Through the lens of American influence and power, Bridget Kendall and guests explore how power is being adapted and deployed by countries and organisations around the World. 

In addition to tropical scenes and hand-rolled cigars, doctors have become yet another leading force of human resources characteristic of Cuba, not only earning respect and hard currencies from the rest of the world, but also building soft power for the Caribbean island.

China has been making major efforts to increase its ability to influence other countries without force or coercion. [...] China has emphasized its cultural and economic strengths, but it has paid less attention to the political aspects that can undermine its efforts.

When Rafidah Abd Rahim traveled to Japan from Singapore last year, the recent college graduate was relieved to find a goodly number of lifestyle offerings for Muslim travelers, such as halal food—that is, fare that complies with Islamic dietary guidelines—and easily available prayer rooms.

Several archaeological sites have been attacked by Islamic State jihadis in Iraq and Syria. […] “I think the growing awareness that hard power will not be enough to defeat violent extremism is gaining ground. We need also soft power,” [Irina] Bokova said. “Culture should be part of our response to violent extremism”.

The 2015 European Games may have lacked the coverage of the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup, but for Azerbaijan where they are set to come to a close, they have been a source of pride for the government. President Ilham Aliyev invested heavily in the 17-day competition, spending in the region of $1.2bn on state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure. For Aliyev, the event was an opportunity to showcase Azerbaijan to the world as an exciting and dynamic country. Some foreign reporte