Soft power is the kind of power relation that existed when India had benevolent kings compassionate towards their subject, and the subjects in turn were close to the rulers. Soft power is all about spirituality, which is away from religion, and if you are simply honest, you are spiritual.

The world is surrounded, and even blinded by the soft power of Western countries, the Western media and the information they provide. Many Chinese have already been accustomed to understanding the world based on Western ways of thinking. When meeting with two Chinese PhD candidates in Harvard University, Wang was shocked that these two highly-educated Chinese students described their motherland, where they had lived in for years, in terms shaped by Western discourse.

Former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans has lamented the quality of political leadership and warned recent sexist incidents had tarnished the nation's international reputation. In an address discussing the concept of "soft power", Mr Evans said image was important for middle powers such as Australia in conducting international diplomacy and maximising leverage.

As the name of our new publication suggests, soft power is all about influence and attraction which in the end we believe are far more powerful than coercion. If we draw people towards us because they respect our values, because they are excited by our visual arts, because they admire our universities, then the relationship is going to be far stronger than if it was based on any other factors.

The Foreign Secretary said the UK was currently the world’s most effective country at using “soft” diplomatic power to influence global events and further its interests. But he said the British have to “confront” the fact some of this power would ebb away if Scotland decided to separate, while Scotland would lose its seat on the “top table” of international institutions.

China is without a doubt here to stay in Africa! China clearly has a plan for Africa. The "sinofication" of Africa is currently taking place through immigration, the assertion of soft power and mass investments and goods.

President Koroma’s decision to adopt the Smart Power strategy didn’t emerge as a coincidence but through crucial evaluation of the international system in terms of threats, vulnerabilities, risks, interests and opportunities.

Sharing culture is hard when you can't entertain another point of view, tough when you have to stick to your line, and impossible when what you say can immediately be turned into a headline and used as a stick to beat you. This is the lot of modern governments.