In this year's Soft Power Survey we look at the hard truths of politics and how a tumultuous year has affected the softer sides of nations. Find out who’s in and who’s out as we count down to the winner.

With its intriguing mix of grand colonial boulevards, art deco façades and buzzing plazas, Uruguay’s capital is emerging as a beacon of creativity and democracy in Latin America. Monocle’s Tomos Lewis and photographer Ana Cuba travelled to Montevideo to find out more about Latam’s most liveable, lovable and liberal capital.

The Czech Republic’s second city was central to European design before falling into a troubled 20th-century sleep. Revival came thanks to research investment but its future may lie in its design heritage.

We pull up a bar stool in Amsterdam at the inaugural Night Mayor Summit to hear from pioneering night watchmen and urban provocateurs in cities around the world.

This city of 13 million nurtures a balance of hi-tech efficiency and traditional neighbourhood values – and it’s a combination that wins the Japanese capital the top spot for a second year running. Our film focuses on its nocturnal delights, from sunset sports to the public-transport system, restaurants to late-night shopping. (You can also buy our Tokyo travel guide, available now at the [Monocle Shop.](https://monocle.com/shop/books-and-music/travel-guides/the-monocle-travel-guide-tokyo/))

The ups and downs of our annual global ranking covering the world's most liveable cities – who's in and who's out?

From diplomacy to government, business to media, how do we create a vibrant nation? To coincide with the publication of [“How to Make a Nation: A Monocle Guide”](https://monocle.com/shop/books-and-music/books/how-to-make-a-nation-a-monocle-guide/), Steve Bloomfield posed this question to panellists and delegates at our Quality of Life Conference in Vienna.

Monocle's Steve Bloomfield and photographer Zed Nelson travel to São Tomé to report on the corruption and misguided ambition that have been a blight on the fortunes of this tropical African island.

The republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus lies in purgatory. Despite its violent history, peace and PR is seen as the fastest route to normality; we visited just before the flare-up in 2016 to see if it can succeed.

Can good design cut through the babble? Who are the media players that still engage us in print and beyond? How can technology become less demanding and more friendly? And what happens when we stop meeting face to face? This film set up the digital-versus-analogue debate at Monocle’s Quality of Life Conference in Vienna.