a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terra cotta, etc.: a wall made of concrete blocks. one of a set of cube-shaped pieces of wood, plastic, or the like, used as a child's toy in building. a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape: a hat block.
Neutral powers during World War II. The neutral powers were countries that remained neutral during World War II. Some of these countries had large colonies abroad or had great economic power.
Soft power is the ability to influence and shape others' choices and preferences without the use of traditional hard power tools (i.e. coercion and bribery). Nebulous and somewhat ambiguous, think of soft power as a country's brand, made up as a collection of the country's overall ideology, culture, and policy.