There are more than a few complaints made by Chinese tourists who visit South Korea: There is nothing to buy but cosmetics, no diversity in cuisine at restaurants and no unique sightseeing spots away from the all-too-familiar historical and scenic sites. Nonetheless, Chinese tourists who recently return from South Korea never fail to gush about one common observation: "Oh, the country is so clean!"

One of the biggest questions that India faces today is how it will match its growing economic power with political power. Economic strength and political clout often go hand in hand

Commission development aid should be used primarily for maintaining progress towards the MDGs, not for strategic or foreign policy reasons. The European External Action Service must be involved in development aid decisions, since aid is a powerful means of extending the EU’s ‘soft power’. But the decisions should continue to be taken by the Commission itself.

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Heavily consisting of university students and women, they include leftists, liberals, secular nationalists, and small but novel groups such as secular and Islamist feminists, vocal groups of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists, and "anti-capitalist Muslims." They rely on the "soft power" of arts, humor, and the Internet. Their main ally that has the "hard power" of mobilizing large numbers ready to challenge the leviathan-like police seems to be the so-called "Carsi," a vocal and politicized group of soccer fans.

From June 16 to 23, the city of Shanghai will be host to the 16th annual Shanghai International Film Festival, an international platform for foreign filmmakers to connect with audiences in the world’s fastest growing film market. The festival’s main programs will include an awards ceremony, a professional film trade gathering of international producers, distributors, and buyers, a forum featuring lectures by industry professionals, and international film screenings.

This soft-power deficit could prove a big headache for the new Chinese president because there is increasing international concern, suspicion and even outright hostility as China's international role expands. In the U.S., for example, the public's favorable attitude toward China fell by more than one-fifth in one year — to 40 percent in 2012 from 51 percent in 2011 — according to Pew Global Research Projects.

With its emerging economy and burgeoning economic links with Asia and Africa, Brasilia has begun to project influence on the world stage, with an expanded diplomatic service and new embassies across the global South. This, added to its distinct policy agenda, means it rubs against American interests more often. Brazil sees itself as a consensus-seeker in global affairs and emphasises soft power, eschewing use of military force in international affairs.