Giacomo Gambineri
War and peace
Russia's progress is hindered by its relations with the West and other factors, despite its soft-power credentials. Is maintaining the status quo appealing to citizens who remember past political and economic turmoil?
Soft Power Survey 2017/18
Who's in and who's out in 2017? We survey the top 25 nations who got it right (and wrong) in this most delicate of diplomatic skills.
Softly does it
Our annual survey of the nations that best use their gentler sides to get things done.
Over the rainbow
It’s been more than two decades since South Africa’s first democratic election and, while corruption allegations persist, there is some blue sky peeking through the clouds.
Piece by piece
The Greek economy has been through a severe crisis but there are seeds of optimism at last. With strict monitoring to end next year, how robust will the country be by then?
Man at work
For decades things have been on the up down under. But if Malcolm Turnbull wants to keep it that way he must show strength and make some tough decisions.
Happiness is…
We like things orderly, safe and to run to time but this doesn’t have to mean sanitised, tightly cropped and lacking edge.
China in his hands?
Xi Jinping may be popular, but with a worsening economy, dangerous pollution and a new relationship with the US, how strong is the president’s grip on his country?
Time to reboot?
With political turmoil unexpectedly yielding stable economic conditions, Italy is a land of nothing if not confusion.
Playing with fire
Tired of western rhetoric and inspired by the autocracy of its neighbours, does Azerbaijan risk further isolation?
