India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in May 2014. [...] His political mandate to foster economic growth has become a tool to reach out to the international community and, simultaneously, to reshape India’s image. His interactions with political leaders from other countries have generally increased global interest in India and gained favourable comment in the foreign press.

The Reagan Library will welcome its newest exhibit next week, displaying works of art that until now have been seen only in embassies outside the United States. In its historic debut at the Reagan Library at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley, the Foundation for Arts and Preservation in Embassies will present its Original Print, Photography and Site-Specific collections from June 23 to Aug. 7.

Anticipating criticism about including a country like Russia in the top-30, the report’s authors claimed that Moscow’s role in combatting ISIS – as well as the fact that it didn’t advance its position any further into Ukraine – appeared to help international perception. “Russia performed markedly better on the international polling in 2016, compared with 2015,” the report’s authors noted.

To those who study nation branding, this entrepreneurial bent is a strong part of America’s brand, or the image it projects to the world. Peter Hirshberg, CEO of The Re:Imagine Group and a former Apple executive, notes that the U.S. offers an “opportunity promise” to people around the globe, a promise that includes “a deep streak of individual liberty.”

The United States has overtaken Britain as the world’s leading “soft power”, according to a survey claiming that US President Barack Obama’s diplomatic moves in Iran, Cuba and Asia have helped to shift global opinion of the superpower. [...] The Soft Power 30 survey uses a range of polling and digital data to measure a country’s appeal on issues ranging from government, culture and cuisine to education, enterprise and the attractiveness of luxury brands.

Indeed, Nollywood has become a global phenomenon in the contemporary times. According to Tochukwu J. Okeke, the industry has grown so big today that it is considered a cultural export for Nigeria as it selects most of its themes from the culture of the people, not minding the multiplicity of Nigerian cultures since film can be used “as a catalyst towards the integration of the various ethnic cultures in Nigeria to the extent that it now commands a wide viewership across the African continent and beyond.

Audiences most likely know Egyptian-American stand-up comedian Ahmed Ahmed as a member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. “Comedians have become, most recently, cultural ambassadors of the world,” Ahmed said. “Whether you're in Africa, or America, or Russia, or Asia, laughter is the common language of the world.”