Soft Power

A Saudi-sponsored tournament shows why China and other rising powers will struggle to replace established global institutions with their own.

The German chancellor has no choice but to focus on restoring his country’s damaged credibility.

Belgrade is vital to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. But as China takes over old industrial sites, Serbian citizens are suffering the environmental consequences.

The increasingly aggressive authoritarianism of Belarus is an acute test of the EU’s diplomatic self-image.

India’s prime minister advanced a muscular foreign policy, but his mishandling of the pandemic is an embarrassing step back.

And that spells trouble for liberal democracy and Beijing’s relations with Washington.

Ten years after entering Syria’s civil war, Tehran is using religion to make its influence there permanent.

Arab countries are increasingly competing to deepen ties with their former enemy.

The prime minister has decided that international criticism is a price worth paying for pursuing his domestic agenda, but he shouldn’t be so sure.

The United States was already fighting with China for influence at global organizations, but the pandemic made everything worse.

South Korea’s soft power should be a model for Beijing.

Pandemics are not always transformative events. While some worrying preexisting trends could accelerate, it’s incorrect to assume that the coronavirus will end globalization, kill liberal democracy, or enhance China’s soft power.

When it comes to building international power, there’s growing reason to think that foreign policy barely matters.

Beijing is ramping up support for U.N. and a host of other international organizations, racking up more influence even as Washington is in headlong retreat.

An important new book details the carefully calculated rise of a modern-day tsar.

Protests against police brutality and systemic racism highlight what is seen as the United States’ accelerated decline.

We should be skeptical toward claims that the pandemic changes everything. China won’t benefit, and the United States will remain preeminent.

The outbreak has caused a PR crisis for China.

The term “posh” appeals to foreigners, but the British know there are teeth underneath the smile.