SBY also has a vision of world peace, with his proposal for a triple-track solution for the future of Iraq as an example. However, the President’s most popular vision was perhaps on Indonesia’s soft power diplomacy, which he presented before a UN forum and USINDO in 2007. He envisaged that many conflicts in the world could not reach peaceful solution as actors pursued solely hard power.

Barclays Premier League side Liverpool Football Club from England will establish an international academy and soccer schools in Indonesia this June to aid the country’s sports development, claiming it would not only groom young Indonesian players but also give them a shot at the world stage.

Good cultural diplomacy is always drawn from the unique.  American country music is one area that projects a wholly American image of the rugged hero sitting high in the saddle or a scorned yet powerful woman singing about lost love. Country songs are about what the French would call la condition humaine, universal stories strummed on a guitar. As such, country music has a vast global appeal.

How country music shapes America's brand status. 

The best way for the public to cope with the unlawful Indonesia Islamic State (NII) movement is with soft power rather than an iron-fist approach, Army chief Gen. George Toisutta says.

In Indonesia, home to 205 million Muslims — the greatest Islamic population in any nation— the administration recently opened in an upscale shopping mall a state-of-the-art, high-tech cultural centre. It is focused specifically on the country’s vast number of teenagers and twentysomethings.

Last week, I participated in an official visit to Indonesia with the president of Turkey, Abdullah Gül. I was told that Mr. Gül often asks academics to accompany him during official visits abroad and this time it was my turn.