Last week, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf asked the impossible of our Foreign Office — project a soft image of Pakistan abroad through public diplomacy, cultural exchange, trade and people-to-people contacts.

But much has changed since the “soft power” strategy of covertly educating North Koreans began in earnest two decades ago. North Koreans are no longer completely in the dark. We can’t quantify the amount of information that has leaked into the country, because we can’t conduct public opinion surveys in North Korea.

This gradually developed into the Chrétien government’s endorsement of “soft power,” a phrase originated by former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s national security adviser Joe Nye, which was a soft alternative to the use of American military might.

It’s true that grand strategy encompasses military, political and economic strategic approaches. But it also requires the support of the people, and the war weary young people of the United States are looking for a new way of doing things from their political leaders.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf today called for the projection of the soft image of Pakistan through public diplomacy by encouraging people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges and promotion of business and trade

To this day, the U.S. government exercises hard and soft power in scores of countries. The survey results suggest a vast gulf between the beliefs of Americans and the policies being implemented on their behalf.

Not long after becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton took up the cookstove cause, one of what she describes as “smart power” issues — though skeptical veterans of American foreign policy tend to deride them as soft more than smart.

Instead of chasing quick wins in the contest for hearts and minds, China should simply conduct itself in a way that speaks to the values that its new superhero is said to promote