Search

This article aims to analyze Türkiye's humanitarian diplomacy and development cooperation strategies toward Africa within a theoretical and conceptual framework, assessing their impact and significance on the continent. The research problem addresses how Türkiye's unique approach, which integrates historical ties, cultural interactions, and development efforts, distinguishes it from other global and regional actors. The arguments presented highlight that Türkiye's humanitarian diplomacy strategy, based on mutual benefit and sustainable development goals, has effectively enhanced its positive image and influence in Africa. The hypothesis posits that Türkiye's humanitarian diplomacy and development cooperation efforts have strengthened its position as a humanitarian actor on the continent and contributed to achieving sustainable development goals. The findings suggest that the country's activities in healthcare, education, agriculture, and socio-cultural fields have created significant impacts, improving local communities' living conditions and fostering sustainable development. Furthermore, Türkiye's distinct approach, unlike traditional Western policies, is characterized by an emphasis on mutual interdependence and cooperation, positioning it as a reliable partner in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic has been a real challenge and severe test of International Relations. It has been also a chance to gain or lose points in inter-power rivalry in Africa, which is full of contradictions. On the one hand, rich in human and natural resources, including energy ones. On the other hand, full of poverty, poor infrastructure (including health infrastructure), internal conflicts and political and economic instability what have a bad influence on the world economy and security. China, which nowadays is perceived as one of the most aggressive competitors in Africa, seems to conduct highly consistent policy towards this continent without any break, even in time of COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is an attempt to analyse Chinese activities in Africa at that time in context of global competition in this area and to evaluate how much they can influence China’s position there. Thus, after a brief historical background, it presents the most significant formal events and declarations between both partners, along with Chinese “mask and vaccine diplomacy” towards Africa from early 2020 until the beginning of 2023. The elements like soft power actions were especially under consideration in this analysis as these ones that are the most effective in the contemporary global policy, or at least equally fruitful as hard power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global health crises unfolded a novel phenomenon, COVID-19 related aid has ushered in a new chapter in the development landscape which has currently taken on the interest of scholars. This research probes Turkish humanitarian aid policy in the context of COVID-19 towards sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period of March 2020 to September 2022, by investigating various indicators to establish the relationship between Turkey's aid behaviour and the recipient's economic, diplomatic, political and religious standpoint. Scrutinizing sectorial breakdown, the scope of aid and country profiles of Turkey's medical aid to SSA, it unveils the volatile nature of Turkey's aid behaviour, at the time of the recent global crises, towards the region which is by its nature located on the fringe of the traditional Turkish foreign policy landscape. Based on the public diplomacy paradigm, this research questions to what extent benevolence humanitarianism was pertinent to Turkey's medical aid practices during the COVID-19 period? This research claims that humanitarian aid is a potential component of Turkish soft power paradigm, often framed within the public diplomacy context as it fosters a better image to those being represented. Consequently, it purports that Turkey's medical aid could provide new scope to foster Turkey's further engagement with Africa, at a time when Ankara already enjoys a strategic partnership in relation to the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the patterns and consequences of transnational audiences' engagement with global media in the digital age, focusing on experiences in Africa. It examines Nigerians' interactions with the BBC World Service, and draws on active audience theory and Joseph Nye's soft power concept to unpick their complex relationship. Using documentary analysis, focus groups and individual interviews, the study unpacks how Nigerians deploy digital devices to engage with the BBC – and how the broadcaster leverages this to extend its influence. The impacts of digital technologies on participatory programming and audience interactivity – and the theoretical implications – are also analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey, which had a narrow foreign policy towards the Western World during the Cold War, ignored many regions. In this context, the African continent stands out as a region that is kept in the background by Turkey. However, as a result of the changing international system with the end of the Cold War, Turkey revised its foreign policy and began to operate with a multidimensional system. With this new understanding of foreign policy, previously relegated African continent has also become a priority. This study, which is based on the assumption that presence in different geographies can be achieved through the understanding of humanitarian diplomacy rather than the practices such as war or economic embargo, examines Turkey's humanitarian aid activities towards Africa. The study also discusses Turkey's activities towards Africa within the concept of soft power and concludes that these activities are carried out through public diplomacy and non-governmental organizations. These aid activities are evaluated on the basis of constructivism focusing on the concepts such as identity and culture, and inferences are made. In addition, the study assumes that the aid activities undertaken will have a positive impact on Turkey's image in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report discusses Egypt's historical and modern strategic orientation in Africa, including the Nile Basin and the Horn of Africa. The continent was viewed as a source of trade, influence, and power and a potential threat to Egypt's Nile Valley civilization. In the post-independence period, Africa is witnessing constant tensions and conflicts, exacerbating its complex economic, political, and humanitarian crises. Within this context, global and regional powers are constantly vying for control, driven by Africa's geostrategic importance. However, neoliberal policies since the 1970s, as well as the repercussions of the Arab Spring in 2011, led Egypt to move away from the periphery of its African circle, allowing the rising powers in Africa and the Middle East to influence Egypt's strategic position there. This development raises critical questions: How has Egypt's African role developed? What are the current challenges? How can Egypt use its soft power effectively in Africa? The report discussed these questions, pointing out the essential factors and dimensions that shaped its strategic direction south of its national borders. It also shows how Egypt's role in Africa has declined in recent decades, including the repercussions of soft power dynamics in light of multifaceted challenges. These major soft power dynamics are water security threats and international and regional competition. In trade and investment with Africa, the report stresses the need for Egypt to formulate comprehensive strategies and participate in regional partnerships. It considers Egypt's historical experience would help to catalyze the adaptation of policies to evolving circumstances; Egypt can proactively secure its interests and exercise its influence in the evolving landscape in Africa. In the end, the report concluded that Egypt still has the concern and the potential to navigate the challenges faced by its role in the last decade, specifically as it transformed into more stable politically and economically. It might take the initiative to mediate between African competitors locally and regionally, as is the case in Sudan and Western Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2017 and 2018, US President Donald Trump introduced a Section 301 investigation into China’s trade practices following allegations of unfair trade practices against China (Bown & Kolb, 2018). The battlelines first emerged when China surpassed the US in 2009 to become Africa’s largest trading partner, having signed bilateral trade agreements with over 40 countries in the African continent. By the second decade of the 2000s, the rise of the digital economy, estimated to grow at between 15% and 25% annually in emerging countries (WEF, 2017), drew Africa into the crosshairs of the US-China trade war. Between 2018 and 2023, over 36 Chinese high-tech companies were blacklisted by the US, citing concerns over national security (Sevastopulo et al., 2022). Against this background, the article places the US-China standoff over digital supremacy in Africa in a media context, bringing novel dimensions into consideration that illuminate a media war focused on competing hegemonic agendas. The article springboards off Bastiansen et al. (2019, pp. 5-8) to argue that the trade war between the two countries presents an ideal setting to study partisan and elite perspectives reflected in news reporting on the international conflict. By expanding the scope of analysis to the media as a mode of information, the article’s main departure point is that the trade war between the two countries that began in 2009, when China surpassed the US to become Africa’s largest trading partner, is being interlocuted through the agency of soft power, with media outlets playing a pivotal role in shaping public biases. A central theme emerging from the research is that media publications have clear biases. Generally, the US news media outlets analysed are heavily critical of the Chinese government and its cutting-edge technologies in Africa. In contrast, the popular Chinese media outlets analysed adopt a defensive stance in their responses to the US. Revealing this through thematic analysis can contribute valuable insights into the dynamics of the tech war between China and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of its strategy to win African votes for election to the UN Security Council (2008–12), Canberra sought to leverage its soft power potential by presenting Australia as having "no colonial baggage" in Africa while framing Australia as "a country from the Global North, located in the Global South," and one that would "work with other small and middle powers." Ultimately, the campaign was successful, including up to 50 of Africa's 54 countries voting for Australia. This paper considers this framing in the context of a shared but differentiated colonial history, including its contradictions, given that Australians fought several wars on African soil on behalf of the British Empire, supported white minority regimes and anti‐communist movements on the continent, and maintained the white Australia policy until the 1970s. The paper deploys decoloniality theory to engage Australia's lack of a neat fit within a historicised articulation of a "coloniser‐colonised" relationship between Europe and Africa. We show that, despite this lack of fit, Australia's relations with the countries of Africa reinforce long‐standing of patterns of knowledge, power, and being associated with colonialism. Accordingly, the paper makes three recommendations for cooperation and innovative thinking in foreign policy and diaspora diplomacy between Africa and a more independent and multicultural Australia based on the "equality of being." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, China has become increasingly influential in Africa, and the US policy pivoting to confront domestic challenges and withdrawing from its role in international fora has raised many concerns. Based on this global context, this paper examines the US-China soft power competition through foreign aid. It takes a relational lens to analyze their aid to the African countries. It first looks at how foreign aid could be transformed into soft power assets, and then innovatively puts the two countries side by side and examines the relational powers of their foreign aid and the impacts on the other's national image. The paper uses ordered (Ordinary Least Squares) OLS, ordered logit, and IV regression to analyze aid data and opinion poll data. The results show that foreign aid can promote the African perceptions of both countries. It also finds that Chinese aid has a negative impact on the image of the US in Africa, while American aid has no significant effect on African perception of China. This conclusion aligns with the competitive nature of the US–China relationship. China's model of aid may be preferred by Africans, while the US may need to revisit its approaches in Africa in order to turn this situation around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy security has developed into one of the important drivers of Chinese foreign strategy towards Africa. China's diplomatic maneuverings have commercialized its energy needs to ensure lasting and uninterrupted access to resources such as oil and gas from countries endowed with resources particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Ironically, Africa is rich in oil resources but lacks the technological and monetary know-how to explore these resources for the good of the African people. Therefore, Africa has become the target of Chinese oil and gas companies. China continues to employ tactical soft power strategies to infiltrate Africa's exploration and engineering sectors to accomplish its energy needs. China with its technological and financial advantage over Africa continues to invest huge resources in the African energy industry. Chinese energy investment is evident in every part of Africa. China's energy diplomacy aims to secure much-needed energy for the ever-increasing Chinese domestic and industrial needs at a substantially cheaper price. This study seeks to unearth the Driving factors of Chinese energy diplomacy towards Africa from the perspective of international energy security while outlining its effects. The methodology for this study is desktop research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of the “Global South,” Africa has become a crucial support for Japan to realize its long-held dream of becoming a “political power.” Strategically, in order to expand its strategic space, Japan has tried to lure African countries into its Indo-Pacific vision. Politically, Japan has united African countries closely for the purpose of pushing for UN reform. Economically, Japan has improved its economic diplomacy with Africa to consolidate the foundation for pragmatic cooperation. In terms of security, Japan has optimized its institutional design to ensure secure African energy supplies. With regard to soft power, Japan values the guiding role of concepts and stresses on-the-ground practices to enhance its influence in Africa. Due to the long-held exogenous nature of Japan’s Africa policy and the weak civilian foundation of Japan-Africa cooperation, there exist many constraints for Japan to realize its strategic objectives towards Africa. Against the backdrop of the rise of the “Global South,” the negative impact of Japan’s Africa policy on ChinaAfrica cooperation has begun to emerge. Looking to the future, Japan’s policy adjustments towards Africa will only have its desired effects if it abandons its mistaken perception of the “Global South.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Türkiye has become an assertive player in soft power politics since Joseph Nye coined the term and its subsequent adoption by leaders as a coherent external relations strategy. Focusing on Africa from the beginning of 2000, Türkiye has built its structures of influence and steadily expanded its persuasion on the continent. The wielding of Türkiye's soft power in Africa is yet to receive sufficient academic attention. This study attempts to contextualise the extent of Türkiye's attractive power using the flourishing social economic relations with Kenya as a case study. Soft power is necessary in enhancing people-to-people relations, knowledge and information sharing, improvement of trade networks, and staging of coalitions against global threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops an ideal type of South-South cross-border marriage. Based on an eight-month multi-sited ethnography in Ethiopia and China, I identified an unusual conjuncture of global forces, connections, and imaginations that facilitated cross-border marriages between Chinese men and local women in Ethiopia, which should be considered a novel ideal type. Its theoretical novelty is not only defined by the unique dynamics among Sino-Ethiopian spouses vis-à-vis the "segregated" Chinese documented in existing studies but also by these marriages' distinct formation mechanisms. Sino-Ethiopian marriage is not formed due to China being an attractive destination but is associated with China's incompatible hard and soft power as forces, Chinese factories and accumulated Sino-Ethiopian social networks in local communities as connections, and localized imaginations. Furthermore, this study calls for a paradigm shift in examining cross-border marriages between a developing South and a rising South in this dramatically changing global capitalist world system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of international relations have long recognized the importance of soft power in great powers' hegemonic designs. In contrast, we know little of middle powers' employment of noncoercive strategies of attraction and, in particular, how soft power operates in the context of middle-power antagonism. We suggest that, first, soft power enhances coalition-building strategies for middle powers. Contrary to expectations that states join forces against a shared threat, the use of soft power via development aid produces an "Us" versus "Them" distinction in target states that unites them in the absence of a common enemy. Second, middle states' soft-power strategies are likely to support coalition maintenance so long as it does not challenge target states' national interests. Utilizing extensive archival and interview-based data, we examine how soft power featured in Egyptian–Israeli competition across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1957 to 1974. We demonstrate how soft power operates beyond the context of great power agenda setting, therefore providing novel evidence for the importance of soft power in the interplay between interstate antagonism and noncoercion in world politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the literature on regional power-hood and its application to Africa with a view to answering two key questions: one, whether we can talk of regional hegemons in the continent in real terms, and two, whether group hegemonic leadership better explains regional hegemonic behavior in Africa. It uses Sandra Destradi conceptual framework and Miriam Prys' typology of regional power-hood to answer these questions, with South Africa and Nigeria as case studies. Using Prys' typology which distinguishes between regional detached powers, regional hegemons and regional dominators as an analytical framework, the paper confirms what already exists in the literature, viz. that neither South Africa nor Nigeria neatly fit the conception of regional hegemons in Africa. However, it uses both countries as empirical cases to argue that they already act as hegemonic leaders and in cooperative ways that suggest group or shared leadership, using specific Common African Positions they have led in Africa. The analysis concludes by laying out the normative basis for a Group Hegemony composed of not only South Africa and Nigeria, but also other sub-regional leaders in the continent. This is based on the hard power shortfalls and internal weaknesses of both our case studies including their relative soft power resources which have utility in an increasingly intersocial international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing FDI in Africa from China and India in recent years has drawn the attention of scholars, policy makers, and the media. Africa is an arena where the two emerging giants compete on different bases. Indian firms have the advantage of institutional proximity and large diaspora communities in Africa, while Chinese firms rely on government-to-government relationship-building. The rivalry between India's soft power and Chinese hard power in Africa will continue for the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last seventy years, Africa has suffered a disease burden that is steadily growing in scale and complexity. Despite that, health development in the continent has continued to rely on donors' packages since decolonization. The last decade, however, has marked some health-related achievements on the continent such as the development of the Africa Health Strategy 2016-2030, the establishment of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the launch of The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and most recently the African Medicines Agency (AMA). These developments and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance and the opportunities of practicing Global Health Diplomacy on the continent. Home to 27% of the world's countries, Africa has a tremendous global voting power which makes global health diplomacy an unequivocally effective soft power tool to achieve "The Africa we want". In this paper, we will expand on the importance of Global Health Diplomacy (GHD) practice in Africa as a soft power tool, illustrate the COVID-19 response in the continent championed by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) as a case study, and offer some recommendations to sustain and strengthen GHD's role in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is foreign aid an effective instrument of soft power? Does it generate affinity for donor countries and the values they espouse? This article answers these questions in the context of Chinese aid to Africa and the competing aid regime of the United States. The study combines data on thirty-eight African countries from Afrobarometer, AidData, and the Aid Information Management Systems of African finance and planning ministries. The authors use spatial difference-in-differences to isolate the causal effects of Chinese and US aid. The study finds that Chinese aid to Africa does not increase (and may in fact reduce) beneficiaries' support for China. By contrast, US aid appears to increase support for the United States and to strengthen recipients' commitment to liberal democratic values, such as the belief in the importance of elections. Chinese aid does not appear to weaken this commitment, and may strengthen it. The study also finds that Chinese aid increases support for the UK, France and other former colonial powers. These findings advance our understanding of the conditions under which competing aid regimes generate soft power and facilitate the transmission of political principles and ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides an analysis of certain key notions, such as solidarity and pragmatic solidarism in Hungarian foreign policy especially towards Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular during Communist times, as well as pragmatism as such, both during the Soviet period and in the post-Communist era. This will be contextualized in the gradual build-up of the Global South since the Bandung Conference of 1955. Special attention is provided to underscore the importance of education and government scholarships - as successful soft power tools - in fostering long-term relations with an enhanced interest in deepening economic cooperation. The article offers an analysis of the unfolding of the Hungarian Africa policies/strategies as a case study, but in the broader regional context of the Visegrad Four. The contribution of this paper to the field is that it broadens the relatively scarce literature on CEE foreign policies, in general, and on the Africa-policies, in particular, and offers a documented overview to better understand the Hungarian case, which has normative relevance for EU policies and geopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of International Affairs (04866096) is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Surra Man Ra'a is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The basis of China's relations with African countries dates back to the 1950s. Especially in 1955, the Bandung Conference, in which China and African countries came together, provided an excellent opportunity for these countries to establish bilateral relations. While China did not have diplomatic relations with Africa in the pre-Cold War period and had limited relations with the continent in the context of the developments in the international system during the Cold War period, a critical revival was observed in China's relations with Africa in the 1990s. The 2000s were the years when this vitality reflected on economic indicators. Apart from these emphases, China's policies in the framework of soft power strategy have a significant impact on the positive progress of China's relations with African countries. China's interest in Africa has been directly influenced by changes in China and the international system for nearly seventy years covering the specified period. Both its economic potential and the need to provide the resources, China has developed commercial and economic cooperation and partnerships with other states. This situation inevitably leads China to relate to different geographies. With its political and military power, which has developed in parallel with its increasing economic power, China has become one of the major players in the international system. In this study, it is revealed how China's foreign policy towards Africa adapts to the changes and transformations witnessed in the country and international system. It is emphasized that China tries to develop different strategies from traditional actors who are active in the continent since the colonial period. In this direction, the main question of the study is whether Africa is a competition area for China or a clear trade area. The apparent hypothesis is a developing Chinese presence in Africa and its discovery. For this reason, China's existence in Africa was tried to be tested in the historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does Chinese central media represent Africa through its environmental news? This article argues that the way in which Chinese central media organisations have reported environmental issues across the African continent has altered from a reactive "charm defensive" towards the promotion of a developmental model: "Ecological Civilisation". Based on a critical discourse analysis of headline African news published by the Xinhua News Agency, this research illustrates the emergence of this new, unexpected turn in Chinese representations of Africa, as well as highlighting the coherencies and tensions within this discourse. Questioning why this change in the emphasis of content has occurred, it investigates explanations at the macro-, mezzo-, and micro-levels of analysis, concluding that the evidence indicates that Xinhua's content remains closely linked to the soft power goals of the Chinese Communist Party. However, the presence of risk discourses in some reports indicates that the hegemonic discourse is altering. This could potentially be the result of Xinhua's own commercial objectives in Africa, or of the subjectivities of individual Xinhua journalists seeping into reports. This research provides significant contributions to an understanding of Chinese soft power in Africa, the ecology of Chinese media in Africa, and the development of environmental discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the place of non-economic drivers in China–Africa relations. While existing studies are hinged on economic relations between Beijing and the continent, this study focuses on non-economic aspects that underlie Africa's relations with China. Taking the soft power approach, the paper illuminates on the salience of attractiveness in international politics and interrogates sources of China's attractiveness in the continent and compares China's actions with those of traditional actors for broader empirical coverage and methodological rigour. The authors argue that while economic drivers are an important basis for understanding China–Africa relations, several fundamental features beyond the economic relations supplement the growing relations between Beijing and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last forty years, which encompass the time I have spent working on Africa, archaeological research in Africa has largely contributed to the renewal of knowledge about pottery. It appeared early in this vast continent, more than 10,000 years ago, in the Dogon Country and on the margins of the central massifs of the Sahara, in connection with the exploitation of wild grasses, reflecting a new relationship between man and his environment and lending credence to the idea of early neolithisation due to better climatic conditions. Pottery soon became widespread over a large part of the continent, both at the end of Prehistory and in Protohistory, offering a diversity of forms and dimensions that continues to grow richer and richer. It became an important benchmark for the Sahelian and Sudanese states that flourished during the first millennium of our era and beyond. Even in our agitated present times, pottery continues to play an essential role in the daily and sacred life, while displaying great richness and creativity. Many African countries still have important traditional pottery workshops. Some productions fascinate by their singularity and modernity. Ethnoarchaeology allows a better understanding of their technical and social characteristics. Last but not least, the significance of pottery in African cosmogonies and beliefs, testimony of its long evolution and of the great symbolic power of clay, water and fire, will be mentioned as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 21st century is largely influenced by the globalization of the world, where the great powers are struggling to advance their interests. The African continent has become a strategic place thanks to the reserves of mineral resources, but also demographic development. Russia, like other powers, is trying to advance its interests in Africa with both hard and soft power. The objective of the research was to find out, based on available information, how Russia is gradually overcoming the negative consequences of its withdrawal from Africa after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the promotion of its interests on the continent. In our research, we focused on Russia's geopolitical interests in Africa and the main components of Russian influence in Africa. We compiled a list of Russian geopolitical interests in Africa, and then analysed the political, military-political, economic, and humanitarian components. In the last part, we evaluated the results of the Russian-African summit, which took place in October 2019 in Sochi. Russia is trying to have a position in Africa as it was during the Cold War, but the volume of mutual financing of trade lags far behind the great powers, finally the Russian-African cooperation can significantly affect international relations and the development of the international security environment. The results of the research are useful in determining the international community's policy towards Africa, with an emphasis on the political, military-political, economic and humanitarian components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of soft power has recently become more integrated in China's diplomatic strategy and foreign policy: this work discusses the "Soft Power with Chinese characteristics" and is polarized on the application in African countries. The realm of higher education represents the focus of China's most systematically planned soft power policy and cultural diplomacy; this is evident in Africa where Beijing has committed to the development of human resources. The paper aims to examine the China's use of the soft power and cultural diplomacy and, specifically, the investment in education and human resource development in Africa. It discusses the main aspects of China's education aid ranging from: (1) Confucius Institutes (C.I.), which are providing language and culture-related training in host countries; (2) longer term scholarships and short-term training (3) school construction and stand-alone education projects and, more in general, the development of capacity building for the structural transformation C.I. appears similar to other cultural institutes then, in order to better understand the importance of this soft power instrument, the inter-related dimensions of a network communication approach have been examined. China claims partnership is at the heart of its higher education cooperation with Africa and, if this seems most obvious in the Confucius Institute, several of other modalities rely upon a Chinese partner to deliver staffing, local or overseas training, and/or administration. From this point of view, based on bilateral consultations and dialogs on equal footing, the China-Africa educational exchange and cooperation seems to satisfy the demands of Africa in educational development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korea Aid was a development project delivering Korean medical services, food and pop music via trucks to rural communities in Africa. The project was poorly conceived, vulnerable to corruption and ultimately ineffective. While Korea Aid marked a backward step for Korea's development cooperation, revealing many of the challenges associated with emerging donors, it also reflected Korea's aspiration to become a cultural and developmental alternative to hegemonic nations. This paper examines the historical circumstances that led to the formation of Korea Aid, and further argues that Korea Aid embodied a synthesis of 'cultural soft power' and 'developmental soft power' intended to create the perception of Korea as culturally and developmentally attractive and benign. Korea's current pursuit of developmental soft power intentionally transforms the country's development experience into a 'politically odourless' model, masking its authoritarian undercurrent and in turn camouflaging growing aspirations to expand its global influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, studies on 'regional power dynamics' have emerged detailing the potential leadership role of rising powers across regions. However, contributions on regional powerhood in Africa neglect the utility of 'soft power' for conceptualising the foreign policy behaviour of African regional powers. Given the evident incapacity of a single actor to command absolute strength and secure overwhelming influence within its regional sphere, the ideational value of soft power is a relevant consideration for identifying a state in this category. In Africa, only South Africa and Nigeria consistently display this qualifying feature of an Afrocentric foreign policy posture woven around sufficient material preponderance and strong soft power influence. African foreign policy dynamics present a unique illustration of the tangibility of soft power influence in the estimation of regional powerhood. This study addresses the conceptual limitation in most definitions of regional power's application to the African context and raises the need to introduce the soft power variable in such conceptualisation. I conclude that a complementary regional hegemonic dispensation is evident in Africa where Nigeria, portrayed as a secondary power, is as formidable as South Africa – with both distinguished by the unstable symmetry of their power features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boosting China's soft power is an important goal of Chinese economic statecraft in Africa. However, African opinions of China – in particular those of ordinary people – are understudied, and existing evidence suggests African viewpoints on China are highly varied and polarized. On the one hand, China's growing economic linkages are welcomed by Africans as an important alternative to traditional partners, and a vital source of funding for development needs. On the other hand, Africans see China as a source of poor-quality products and an exploitative threat to local markets. How can scholars understand these polarized opinions on China? Using data from the Afrobarometer Round 6 survey (2016), this article aims to untangle African perceptions of Chinese economic engagement through unpacking the distinctive effects of China's three tools of economic statecraft: trade, foreign direct investment, and aid. Analyses of Chinese influence frequently package these three modes of engagement together, but in practice they have very different consequences for China's soft power. Negative perceptions of China among African citizens are primarily associated with trade-related issues. China's investment and aid, on the other hand, generally make a positive contribution to Chinese soft power in Africa. By highlighting the contrasting effects of different instruments of economic engagement, this analysis contributes insight into Sino-African relations and China's wider economic diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Iran's soft power efforts in Africa through its Al-Mustafa University in Iran and the Iranian Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) from the mid 2000s through the late 2010s. The author maintains that Iran attempts to spread Shiite Islamism throughout Muslim regions of Africa.

Africa has struggled to counteract the negative images (ranging from diseases to war, terrorism, poverty, and crime) that it evokes in the eyes of the global audience. This has punctured Africa’s soft power potential and undermined its influence in the global arena, creating the need for the development of a strong and acceptable normative and strategic framework. In this regard, Agenda 2063’s strong commitment to the African Renaissance and a different and better Africa is critical. The article thus examines the potential of Agenda 2063’s Aspirations 3, 4, and 5 to enhance the continent’s soft power and boost its standing in the international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence indicates that the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can substantially alter the contours of collective violence in developing nations. However, empirical investigations of such effects have generally been hampered by an inability to systematically measure geographic variation in ICT penetration, across multiple technologies and multiple countries. In this article, I show that geo-referenced household surveys can be used to estimate subnational differences in the spatial reach of radio and cellular communications infrastructures in 24 African states. By combining these estimates with geo-referenced measures of the location of disaggregated events of collective violence, I show that there are important differences between centralized ‘mass’ communication technologies – such as radios – that foster vertical linkages between state and society, and decentralized ‘social’ communication technologies – such as cell phones – that foster horizontal linkages between the members of a society. The evidence demonstrates that the geographic reach of mass media penetration generates substantial pacifying effects, while the reach of social media penetration generates substantial increases in collective violence, especially in areas lacking access to mass media infrastructure. I argue that these findings are consistent with a theory of ICT effects which focuses on the strengthening and weakening of economies of scale in the marketplace of ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rise of China as an emergent global power in gaining access to energy and mineral resources is one of the main factors for reinforcing Korea's aid to Africa. Although Korea recognizes the limits of searching for ways of furthering its 'resource diplomacy' based primarily on economic pragmatism, the Korean government has strived to utilize foreign aid as a tool for soft power. Korea's perspective is to play a bigger role in addressing global issues as well as to aspire in becoming a middle power, in the sense that it is not regionally influential in spite of its growing powers. Given that middle power diplomacy tends to pursue a norm-based approach and also provides knowledge and/or ideas relevant to a unique niche that it finds important, it is characteristically soft power-oriented. Taking into account the non-material or ideational factors as well as material ones, constructivists in the field of international relations (IR) recognize the power of ideas, norms, institutions, and interests, which contain the core elements of what Nye calls soft power. In this context, this paper attempts to illuminate some of the important questions as to why and how Korea has endeavored to focus on developing its soft power strategy toward Africa in the new millennium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of Turkey's recently increased engagement in Africa in terms of the potential, limits and future perspectives of relations. It aims to examine Turkey's foreign policy toward Africa and to analyze the driving force behind this foreign policy between 2001 and 2010. The maidens of Turkish Foreign Policy towards African countries have been analyzed as official initiatives and supplementary efforts that demonstrate significant dynamism of Turkish Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The evidences show that Turkish foreign policy has been managed consistently; and as a result of this, improvements on relations are clearly recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil's rapprochement with Africa during the last decade has been mostly explained as an attempt to improve political dialogue, raise economic interactions, and provide technical cooperation assistance. This article, however, argues that such framework does not sufficiently account for the use of Brazilian material resources in order to attain harder strategic goals towards the continent. By focusing on defense cooperation ties, it highlights an important niche in South- South relations that has also grown exponentially, with important consequences on how Brazil exerts power across the Atlantic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The president of the European Council since January 1, 2010 talks about the European Union's global contributions. He comments on the burgeoning of Democracy in Latin America and Africa and the place of globalization and how it impacts Europe. Additional topics of discussion include the state of the European financial crisis, Europe's role as an economic power on the international scene and its role as a mediator during negotiations with Iran, and the impacts of soft power.

The article discusses Chinese interests in Africa as of November 2013. Topics include Chinese imports of African natural resources such as oil and copper and the significance of Africa in the context of the Chinese strategy for the international balance of power. Other topics include Chinese diplomatic efforts in Africa and China's utilization of soft power for the achievement of its foreign policy goals with regard to Africa.