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.

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.

As he finally makes it to Jakarta, it's worth noting just how much Indonesia, the country that considers him a native son, loves all things Obama. Case in point: the Barack Obama reality show.

That China and the United States are in a race to gain sway over countries possessing vital natural resources, not only in Africa but across the developing world, is hardly news...Yet while the two powers approach the question of influence from different starting points, they are also increasingly overlapping in the way they develop their soft power—particularly in the use of their navies.

"Cultural revolution is the main source of the Islamic Republic of Iran's power," Deputy Head of the Joint Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said. "If we didn't enjoy such a soft power, enemies would not launch so many invasions and they would not do such a vast lineup against us," Jazayeri added.

Aided by an unpopular war in Iraq, America was said to be losing its appeal or soft power. The creation of the term "BRIC" to indicate the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China offered a multi-polar vision of a post-American world. And the European Union prospects seemed to offer an alternative to American power.

Defense Minister Peter MacKay opened the second annual Halifax International Security Forum in his hometown on Friday by calling for a new "holistic" approach to global security.

The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, which begins Nov. 6, is the perfect opportunity for Taiwan to showcase its soft power to the global community, Taipei City Mayor Hau Long-bin said Nov. 5.