Germany has had a foreign policy which included civil society support abroad;
Student exchanges, free university studies here for foreigners - to bring some 'western' liberal ideas into the world
Goethe Institute - basically cultural embassies which teach German language (good for trade, direct investment), promote German arts etc
Supporting intellectuals and opposition parties (in part even meeting them on a visit by the chancellor) by recognising them and speaking with them.
It's all very secondary and low-key, but it might be worth a look at. After all, it may have worked fine. Germany ranks really well whenever the BBC or another source asks world-wide about favourability ratings for countries.
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Imagine Obama launching a student exchange program with Saudi-Arabia; I bet the domestic political reactions would not be very "mature".
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