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.

Russia has made its first appearance on the world's “soft power” rankings, coming in at 27th place, news website newsru.com reported Tuesday. The Soft Power 30 is an annual ranking compiled by London-based strategy firm Portland Communications. The company evaluates the influence each country exerts over others through means other than military power.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran raised interest not just in India but across the world. [...] The cultural agenda was covered under the largely unnoticed third agreement signed under the PM’s aegis by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation.

In recent weeks, business deals between Australian and Chinese media groups have raised concerns over potential Chinese government influence in the Australian press. But according to a report in the Australian Financial Review, the media is not the only institution that has recently received Chinese government money as part of a soft power push by Beijing.

When the Chinese government donated a library to the University of Technology Sydney few people noticed. Only slightly more seemed to care when groups friendly to Beijing began funding think tanks in Australia, making political donations and paying primary schools to run Chinese language programs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has become a leader nobody in the West is eager to host, has decided to steer toward countries with leaders he thinks might understand him: Uganda, Kenya and Somalia. [...] It's become a tradition for Erdogan to begin his foreign travels with much fanfare and overdone public relations campaigns.

The concept of ‘soft power’ and its relevance in contemporary politics as an instrument of diplomacy is being increasingly used by nations across the world in conducting their foreign policies. [...] It will try to seek a better understanding of the changing dynamics of soft power in India- South Korea relationship as pertains to Korean television channels in India and the significance of K-pop or popular Korean music especially in the north eastern parts of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi always adds a personal touch to India's diplomacy. There are his well-known bear hugs with world leaders. On his foreign trips, the social media savvy Mr Modi posted a selfie taken with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that attracted over 31 million hits on his Twitter-like Weibo account. [...] In his two years as Prime Minister, Mr Modi has sought to highlight India's soft power.