What happened to China's much vaunted "soft power" and "good neighborly" diplomacy about which we have heard so much in recent years? China's supposed "soft power," always overstated, has passed from the scene in short order.

The introduction of television was a defining moment in Egypt and the Arab world. "We launched television in Libya, in Kuwait, in Aleppo and in Syria. We emerged as the cultural beacon of the Arab world," Abdel-Qader Hatem, Egypt's and the Arab world's first minister of information told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Underlying the hearts and minds strategy is a simple - and mistaken - assumption that aid projects will generate goodwill towards the US and reduce local support for terrorists and militant Islamist ideology. However, in our conversations we found no evidence that the US has been winning hearts and minds.

Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon and Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB) will host the 1st Annual New York Sufi Music Festival on Tuesday at Union Square, New York City, with an objective to present "soft image" of Pakistan through cultural diplomacy.

Today, India has an historic opportunity to claim its rightful place. But will India be able to assert itself on the global stage? Will the pride of this resurgent India emerge to counter factors that affect our image? Building Brand India is an imperative we cannot afford to ignore.

In search of soft power, Brazil is turning itself into one of the world's biggest aid donors. But is it going too far, too fast?

As if there were any doubt about India’s mounting anxieties concerning its status vis-à-vis China, the July 12th issue of India Today, India’s largest-circulation newsmagazine, includes an article on Indian versus Chinese soft power that depicts a substantial Indian deficit.

As if there were any doubt about India’s mounting anxieties concerning its status vis-à-vis China, the July 12th issue of India Today, India’s largest-circulation newsmagazine, includes an article on Indian versus Chinese soft power that depicts a substantial Indian deficit.