In his second Sporting Chances programme Farayi Mungazi focuses on the common image of Australia as a sporting nation. He looks at the role of sport in shaping the country's national identity and asks whether sporting success will always be part of Australia's soft power.

Mr Rudd has had strained relations with Jakarta, particularly over the passage of asylum seekers heading by boat to Australia. As the website news.com.au noted: "Kevin Rudd can't do it – no matter how hard he tries – but Australian diplomat Adelle Neary, from Adelaide, has won over the hearts and minds of Indonesia."

What this rescue shows us, however, is that national and international ends are not necessarily in conflict. This operation has helped the United States Navy develop genuine, if hard to measure, “soft power” value in terms of U.S. relations with Iran and the Gulf

China is the home of pandas and kung fu, yet it took Hollywood to make the smash-hit animated movie Kung Fu Panda, the sequel of which was China's most popular film in 2011. Through massive investment, and countless censors, the Communist Party aims to boost China's "soft power," or cultural influence, abroad.

The Arab Spring makes clear that the nature of power wielded by states is evolving as societies get networked digitally. Intriguingly, a new network-centric theory of power favors Sweden's open nature as a multiplier of its global influence. In fact, Sweden is better positioned than the US to become a collaborative superpower, especially in the Middle East.

Washington and Beijing are now battling over soft power. Hillary Clinton’s visit in December to Myanmar, which China views as being within its orbit of influence, is a fascinating footnote. As China tries to extend its sway in Asia, the U.S. must realize that its own regional ambitions need some polishing, too.

The conspicuous failure of American hard power — in Iraq and Afghanistan — obscured the way American soft power has flourished over the past decade. For a while soft power was undercut because the U.S. reputation was tarnished, but the Arab awakening has demonstrated how powerful American-driven social media are in opening up closed societies.

For me, in the flood of news a headline bears special importance for Northeast Asia security. The guideline reiterated by President Hu Jintao about boosting the "cultural soft power" of China recognizes that "culture has increasingly become a major element bringing together the people and the creative power of Chinese nationality".