to be informed about the effect of NATO and EU on citizens' lives.

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, issues almost daily scoldings to nasty regimes. But tyrants hardly tremble...The stalling of EU expansion has dented its soft power to its east. The show trial of Ukraine’s opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has drawn no serious sanction from the EU.