While giving “power to the people” may be one of the ways out for ChinaChina’s soft powerSoft power conundrum, the distance between the people and the “powers that be” can often be too great and sometimes a bridge linking the two is needed. Somewhere between government and the people lies civil society—the space where ideas and action come together to drive change. I think it is worth exploring another side of soft powerSoft power in the context of the think tank. Particularly in the USUS, the-ChinaChina context, these organizations are doing great work in driving dialogue, sharing ideas, and ensuring that the impact of the fragmentation and walls that seem to be increasingly common between governments and people is mitigated.