According to the Overseas Chinese Cultural Centers Development Plan, issued by the Ministry of Culture, China will form a relatively complete global network of cultural centers by 2020 to further promote Chinese culture and enhance the role of overseas cultural promotion.

...it is time for Europe to adopt a different strategy toward Russia, its biggest and most important eastern neighbor. In practice, it means recognizing that Europe’s interests are best served by pursuing its values with soft-power instruments like trade and visa policy, as its relations with North Africa and the Middle East before the Arab Spring show.

Given the United States’ weak economic position, the Obama administration’s ability to compete with China’s ‘soft power’ has gradually diminished. All this has meant that not only is the United States having problems ‘charming’ states such as Cambodia and Laos, but it’s also facing difficulties in retaining the loyalty of long-time allies such as Thailand and the Philippines.

“Chinglish” is more closely tied to topics of globalization and the intersection of U.S. and Chinese business and culture, than to more traditional notions of Asian-American identity. But the play provokes questions about bilingualism and relationships within communities and cultures – subjects with which Asian-Americans can easily identify.

One of the aims of RIFF is to project local folk music in a more contemporary and global setting. Part of the idea behind the five-day festival is to encourage musical collaborations across countries and genres.

Rather than seeking to change the Afghan uniformed services into clones of the Germans, the Poles or the Australians, it would be both cheaper and more effective to have such training carried out by a nearby military that shares several cultural and historical links with the people of Afghanistan.

American bilateral aid is essential to maintaining American influence through a soft-power, or "smart" power, approach. American cultural and economic influence grew throughout the Cold War, in large part because of bilateral American aid through the Marshall Plan.

After having won many hearts and minds in the Arab world, the Turkish prime minister continued to the Balkans and South Africa last week, presenting Turkey as a confident new player on the world stage. Read the international media coverage of these visits and you can see how big the impact is of this Turkish soft power offensive.