Though Greek culture is famous for its sociability and its nightlife, the country’s economic crisis is making people spend a little more time at home with their TVs. And with Greek TV channels looking for cheaper content, the airwaves are now filled with imported Turkish soap operas, says Asli Tunç, head of the Media School at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Greeks have been enthralled by Turkish TV series "The Magnificent Century" in recent months. The series is comprised of historical recreations of 16th-century Sultan Suleiman's life and slick soap opera-like tales of intrigue and family drama... Greek nationalists view the series as being a Turkish invasion of sorts, while others see opportunities for beneficial cultural exchange.

Greek TV channels realised that buying the glitzy tales of forbidden love... from long-standing regional rival Turkey, was cheaper than filming their own..."Greeks feel closer to Turks than they did," he told Reuters. "Sometimes soft power is more important than political power."

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.”

Many Europeans realize that their futures are being increasingly dictated by Germany and France...There is grumbling across the continent and an anti-German tone to street protests in Greece..."This crisis is profoundly transforming European integration"

[The EU] allows for members to deal with major cross-border issues such as migration and criminality and trade more effectively... It is a prime example of "soft power"; it has brought peace and stability.

Harvard professor Joseph Nye talks of a world shaped by the shifting distribution of power from West to East and the growing dispersal of power from state to citizens.The “Arab Spring” is the most spectacular example...

In the last hundred days, the world has seen not only how weak and divided are the European members of NATO, but also how the once-celebrated European notion of "soft power" means very little in the world of perpetually savage nations. What stops China from carving out a new co-prosperity sphere in Asian waters...