Mr Kerry will have big shoes to fill. Mrs Clinton's tireless public diplomacy has helped repair the damage to America's standing on the global stage and world leaders have been begging her to stay in the job. At the state department, Clinton laid the foundations for a "smart power" approach to the exercise of American leadership. Although Mr Kerry's view of American power is similar, his style will be very different. It's unclear whether he will be keen on public diplomacy.

Prior to the arrival of the Arab Spring, Turkey's longer-term objective was to broaden its influence in the Middle East by promoting a 'zero-problems' foreign policy, not dissimilar to the European Union's 'Neighborhood Policy' of engagement with the 'near-abroad'...The surest test of whether Turkey's attempt to use soft power to successfully influence its relationships with its neighbors will now be what happens in Syria.

Where does China’s soft power stem from, and what are its implications for the US? China’s economic power is the key motor behind its mounting soft power.America remains the most powerful state in the international system. No country in the world has more ‘global’ interests than the US. China’s growing soft power affects American interests around the world therefore, a thorough assessment of this process is imperative.

APDS Blogger: Dao-Chau Nguyen and Danni Li

Since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was launched in 2010, China has now become the organization's largest trading partner. Now to catch up with bilateral economic achievements, cultural exchange and cooperation are being emphasized.

Japanese is the most widely taught foreign language in Australia, and students choose to study it not only for future employment prospects but for the pop cultural intrigue as well.

The allocation of a piece of land to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in Kuwait is part of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) launched in 2004, a senior Kuwaiti official has said. “The move consolidates Kuwait’s interest in international missions, especially that Kuwait was the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to join the ICI,”

"I will definitely keep my promise to open a new era of the Korean peninsula through strong security and diplomacy on the basis of mutual trust," the 60-year old conservative leader said. During the campaign, both Park and her main challenger Moon Jae-in offered competing commitment to improve ties with Pyongyang and its new leader Kim Jong-un.