Beijing’s Diplomacy Dividend
China now leads America on Asian diplomatic influence, while public opinion is shifting towards Beijing across much of the world.
13 posts with this tag
Smart Power
The Silent Capture of the Pacific
Japan is watching China’s carriers. Beijing’s quieter trade offensive may do more to shape who controls the Pacific.
America’s deterrence is on order
America remains the world’s leading military power. The awkward question is whether it can turn a vast future budget into deterrence before China changes the facts around Taiwan.
The rehearsal is becoming the routine
Japan says the cross-strait military balance is tilting towards China. The Smart Power contest is whether Taiwan and its partners can stop grey-zone pressure becoming the new normal.
From sick man to power socket
Britain could become a net electricity exporter beyond 2030. The Smart Power question is whether it can do so without exchanging Russian energy dependence for Chinese battery dependence.
America is top of the table—and losing the dressing room
America still leads the soft-power rankings, but China is closing and allied approval is falling. Why reputation can no longer substitute for form.
Did Brexit help Britain master globalisation — or retreat from it?
Britain remains the most globalised country in the league, but Brexit appears to have preserved an inherited advantage rather than creating the more outward-looking nation that was promised.
Why is Italy losing the battle to stay the world's number one cuisine?
Taste Atlas says Italy is still No.1, but Peru, Greece and China are closing fast in the global battle for cuisine power. How can food policy be part of Smart Power?
The League of Nations 2025: The World Cup Results
The world’s power league is reshuffling: China surges, the US stumbles, Europe strains, India accelerates, and the UK clings on. The data shows the era’s great crossovers—and the fight for the next hegemon.
How the Smart Power Index works
A weighted, data-driven model measures national power across seven dimensions, showing that balanced capabilities—not single strengths—shape global influence.