When America admits migrants, it is not diluting its own culture, but spreading its ideals across the world. No other country has such influence. The closest contender, the European Union, wields tremendous soft power by letting neighboring countries join, as fifteen (mostly Eastern European) states have since the end of the cold war.

Hard power concerns traditional power like military forces, whereas soft power covers cultural issues like mass entertainment, Peace Corps volunteers and institutions like the TPP and the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).

We know India’s military prowess but ignore its soft power: India has hosted the Asian Games twice, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Cricket World Cup in 2011 along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bollywood is the world’s largest film industry and in 2009 alone produced 2,961 films.

With constitutions in many countries being rewritten or reframed, there's a chance to enshrine those aspirations into law. The British Council has been working for many years with Middle Eastern partners to improve women's access to education and economic benefit...

A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark has docked in Costa Rica, providing free medical care for local residents...Many analysts see China's goodwill mission as an attempt boost its "soft power" in a region in which it is increasingly economically active.

For the last twenty years the EU’s main foreign policy occupation has been teaching other how to live and making them want what the EU wants. This foreign policy model was reaching its limits already before the crisis as it was hitting the limits of cultural fascination with Europe...

Soft power relies heavily on the image of the U.S. abroad as a tolerant, democratic, fair and open society. Any deviance from this image by the U.S. will be noticed and ultimately will undermine American efforts to assert soft power and achieve its diplomatic aims.

The British Council's work in the region over the coming months will include offering citizenship and arts grants to build up civil society; teaching English, including educational radio broadcasts across the country; using UK higher education expertise to create universities that value cultural activity and free speech