The party's fear of general "instability" is perhaps matched only by the disdain it holds for the airing of dirty laundry. This is in part informed by a cultural psychology at the micro level that manifests in macro political behavior: The ugly stuff and internal bickering get sorted out in the privacy of an inner sanctum, while for the appearance of outsiders, all is well and please don't poke around.

In dealing with these areas of risk, and particularly Syria, Turkey has to take intelligent decisions, ones which reflect close knowledge of its own transformational power and capacity, without allowing itself to be taken in by the bluster. Although the Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish problems have their divergences and particular features, they are interconnected and interlinked problems.

Will the weakening of ASEAN encourage some members to move closer to the U.S.? And will China and the U.S. intensify their "soft power" struggle for the hearts and minds of Southeast Asians?

We all reserve a special place in our hearts for Nelson Mandela. Many salute the gallant efforts of Thabo Mbeki to use soft power in influencing Africa’s renewal through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and the related peer review mechanism.