Soft power

Downside effects from a less dynamic US economy will reduce prosperity in much of the world, beyond just America

Donald Trump is hurting products from Coca-Cola to Jack Daniel’s

The writer, a giant of international relations who died recently, transformed our understanding of power. This piece, his final commentary, caps off a rich legacy of trenchant insights into the most i...

Values, persuasion and attraction still matter even in a contest of hard military might

It must find better ways to handle the situation, including enhanced international public diplomacy.

THE Trump team's incoming National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday that the US$50 billion worth of US tariffs on Chinese goods announced last week could be "shock therapy". His controversi...

Backed by phenomenal economic growth, China has its 'panda diplomacy', Xi's growing voice in global affairs and a flow of higher-education students into and out of China are powering this.

To be sure, governments have used soft power to influence other states, but several instances of brute military force have played out recently, to varying degrees of success.