What is power today? Who has it, and who will prevail? Right now, 19th-century hard power is confronting 21st-century soft power. Although hard power appears to have the edge, don’t write off the soft power, and especially economic might.

Kazakhstan is scrambling to keep its diplomatic options open amid rapidly rising Western-Russian tension. Not wanting to get dragged down by Western sanctions imposed on Russia, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration is ramping up an international charm offensive.

I used to be asked how the US could deploy its soft power in the Middle East more effectively. That was in the days of the Iraq and Afghan wars and President George W Bush’s ill-advised warnings to the world that “you’re either with us or against us”.

The visit is designed to bolster the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K., a term coined by Winston Churchill after World War II to describe the diplomatic and cultural ties between the two nations.

Now ramen noodles are the latest target of government efforts to take advantage of this spreading interest in Japan’s pop culture and food around the world, and its growth potential.

On December 7 and 8, the Confucius Institutes Headquarters held the 9th Confucius Institute Conference in Xiamen in southern China. The conference theme was “Embrace the New Decade of Confucius Institute,” and was attended by over 2000 delegates. 

As Beijing is trying to shift its economic focus to quality from quantity, the central government is also becoming increasingly interested in demonstrating its so-called "soft power" to the rest of the world.