The strength of China's soft power within the emerging world is primarily driven by the growth of its multinational powerhouses, booming tourism and the rapid expansion and ranking of its universities, said the report, with the country ranking first among all emerging economies in these three key aspects.

The United States and Russia are increasing people-to-people connections through education, culture, sports, media, and other professional interactions. Interaction among NGOs, artists and arts groups, businesses, academics and young athletes is growing.

London's “world-class” universities can replace the military in projecting Britain’s influence overseas and bring long-term economic benefits to the UK, a top London academic said today...Universities could play a vital role in improving Britain’s future by selling their expertise to countries such as China, India, and expanding nations in central Asia and the Gulf.

China ranks top among emerging economies in exercising intangible power, according to the soft power index report released by consulting firm Ernst & Young...A country's intangible power varies in terms of global image, global integration and global integrity, each of which include several factors such as media exports, tourism and carbon emissions, according to Ernst & Young.

Confucius Institutes (CIs) and Confucius Classrooms (CCs) have mushroomed in the US since the establishment of the first CI at the University of Maryland in 2004. Currently there are 81 CIs and more than 300 CCs in the US. Since its establishment, the CI-UHM has contributed greatly to the US, both educationally and economically, via academic activities and cultural exchanges.

Public diplomacy must take the format from the military, considering every situation which threatens Israel’s image as if it was a conventional attack. Hasbara war rooms, coordinating all of the players, must be manned 24 hours a day and on alert for potential threats. Extensive preparations need to be made weeks in advance in cases such as the flotilla.

Far from being rendered irrelevant by technological progress, where governments can communicate with one another directly on a need-to basis, diplomacy has become an increasingly critical instrument in an age of interdependence and globalization.