The inherent assumption that the European Union’s status as a non-military, ethical actor and therefore a source for good within the international system is based heavily on the idea that it represents and projects the norms of the European people

America is a meticulously constructed brand; it is the indispensable nation with exceptional power. There is no country as adept at branding as the United States.

Given its economic and political might, it would be foolish to predict the decline of the US. It has systematically been able to extend its dominant role.

Established powers' resistance to their rising counterparts' demands for a larger role in setting the global agenda fuel tensions and disrupt the existing world order. That is precisely what has been occurring lately between China and the United States, and is the impetus for China's "Asia for the Asians" policy.

How can democracies fight this ideology? People may die, but ideologies are forever. I suggest that we begin to think of the Islamic State as having soft power but with its own evil spin.

Three fundamental and one extraneous force are currently colliding in our region. Each of these forces has its own agenda and because none of them is truly dominant, the end result is a clash rather than competition.

The obituary of the American century has been written, but there are very good reasons to believe that the USA will continue to play a dominant role in the 21stcentury. America’s continued dominance is based on its ability to project both hard and soft power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s covert aggression in Ukraine continues – and so do Western sanctions against his country. But the economy is not all that is under threat; Russia’s soft power is dwindling, with potentially devastating results.