Either Europeans will develop the security and defense identity they have advertised for so long, so Europe can have its own credible voice in a world not only run by soft power, or given the expense and difficulties of defeating even Libya, they will simply stop trying. The jury is out, but the verdict is important.

The youth here dislike the armed forces. They are confused and susceptible to being radicalised. Unemployment level is high. It is a challenge dealing with them and that is why we are focusing on the soft power aspect. We have held interactions with students from Kashmir University and are now tapping into the National Cadet Corps, sensitising them.

Following the work of American scholar Joseph Nye, it is common for analysts to limit the debate on national strength to hard and soft power, with a combination supposedly forming "smart power." However, the patterns of Beijing's transformation invite an enlargement on these reflections to consider a third dimension of power, "subtle power," which is, to a certain extent, the application of some of China's highest philosophical principles in the field of strategy.

In these times, it's apt to project a Chinese global narrative through increasingly sophisticated media, and while China is promoting Mandarin in more than 300 Confucius Institutes all over the world, it is also increasingly attracting more foreign students to its universities.

...despite the usual military posturing, the Prime Minister has come to understand that Canada’s claim to the North will be pressed by means other than guns and warships....the search-and-rescue operation designed to make a statement about Canadian sovereignty is actually an essential capability critical for northern economic development.

Second, the project will enable China to combine the three branches of its armed forces to build up oceanic fleets and facilitate its military diplomacy...Most importantly, the project will highlight China's position as a major power and satisfy the Chinese people's emotional needs and nationalistic sentiments...."When the two sides go to the negotiation table, they would count on both their hard power and soft power"

The term "soft power" refers to using warships for humanitarian purposes, such disaster relief, which had not been a Chinese capability . Now it has recently built a... hospital ship and... Landing Platform Dock helicopter landing ship — both of which deployed to Middle East nations in 2010.

It is not just in the realm of hard power that the United Kingdom is becoming dangerously weakened; many of our most important soft power assets are also being reduced. This ignores a very important and unchanging fact: ultimately it is power that underpins the prosperity and freedoms that so many of us take for granted.