Europe spent the last few decades focussing on being a soft power, yet that did nothing to stop Russia, wars in the middle east or the ongoing migrant crisis.
But there is no perfect solution. There always will be a maniac doing stupid shit because their personal benefit is more valuable for them than the greater good of everyone else. We are now in such a phase again, where all kind of maniacs have become loose, wasting societies for fun and giggles... We will have what we will make of it.