Yet while last week's cuts failed to do much about the deficit, they could do serious damage to U.S. foreign policy. On Tuesday, the axe fell: The State Department and foreign operations budget was slashed by $8.5 billion -- a pittance when compared to military spending, but one that could put a serious dent in the United States' ability to positively influence events abroad.

Experts in Afghanistan say a softer line the Taliban is taking on issues like education and reconstruction projects is a tactical ploy to win broader popular support. A Taliban leader was recently quoted by Afghan media outlets as saying the movement was not opposed to education and would protect schools in areas they controlled.

In the context of the Libyan civil war and unfolding revolutions across the Arab region, Turkey is stepping up efforts to make its mark as a role model and diplomatic broker. EurActiv Turkey contributed to this article.

President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday said he wanted Taiwan to make “full use” of its soft power and to become a provider of humanitarian assistance, which is one element of soft power.

The administration of United States President Barack Obama has rebranded American foreign policy around the grand concept of "smart power", an expression which envelops great confidence if not self-satisfaction, and which, to a certain extent, presupposes a strategic dominance.

Last year, when China broke off military-to-military talks after the Obama administration’s long-expected sale of defensive arms to Taiwan, a high American official asked his Chinese counterpart why China reacted so strongly to something it had accepted in the past. The answer: “Because we were weak then and now we are strong.”

Blowing in the wind at the moment is the question of cultural diplomacy. Bob Dylan plays a gig in Beijing, then heads with his guitar to another of his nation's traditional enemies, Vietnam.