Few people have influenced the contemporary debate over the contested notion of power in recent years as much as Joseph S. Nye. A long time Harvard Professor, Nye served in the US government, and combines the insights of a practitioner and scholar to examine the nature and uses of power in a changing world.

China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes. This has become particularly poignant at a time when, in stark contrast, the U.S. public diplomacy enterprise is facing shrinking budgets.

China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes.

Osama bin Laden was a powerful man, although he used it for vicious ends. He had hard power, the power of explosives and kamikaze strikes, but he also had soft power, the ability to turn young people into ruthless suicide bombers. The most fearful part of Bin Laden's strength is not his unpredictable way to launch terrorist attack, but the charisma that united anti-US forces from all over the world.

Last year more than 57 million Chinese traveled outside the country, making the Chinese now the world's fourth biggest spenders on tourism. My uneasiness stems from the fact that Chinese tourists of tomorrow are quickly becoming the successors to the "ugly Americans" of the last century.

There are so many different ways of describing what we witnessed yesterday. According to an expert commentator on the BBC, it was a “fan-blooming-tastic day for British fashion”. According to Boris Johnson, crammed into his morning suit from Moss Bros, it was “a good dry-run for the Olympics”.

The fire of the Arab awakening is now catching up with the Syrian youth. The streets of Arab countries, following a long period of oppression, are continuing to vent their anger until they attain freedom or the cold kiss of death.

The best way for the public to cope with the unlawful Indonesia Islamic State (NII) movement is with soft power rather than an iron-fist approach, Army chief Gen. George Toisutta says.