The U.S. employed both the hard power of military and economic might as well as the soft power of ideology, diplomacy and culture. Resistance to post-war Americanization was crucial to the French and Italian communist parties.

The formidable soft power of the UAE was on display this week in Libya when Etihad Airways' inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to Tripoli was accompanied by a large delegation of government officials and businessmen.

"The old model was Capitalism, the new model is Talentism," he said, noting that the new model will center on human talent to encourage creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation-driven economic development and social progress. He also envisaged a new leadership model based on collaborative power or social power rather than the conception of hard power and soft power...

It remains to be seen if divergent views on support to farmers will have a negative impact, not just on the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round, but also on bilateral relations. On the soft-power side, France needs to attract more Indian scientists and students to its academic institutions.

The effective use of soft power in all its forms is another important resource in our work. We intend to cooperate with civil society institutions, the expert community, business circles and mass media. We will actively use the potential of organizations established last year and other opportunities that we have with civil society in addition to traditional diplomatic instruments.

...Hu told the 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that China needed to invest more in its soft power resources. Accordingly, China is spending billions of dollars on a charm offensive. The Chinese style emphasises high-profile gestures, such as rebuilding the Cambodian Parliament or Mozambique's foreign affairs ministry.

For all its efforts to enhance the soft power, China has had a limited return on its investment. The development of soft power need not be a zero sum game. All countries can gain from finding attraction in one anothers’ cultures. But for China to succeed, it will need to unleash the talents of its civil society. Unfortunately, that does not seem about to happen soon.