Oluwaseun Tella

South Africa in BRICS: The Regional Power’s Soft Power and Soft Balancing

ABSTRACT BRICS was ostensibly established to counter the global dominance of the US. With the waning of military power and increasing reluctance to engage in hard balancing in the international system, some scholars observe that the BRICS countries are harnessing their non-military power to challenge US global hegemony through soft balancing. South Africa’s membership of BRICS has generated heated debate with many considering the African powerhouse as a minnow in the grouping. Against this backdrop, this article explores if, in common with the other BRICS members, South Africa has the resources to engage in subtle means to balance the influence of the US, particularly in its region. It explores the sources of South Africa’s soft power and the extent to which, if at all, the country relies on soft-balancing techniques to counter US influence. The article employs soft balancing, the soft side of balance of power theory and concludes that, like other BRICS countries, South Africa wields remarkable soft power and engages in soft balancing to counter the US’ influence in Africa and (in concert with other BRICS states) at the global level.

A declining or stable image? An assessment of the United States' soft power in Africa

While the concept of soft power was coined by US scholar Joseph Nye in the early 1990s, the scholarly analysis of the US soft power in Africa remains scarce. This article seeks to engage with the question of soft power arising from US policies, political values and cultural exports in Africa. It employs both primary and secondary data, and focuses on the soft power impact of AGOA and PEPFAR on African perspectives on the US, as well as the impact of US popular culture, brands and educational exchange. The article found that, despite surveys pointing to increasing anti-US sentiments globally in the 21st century, Washington still wields significant soft power in Africa.

Understanding Xenophobia in South Africa: The Individual, the State and the International System

The 2015 xenophobic attacks are a fresh reminder of anti-immigrant sentiments in South Africa. Since the 2008 xenophobic violence in the country, there has been a growing literature on xenophobia in South Africa. This article contributes to the existing discourse by employing levels of analysis as its analytical framework to analyse the recurrent anti-immigrant attitudes and attacks in South Africa. It concludes that xenophobia is indeed pervasive and that effectively ameliorating this pathology requires a conscious and comprehensive diagnosis of the manifestation of xenophobia at the individual, state and inter-state levels.

Wielding soft power in strategic regions: an analysis of China’s power of attraction in Africa and the Middle East

While there is a rich body of scholarly literature on China’s soft power, it has tended to focus on how China’s soft power currencies complement its hard-power resources. Little is known about how China wields its soft power currencies in strategic regions, as the literature has focused on a particular region, particularly Asia and Africa. Thus, this study examines China’s geopolitical influence, drawing attention to its soft power currencies in Africa and the Middle East. It employs both primary and secondary data. The primary data were personal in-depth interviews and internet polls. Interviews were conducted with experts, particularly in the field of international relations. Using purposive sampling, these experts were drawn from the United States, China, South Africa and Nigeria. Low-cadre bureaucrats were also interviewed. The study argues that China’s soft power in Africa and the Middle East is a double-edged sword. While some appreciate China’s presence in these regions, others are either ambivalent or have negative perceptions of this Asian powerhouse. The study concludes that China still requires huge investment in its soft power in order to win the hearts and minds of the majority of the citizens in these regions.

Currencies, Constraints and Contradictions of South Africa’s Soft Power:

Despite increasing interest in South Africa’s soft power in recent years, little analysis is offered on the factors that hinder the projection of such soft power. Most studies have focused on the sources and the optimization of South Africa’s soft power. While this article gives a synoptic account of these sources, it offers a different perspective by engaging the constraints and contradictions that hinder and circumscribe its soft power projection. The article concludes that, in order to maximize its soft power projection, Pretoria must address the impediments that continue to undermine its power of attraction.

Boko Haram Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: The Soft Power Context:

Given terrorists’ use of violence in pursuit of their objectives and violent counter-terrorism measures, terrorism is not often associated with soft power. Nevertheless, terrorist organisations subscribe to ideologies that are appealing to certain individuals and/or segments within their immediate environment and beyond. Similarly, counter-terrorism initiatives that embrace the utility of soft power might be more successful than those that rely on the use of naked force. While the soft power of terrorist organisations has received scant attention, there has been modest scholarly inquiry into a soft power approach to counter-terrorism. However, no comprehensive research has been conducted on the place of soft power in Boko Haram’s activities and the Nigerian government’s efforts to end their campaign. This article offers a new perspective to the burgeoning literature on Boko Haram terrorism by examining whether or not it possesses elements of soft power that are appealing to certain Nigerians. It also examines if the Nigerian government has adopted a soft power approach in its counter-terrorism efforts. The article concludes that effectively tackling the sect will require a smart power strategy.

POLARITY IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: A UNI-INTERPOLAR ORDER?

The structure of power in the international system has generated interest amongst scholars around the globe. Some argue that the international system is unipolar. This is premised on the notion that the United States is the only state with preponderance in all components of power – military, economic, technological and cultural. Other scholars view global politics through a multipolar lens. Unlike the ‘primacists’ (proponents of unipolarity), they posit that the United States has lost its primacy in the global arena and that new players have emerged that compete with it. Furthermore, many scholars posit that the structure of power in today’s international system has become so sophisticated and complex that traditional models such as unipolarity, bipolarity and multipolarity are insufficient to explain the reality in contemporary international realpolitik. It is in this context that Huntington’s uni-multipolarity, Grevi’s interpolarity and Haass’ nonpolarity can be located. Using both primary and secondary data, this article explores the structure of power in contemporary international politics. It seeks to determine whether or not existing models are adequate to explain the dynamics of such politics. It concludes that uni-interpolarity (a hybrid of uni-multipolarity and interpolarity) best explains the features of today’s global politics.

Is Nigeria a soft power state

ABSTRACT The increasing relevance given to soft power by Western and Chinese academics and more importantly their public officials has prompted some African scholars to examine the utility of soft power in the African context. Whilst the literature on South African foreign policy and regional powerhood has paid attention to this issue in recent years, there are few studies on Nigeria’s soft power. Against this backdrop, this article examines whether or not Nigeria is a soft power state. It argues that whilst the country possesses remarkable soft power resources, particularly in Africa, this has not been optimally deployed to achieve the desired outcomes. The article highlights the constraints to Nigeria’s soft power capacity and concludes that Nigeria is at best a potential soft power state. It therefore, urges public officials to pay more attention to the utility of soft power in their foreign policy process and challenges Nigerian academics to take a cue from their counterparts abroad and begin to engage their country’s soft power.

Sport, Politics, and Diplomacy: Perspectives on Durban's (South Africa) Bid to Host the 2022 Commonwealth Games

ABSTRACT This article investigates the wider implications of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s decision to withdraw the invitation to South Africa’s potential host city, Durban to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. A host city has the unique opportunity to communicate with extensive global, regional and national networks through the intersection of sport, politics and diplomacy. The advantages derived from these events are not restricted to a diplomatic level: hosting a major sporting event generates international prestige, establishes strong credentials for the host city/nation, and develops infrastructure countrywide by prompting urban development and renewal. The critical question here is how to evaluate Durban’s loss of the hosting rights against the background of the country’s successful staging of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. We interrogate three crucial issues: Has the inability to host the Commonwealth Games dented South Africa’s international prestige? Has an opportunity to benefit from public diplomacy been lost? Will this loss affect potential urban and infrastructural regeneration?

South African Higher Education: The Paradox of Soft Power and Xenophobia

There is a robust literature on xenophobia in South Africa. Furthermore, there has been recent, although still minimal academic interest in South Africa’s soft power credentials. However, no attention has been paid to the actual or potential role of higher education in the projection of the country’s soft power in the hearts and minds of the remarkable number of international students enroled at the country’s tertiary institutions. By extension, the effects of anti-immigrant sentiments on such power have been ignored. Against this backdrop, this chapter addresses two critical questions: First, does South African higher education elevate the South African soft power? If yes, to what degree? If not, in what ways can this sector enhance Pretoria’s soft power? Second, does xenophobia have an impact on South African higher education’s soft power potential? The study found that the South African higher education sector has enormous potential to portray the country in a positive light and enhance the state’s soft power in Africa. However, recurrent anti-immigrant sentiments circumscribe such potential.