Monocle’s annual Soft Power Survey ranks the major players in the gentler aspects of the diplomacy game. How does your country fare? Elsewhere, we preview a potentially pivotal year for Taiwan, shine the light on Iraq’s unlikely culture push and open the door to the best festive finds from Hudson to Genoa.

Published out of London, Monocle was launched as a magazine briefing on global affairs, business, culture, design and much more in 2007.