"Power" can be tanks and submarines. It can be the gavel of a Supreme Court judge. Or it can be the position of a UN High Representative. Just by being quoted

"Power" can be tanks and submarines. It can be the gavel of a Supreme Court judge. Or it can be the position of a UN High Representative. Just by being quoted in the papers and us discussing his views, he has power. Sure, it's "soft power" because he cannot force anything on anyone (except maybe a small staff). But that's the sort of soft power that won the Cold War: getting people to do what you want with no carrots nor sticks, simply by making them share your goals. The UN also has very specific powers: they runs dozens of agencies, some of which (like UNHCR) have thousands of people working on-the-ground. They are operating refugee camps with millions of people, co-ordinating the response to that Virus in China, and deciding who gets which international calling code.