This government has no feeling for 'soft power,' " Kinsman says, "because it still has little feeling for the world landscape except from the standpoint of Canadian business interests.

There is not much Germany can do about it but to continue being a peaceful and democratic country using its economic and ‘soft’ power to advance along its own interests the interests of the EU it now leads.

Brand strategist Peter Economides knows about taking brands at their lowest ebb and turning them into world-beaters. He was part of the team that helped create Apple’s “Think Different” campaign in 1997. ....Economides believes that Greece is at the point where an inspired and properly managed rebranding campaign could turn it into the “Apple of the Mediterranean.”

Canada will be able to "punch above its weight" at the G20 summit as a result of the country's reputation as a strong performer during the recession, say some observers.

Rebuilding the financial reputation of the United States will be Gary Locke's top priority when he arrives in Beijing on Friday as the US ambassador to China, experts said... And he will certainly engage in public diplomacy, promoting human rights and Western values...

American scholar Michael Mandelbaum has sparked much debate thanks to a book he has just published titled The Frugal Superpower: America’s Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era. Mr Mandelbaum’s argument...is that the United States, because of its debt obligations following from the 2008 financial crisis, but also because of its fiscal structure and major entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, can no longer afford to play the international role it has for decades.

Albanians are by far the largest groups of foreign workers in Greece, estimated at 650,000 to 800,000, and have been among the first to feel the current turmoil. Since the onset of the global financial crisis, the woes of Albanian migrant workers in Greece and Italy, Western Europe and the United States have been reflected in the decline of their remittances, which sank to a five-year low last year.