Nation Brand: Soft Power And The Case Of The United Arab Emirates

For years, countries have been leveraging so-called ‘soft power’ to preserve their interests and ensure their significant presence in various societies, and in the process, building a strong and positive nation brand that has a respected position in the international arena.

The establishment of alliances at state level and the expansion of soft power is now a fundamental tool for many nations to increase their influence and significant presence on the international stage, while enabling them to spread and secure their foreign policy and pave the way to attracting more allies.

Today then, soft power has become an essential method of influencing minds, winning emotions and getting to grips with peoples’ behaviour, social trends, and emotional tendencies.

Ashes Of A Lost Country

Ashes of a Lost country, is a historical novel that tells the story of hostilities between the Israelis as invaders, and Palestinians as defenders of their homeland. The book is a story about the loss of one’s country and the victory of a man over this event. The main character in this novel is Alghadanfar, who at the age of 14 suffers two disasters; the first is the loss of his mother, and the second is the loss of his homeland, Palestine.  Alghadanfar finds himself alone in this world with no parents to look after him, he travels more than 40 kilometers on foot, under the scorching sun of June to finally reaches his boarding military school, his last shelter.  All he possessed in the world was some shabby clothes and not a single penny in his pocket, but he possessed one effective weapon; his determination to survive. Through the book, Alghadanfar narrates in a gripping story style the history of the Middle East, the most turbulent region in the world, and the ongoing war between Israelis and Palestinians. Yet, in spite of all the suffering the Israelis have inflicted on him and on his people, the author rejects violence and decides to fight with the pen as his father had taught him.  In brief, the book preaches peace, understanding, love, coexistence; and rejects hate, violence and calls on enemies to bury  the hatchet and sharpen their pencils.