Today's London meeting on Libya showed the "soft power" side of the international operation. Arab, European, and US leaders offered a raft of humanitarian arguments and a collective suasion to push for Muammar Qaddafi's ouster.

Last week I chaired a meeting on Turkey’s role in the Middle East. There seems to be a never-ending interest, in Brussels at least, to discuss and debate Turkish foreign policy.Therefore, and needless to say, the discussion went far beyond recent events in the Middle East and North Africa...

The uprising in Libya and the subsequent foreign military intervention there are providing a significant test for Turkey's stated desire to create a foreign policy that combines realism with idealism, while also highlighting the difficulty Ankara is facing in balancing its aspirations to become a more independent regional leader in the Middle East...

I've just returned from a mission trip with First Methodist Dallas to San Jose , Costa Rica, where we worked with a pair of Texas missionaries who are building an orphanage. More on Texas' ties to the children's home to come soon...

Last week it seemed like even the intervention of U.S., British and French airpower might not be enough to enable the Libyan rebellion to regain the momentum against Libyan government forces. Now it looks like the balance has shifted in the rebels' favor, if not yet decisively so.

Since 2008, discussions among Chinese scholars and strategists on the nature of their country’s foreign policy have focused on two issues: its ideological foundations, and China’s international appeal and standing – its “soft power.”

President Ma Ying-jeou touted Sunday Taiwan's humanitarian relief efforts for Japan as an illustration of the country's soft power and a way to help earn the country wider recognition in the world.

At this time of regional turmoil – indeed global crisis – I want to share some thoughts with you about the way we in Britain see Turkey, its neighbors and Europe. There can be no doubt Turkey is already a key global power.