India's metropolitan youth are gung-ho about the country's future and that's largely because of their immense belief in themselves. According to a recent poll, on the issue of which is India's biggest strength, 61% overall picked youth power, 16% each opted for "emerging economy" and "democracy" and 7% for "soft power".

This past year offered fresh proof that the world we live in is ever dynamic and that there must be new ways to think about the role the U.S. will play in the world in the coming years. USIP’s Executive VP Tara Sonenshine shared her views on the state of the world, America’s role in it, and what USIP is doing on the ground to help build peace and stability.

An asymmetric world is rising in which leaderless protesters can oust their national leader; and where one of the smallest countries in the Middle East, Qatar, can become a key player by virtue of its soft power. To address the challenges, we need to consider: the power of the people, the power of cities, and the power of countries that are regional or sub-regional locomotives of social and economic progress.

The Chinese government, determined to build the country’s soft power by projecting a better image abroad through culture and to maintain control at home through censorship, is strongly supporting the local industry and restricting foreign rivals.

If Iran today has substantial soft power in the Middle East—as we believe it does—it has that power in no small part because it has picked winners rather than losers as its allies in key regional theaters.

Through more aggressive public diplomacy elements such as listening, cultural and educational exchange, advocacy, and broadcasting, Spain is in a good position to foster understanding and goodwill with its Latin American counterparts.

On top of that, up until now Europe has been able to compensate for the crisis of its military influence with a solid soft power relying on the attractiveness of its economic model or strong ties with former colonies. However this well-known hallmark of the European sway is waning too

...China is on the move in Africa, employing a wide range of soft power initiatives to secure influence, trade, and—most critically—the energy and mineral resources the Communist Party needs to continue
the astonishing economic growth that undergirds its legitimacy.