South African performers from the Mzansi Ballet.
John Hogg/EPA
Government support for the arts, culture and heritage is important even in tough economic conditions.
China is broadcasting to more than 1 billion people in several different languages, while Australia sits on its soft power reviews.
Screenshot/YouTube
Soft power is a country’s ability to gain influence through attraction. Australia’s soft power in the Pacific began waning when it axed the Australia Network in 2014. And China is filling the gap.
French president Emmanuel Macron with Nollywood artists during a live show in Lagos, Nigeria.
EPA-EFE/Ludovic Marin
One of the most potent promoters of Nigeria’s cultural soft power is arguably Nollywood.
Honduran migrants at the border with Mexico in mid January. Many will continue north to the US border.
Esteban Biba/EPA
From Rahaf Mohammed to the fate of Syrian refugees and the US border wall – what ‘migration diplomacy’ means for world politics.
Fighting deadly diseases such as Ebola is a strong case for providing donor aid to authoritarian countries like the DRC.
EPA-EFE/Ahmed Jallanzo
Aid has never been just about helping people. It’s also about gaining influence and exercising soft power.
Shutterstock
Japan is targeting an ‘upmarket’ audience of wealthy business executives, city professionals, millennial foodies and highbrow arts enthusiasts.
El Salvador forges new relationship with China – it isn’t the first nor will it be the last nation to be wooed by Chinese investment.
How Hwee Young/EPA
In the footsteps of US foriegn policy blunders, China is making friends and influencing people in Latin America.
U.S. President Donald Trump, seen on the South Lawn of the White House on July 27, 2018, is eroding American diplomacy with his penchant for what’s known as hard power over soft power.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Donald Trump is eroding American diplomacy and what’s known as soft power. Here’s how that may result in a new world order.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is all smiles with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic before Sunday’s World Cup final in Moscow.
Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik/EPA
Most Western leaders have little faith the Russian president will pursue better relations after the final football whistle has blown.
A scene from ‘Wolf Warrior 2’.
Well Go USA Entertainment
Film could benefit China’s soft power. It highlights the country’s deep pockets and potential for wider audience appeal.
EPA-EFE/Stephen Chung
Britain has always been good at projecting its values to the world. It’s going to need that soft power once it leaves the EU.
Palestinian protesters run from Israeli tear gas during the Gaza protests last week.
Mohammed Saber/EPA
The international condemnation of Israel’s violent response to the Gaza protests shows how misplaced its “Brand Israel” campaign has been.
There are 1,113 Confucius Classrooms in 146 countries and regions across the world.
UniversityofMemphis/flickr
The review of Confucius Classrooms, which promote Chinese language learning, comes amid concerns about foreign influence, soft power and academic freedom.
EPA-EFE/YONHAP
Kim Jong-un’s favourite act won hearts and minds when they performed on day one of the Winter Olympics.
UK Government
A new national security communications unit has echoes of the past, when the government tried to weaponise information, with mixed results.
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Reuters/Thomas Peter
China is stepping into a soft power vacuum created by the new US administration. Since Donald Trump was elected president, the country has eschewed soft power.
Will the World Cup give Brand Russia a boost?
shutterstock.com
Russian officials will be hoping that excitement about one of the world’s biggest sporting events generates some goodwill for the country.
Lionsgate
New film has broken China’s box office record while projecting soft power for Beijing.
Leonard Zhukovsk
When financial times are tight, only those with soft power ambitions can see the economic sense in World Cups or Olympic Games.
EPA/Fernando Bizerra Jr
It’s all to do with PSG’s Qatari owners.