soft power
The EU has always talked a good game about soft power: the civilising influence of its peaceful, rules-based example. The plight of its neighbouring regions makes that talk look increasingly cheap. As long as chaos reigns close to Europe, people will risk their lives to come here. The solution to the migrant problem lies at the source.
In the increasingly frigid environment of U.S.-Russia relations, much attention is given to what may be seen as Russia's strategic "interests." [...] Of at least equal significance for understanding Russian attitudes, however, is a grasp of the values, the moral framework for Russia's foreign policy.
China’s Confucius Institute, a controversial arm of the Chinese regime’s public diplomacy apparatus, is coming under pressure in Russia, with prosecutors from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far east of the country calling for the local branch to be closed because it is not properly registered with the authorities.

The article traces the history of Japan's cultural diplomacy policy to offer a critical assessment of its strengths and failings.
The website of Lianhe Zaobao has helped Singapore's leading Chinese-language newspaper become an important symbol of the Republic's soft power, a prominent Chinese thinker said last night as the online portal marked its 20th anniversary.
Known as "panda diplomacy," China has long been sending its pandas as gifts to other countries as a sign of friendship. [...] We chart the course of Jia Jia's life in parallel with the extraordinary changes in China over the past four decades.