Perceptions of former President Trump and handling of the pandemic to blame, as US ranks last on COVID-19 metric, among 105 nations in the study Well-governed nations climb ranks in top 20 – Japan is top-performing Asian nation and second overall, just behind Germany Australia is only new entrant in top 10 as traditional powerhouses – UK, France, China, Russia, India – see mixed perceptions of pandemic responses New Zealand is fastest-improving in ranking, climbing to 16 th th) and Luxembourg (32 nd) highest ranked new entrants LONDON, March 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A year of widespread turmoil is starkly reflected in America's steep drop in the Global Soft Power Index 2021, making the US the fastest-falling soft power nation globally. Defined as ability to influence the preferences and behaviors of other nations around the world, soft power is linked to attraction or persuasion, rather than coercion.