These government contractors are on the frontline of a huge Turkish development effort in one of the world's most dangerous cities - one which U.N. agencies and international charities prefer to deal with from the safety of neighbouring Kenya.

Not for nothing has Her Majesty been described as the world’s most effective weapon in the projection of “soft power.” Americans would be quick to salute the victories she has won for peace and goodwill, most recently by going to Dublin and – so it seemed – just watching with mild interest while a man poured a pint of stout.

The Chinese government has set up more than three hundred Confucius Institutes in 100 countries as part of a new push to boost its soft power. The centres are usually set up as a joint initiative among a host foreign university, a Chinese partner university and the Hanban, which runs the programme.

In the current political climate, overt Chinese-ness is simply a competitive disadvantage for Chinese brands overseas, according to Jerry Clode, associate director of cultural insight for Added Value. Perhaps Chinese brands with global aspirations can look to post-war Japan for role models.

SHANGHAI --- Zhao Qizeng, China’s leading proponent of public diplomacy, wrote, “Culture is the soul and life of a nation.” That concept is the driving force behind much of China’s exercise of soft power, and other countries that deal with this superpower need to understand the value the Chinese place on their language, traditions, and other cultural elements of their national life.

Romania ranks 15th in a world top on soft power, an indicator measuring the ability of a state to influence the actions of others through persuasion or attraction, rather than coercion, by means of values like culture, personalities, institutions and policies, according to a study made by the audit and consulting company Ernst&Young

During the 20 years since the demise of the Soviet Union, and after a unipolar moment for the United States, China has emerged as the newest superpower. All its predecessors at this exalted level, going back even before Rome, have established their positions by amassing formidable military strength. But China is going about matters differently.

The extreme nationalist vitriol comes from Yang Rui, an anchor on China's flagship English-language news and interview program, Dialogue. Cultural products like the English-language Dialogue have been developed in recent years as part of a major Chinese Communist Party attempt to bolster China's cultural soft power internationally.