In the decade since the Justice and Development Party assumed power, Turkey has become a much more assertive foreign-policy player. And when it comes to projecting soft power, the government clearly views the Turkish Red Crescent Society as an important component.

Furthermore, political movements such as the youth group Nashi have harassed Estonia’s diplomats and vandalized its websites, while “soft-power” organizations like Russkiy Mir (Russian World) actively work to promote cultural and linguistic ties to the homeland.

The deteriorating political and security situation in Syria, viewed in the light of the failure by the Security Council to facilitate an inclusive political dialogue between President Bashar Al Assad and the rather fragmented opposition rebel forces, reinforces the impression that this most pre-eminent organ of the UN may have lost its most important ‘soft power’ resource: its moral authority.

This article comes out of an invitation from WOMEX 2011, the World Music Expo meeting last October in Copenhagen, to address the question: “What are the practicalities, challenges and ethics of world music as cultural diplomacy today? And is it becoming more or less relevant to the sector?”

In our daily use of the cell phone, the World Wide Web, and Google's search we should recall that basic research is the springboard of their development, and, as importantly, American influence in the world is spread largely through its "soft" power of science and technology, according to a Pew Research poll.

Call it soft power. With Chinese state-owned companies such as China Southern, it is impossible to know where company strategy ends and government policy begins. China Southern may be obscure in Australia now but it is the fourth-largest airline in the world in passengers carried.

At the same time, American influence in the world is bolstered largely through its "soft" power, and science and technology is an essential force of this influence, according to the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project poll.