Soft power refers to the ability to get what you want – in international relations or any other field of human interaction – not through coercion and inducement, but through attraction and persuasion. Coined by Joseph S Nye in 1990, the concept has since then become a staple in 21st century global politics, and actors around the globe engage in the quest for soft power in order to get desired outcomes on the world stage. Nevertheless, many questions regarding the functioning of soft power still remain unanswered. Against this backdrop, this book makes highly important, innovative, and interdisciplinary contributions to soft power scholarship. It transcends the state-centered approach still prevalent in literature and focuses instead on non-state, sub-state or transnational agents. In an impressive array of qualitative-historical case studies that focus on actors and world regions routinely neglected, it opens up new and innovative perspectives on soft power projection along three major themes: ‘circulation of knowledge’, ‘transnational collaboration’, and ‘nonnational identities’. Its case studies are well-researched and they offer valuable insights into soft power and its mechanisms. The volume as a whole, however, occasionally lacks cohesion across its three themes. Nonetheless, this collection significantly enriches soft power scholarship by expanding its temporal, geographical, and disciplinary scope beyond more traditional International Relations perspectives. By engaging with frequently overlooked actors and historical contexts, it provides a deeper understanding of an enduring phenomenon in global politics. It also outlines new avenues for future research at a time when soft power remains as vital as ever.