soft power
Now a new initiative called Republic TV, bankrolled by the nationalistic Indian politician and media baron Rajeev Chandrasekhar, stands the best chance to break the inertia and enter the big league in the world news business. [...] Should Republic TV deliver the goods, soft-power benefits will flow to India as an open and argumentative society bringing its distinct non-Western narrative to illuminate the world’s problems and offer solutions.
Indisputably, as Kenya edges closer to its middle power ambition, its new frontier of influence does not lie in a Spartan projection of its military prowess – although military might is sometimes crucial. It rests on carefully weaving the technologies of “Athenian soft power” associated with humanitarian diplomacy. To be sure, humanitarian response capacity is an integral component of the development agenda of many developing countries. It also enables countries to project their soft power regionally and globally.
The non-governmental foundation [Zhang Boju and Pan Su Cultural Development Foundation] was set up by the late Mr Zhang's grandson, Mr Lou Kaizhao, 54, to promote traditional Chinese culture, at a time when President Xi Jinping has called for "cultural self-confidence" and the development of China's cultural soft power. The foundation also has the long- term goal of recovering cultural relics that have been lost overseas, in keeping with Mr Zhang's endeavour throughout his life to protect Chinese cultural heritage from falling into foreign hands.
Cybercapacity is an aggregate of a number of factors, from the quality and strength of a country's digital infrastructure (access to electricity, internet quality, and internet penetration) to its innovation environment, political space (governed by laws on freedom of expression), and soft power (how much other actors desire products of its technology industry).
Kimchi in space. The Kimchi Bus. Government-sponsored chefs and restaurants spreading the word of Kimchi around the globe. South Korea is one of the nations most involved in branding itself through its food, using food as a part of it’s “soft power.” It’s called “Gastrodiplomacy” — the use of food as a diplomatic tool to help resolve conflicts and foster connections between nations.
Harnessing young people's enthusiasm for football and sports in general is a useful and interesting way to offer opportunities for personal and professional growth, said Rubem Cesar Fernandes, executive director of Viva Rio, a Brazilian NGO focusing on development through innovative projects. [...] Viva Rio has established the Black Pearls Academy, a high-performance football training centre for young athletes from refugee and underprivileged communities in Brazil and Haiti.
Trump’s plans to build a wall at its south border, deport millions of undocumented immigrants and renegotiate NAFTA force Mexico to reconsider the friendly relation it used to maintain with the U.S. The Obama era is gone and the cooperation narrative that existed between the two countries is being challenged. Mexico needs to defend or create new narratives to confront Trump, and win allies in the United States to help Mexico defend its interests.
Sport can play a major role in boosting Scotland’s influence abroad, and help cement international relations, while influencing diplomacy and foreign policy. The potential is there to use sport to improve international relations and development, and what the Scottish Government needs to do is to elevate sport’s role on the global stage.