The Islamic Republic of Iran never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity," says Afshin Molavi... "Their handling of their 'soft power' in Iraq is a case in point. Their poll numbers are dwindling, and not only among Sunnis, but also among Shia. They are increasingly seen as heavy-handed and interfering.

Later this year, Britain is dispatching to Asia its ultimate “soft power” asset, Prince William and his wife Catherine. This concerted flurry of British diplomatic activity suggests that – for all the media focus on US President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia and China’s assertiveness in the Spratlys – other major powers such as Britain are also ratcheting up their regional presence.

The EU has been applying pressure on Ukraine, with some European leaders announcing a boycott of the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer tournament in Ukraine and others pulling out of a summit of Central and Eastern European leaders scheduled to take place in Ukraine later this month.

Using bombast, nostalgia and sentimentalism, they hoodwinked Canadians into electing a government of hawks. In the process, Canada turned its back on its true heritage of Pearsonian diplomacy, soft power and peacekeeping...

In the post-Soviet age, Russia has relied on military muscle and energy dominance to help it achieve its foreign policy goals. Soft power, meanwhile, is something that has always been missing from Moscow’s diplomatic arsenal.

In general, China made innovations in diplomatic theory and practice with a view to making ever greater contributions to the development of China’s economy and society. It effectively addressed foreign-related sensitive issues and emergencies...

The first major international conference on public diplomacy and China’s reputation in the world will take place in Beijing later this month. The event is co-sponsored by the Charhar Institute, China’s foremost public diplomacy think tank, the Clingendael Institute of the Netherlands...

Should one be surprised to hear the Ambassador of the United States telling an audience of students and influential Abu Dhabi elite that his country needed to raise its game and change their narrative in the region?...he remarked that people in the Gulf thought of the USA in military terms.