Japan and South Korea are building on a long interest in a country notable for its cheap labour and 90m-strong consumer market. From Hanoi’s point of view, there is a political imperative to draw more foreign investment because of structural economic problems such as bad debts and inefficient state companies, which have dragged Vietnam’s growth down from above 7 per cent a year before the western financial crisis to 5.4 per cent in 2013.

Last week, a report from a committee of the House of Lords offered a brutal judgement on British and European policy toward Russia. Europe went “sleep-walking” into the crisis in Ukraine, said the report, and Western countries had lost the “robust analytical capability” to understand Russia. The truth about UK policy toward Russia, however, is much worse.

Europe will be "in deep trouble" if it continues to rely only on soft power, given the threats it now faces from the east and south, according to the Belgian commander of the five-nation Eurocorps headquarters.

Dr. Chandra stressed that to emerge as a leader in this global race for mind share, India will have to strengthen its reach to the humanity across the globe and for this traditional as well as the new media will be required to be strengthened.

The Open World program works to link members of Congress to Eurasian leaders and is an instrument for Americans engaged in citizen diplomacy.

The war on drugs hurts America's soft power credibility, diminishing our negotiating position, influence and world standing at a time when we need it more than ever.

Obviously, Putin fears European soft power, since it is a force to which he has no response.  Russia’s lack of attraction is one of its most serious weak spots. Its leverage rests on its state-controlled extracting industries and its military. 

House Of Cards author Michael Dobbs has described the BBC as "arguably this country's strongest cultural brand". (...) "It has an impact in every corner of the globe. It is one of the prime weapon systems in our arsenal of soft power that will grow increasingly important in the years of uncertainty that lie ahead."