As Indian athletes get ready to compete in Incheon today few remember how the modern Asian Games themselves were virtually invented by India, how central these Games were for the hopes, aspirations and ideals of Nehruvian India and the role they played in soft power diplomacy in the early years after independence.

In the post-Cold War international system, and an increasingly globalised world, 'soft power' has gained prominence. However, 'soft power' has always been significant for post-WWII Japan, which renounced military 'hard power' as a means of pursuing state policy, embracing pacifism. With a wealth of 'soft power' resources, Japan continually strives to enhance the attractiveness of its image overseas through human, cultural and intellectual exchange, and public diplomacy. 

Without question, the Obama administration has been slow in coming up with a strategy to counter the threat from ISIS terrorism. This week, Rick Stengel, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, made the case for soft power. He told a packed audience at the American Security Project his office faces challenges as momentous, but far more complex, than any the United States has seen since the fall of Soviet communism.

Eighty high school and university students from Korea and China took a pledge on Thursday: They promised to write only supportive comments on the Internet and encourage others to do the same.  The group pledge was part of a ceremony to launch the "Young Korea-China Adults Sunfull Cyber Public Diplomatic Corps,'' a joint project between the Chinese newspaper the People's Daily and the Seoul-based Sunfull Movement Headquarters.

While the Chinese forces are busy claiming Indian territory in the northern sector, the First Lady Peng Liyuan was busy practicing soft power in the national capital. Peng left no stone unurned to charm the school kids teaching them a lesson on how they can contribute to the progress of India.

In the US, where rules on the disclosure are stricter, technology groups report far higher spending on lobbying. Google, for example, spent $8.85m in the first half of 2014 alone in the US – nearly four times what it said it spent lobbying the EU for the whole of 2013. Google declined to comment on this article. But its efforts in Europe are part of its “soft power” approach towards influencing policy makers.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, by his side will be his glamorous folk singer celebrity wife, Peng Liyuan.  For the Xis, this will be a first visit to India together. For an Indian audience, this will be a first experience of a new - and, some would say, softer - side to China's diplomacy.