he Guangzhou Asian Games was a great demonstration of China's soft power to the world, said Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday. "The opening ceremony of the Asian Games was very impressive," he said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, adding it tells the world not only China's economic power, but also the nation's culture, discipline and romance.

As the global power re-configuration takes shape post-economic crisis, the use of media to perpetuate soft power has taken on added impetus.

Sometime in the next few weeks, if the parties can agree on a place and date convenient to all sides, Iran and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, known as the "P5+1," will meet for the first time since October 2009 to revive diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program.

Currencies, cars and cows all blocked U.S. administration goals in bilateral meetings ahead of the Group of 20 summit of the world's top economies that kicked off Thursday night in the South Korean capital.

On the twenty first anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the respected Institute for Cultural Diplomacy invited the Chairman of Iman, the global counter-extremism foundation, to deliver a keynote speech on pluralism and the Middle East.

Now that President Barack Obama has concluded his $200 million per day trip to India (just kidding—that risible far right-wing canard has been thoroughly debunked), it’s a good moment for some initial thoughts about the soft power dimensions of the episode.

Now that President Barack Obama has concluded his $200 million per day trip to India (just kidding—that risible far right-wing canard has been thoroughly debunked), it’s a good moment for some initial thoughts about the soft power dimensions of the episode.

The power of culture can often be underestimated as a diplomatic tool, but cultural exchange can not only serve as a universal icebreaker, it can tear down walls and build bridges between the most hardened of enemies. It may not turn foes into instant friends, but it does allow nations to find points of commonality that transcend politics.