Soft power is the ability to “obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion and payment” — through means, that is, other than bullets, bullying and bribery.

Israelis of all political persuasions were horrified by recent videos posted by their captors showing two badly emaciated young men in tunnels under Gaza.

But Hutson’s conversion shows that in a country deeply dug into oppositional camps, where political views appear cement-hardened into place, there are still those open to persuasion and even willing to change their minds.

He has analysed 20,000 campaign messages from around the world to come up with eight words that, he says, have been proven to resonate with voters of all political persuasions.

If there are two Dalai Lamas, it could become a test of China's powers of persuasion.