The U.S. may have mastered the notion of soft power. But if there is one thing we can say about the world’s No. 2 economy it is this: those guys in China sure know how to imitate. China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is soft power at it best.

Few Westerners doubt the South Caucasus country of Georgia’s commitment to eventual integration with Europe. But as a massive currency devaluation tightens the squeeze on Georgia’s relatively fragile economy, calls are increasing for ordinary Georgians to reconsider the actual benefits of that commitment.

As One Belt, One Road initiatives are based on China and other countries involved in the projects working closely together and sharing commercial and other benefits, Beijing needs to ensure friendly relations with its neighbors and regional powers.

Only in recent years has Russia begun to pay attention to soft power, and develop the tools that might help convey a positive Russian image abroad. In the meantime, China and the United States have developed their own presence in the region, and the Kremlin has seen a decline in Russian language use in the region.

The rise in multilateral funding, the IDC noted, had been accompanied by a relative decline in spending on programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and on some key millennium development goal targets. It urged DfID to spend more on bilateral programmes, on sub-Saharan Africa, and to “significantly increase spending on reproductive health”.

With a massive invasion by U.S. ground troops ruled out — for now — the debate in Washington over what to do about Islamic State militants has shifted into the realm of diplomacy and “soft power.”

In a move aimed at easing Western sanctions and its economic isolation, along with promoting higher education development and regional cooperation, Iran is continuing to establish more branch campuses of its universities across the Arab states.

The chairman of the country's leading think-tank, Jiro Hanyu from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, believes that this negative trend is temporary, and underlined that they are trying to do everything in their power to increase mutual understanding between the Japanese and Muslim communities.