“This seven-chapter book is a powerful testimonial to consummate African scholarship. Its analysis is rigorous, insightful, lucid and authoritative, providing fresh perspectives on selected uniquely African philosophies, and the potential­ ities, deployment and limitations of soft power in Africa’s international relations. The author rigorously Africanises the concept, broadening its analytic scope from its biased Western methodology, thus brilliantly fulfilling that great African pro­ verb made famous by the inimitable Chinua Achebe: ‘that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter’. This is truly an intellectual tour de force.” W. Alade Fawole, Professor of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. “This book addresses an important tool in the arsenal of foreign policy from an African perspective. African states have significant soft power capacities, although soft power is not always appreciated as a lever of influence, or fully integrated into countries’ foreign policy strategies. Tella takes Nye’s original concept and Africanises it, discussing Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa via their respective philosophies of Pharaonism, Harambee, Omolúwàbí and Ubuntu. This study is a critical contribution to the literature on African foreign policies and how to use soft power to greater effect in building African agency on the global stage.” Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive, South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, South Africa. “Soft power is seldom associated with African states, given decades bedevilled by coup d’états, brazen dictatorships and misrule. This ground-breaking book is certainly a tour de force in conceptualising soft power in the African context. It is a must read for experts and students of African diplomacy and international affairs.” Peter Kagwanja, President and Chief Executive, Africa Policy Institute, Nairobi, Kenya; and Adjunct Professor of Diplomacy and International Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Africa’s Soft Power This book investigates the ways in which soft power is used by African countries to help drive global influence. Selecting four of the countries most associated with soft power across the con­ tinent, this book delves into the currencies of soft power across the region: from South Africa’s progressive constitution and expanding multinational corporations, to Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry and Technical Aid Corps (TAC) scheme, Kenya’s sport diplomacy, fashion and tourism industries, and finally Egypt’s Pan-Arabism and its reputation as the cradle of civilisation. The book asks how soft power is wielded by these countries and what constraints and contradictions they encounter. Understandings of soft power have typically been driven by Western scholars, but throughout this book, Oluwaseun Tella aims to Africanise our understanding of soft power, drawing on prominent African philosophies, including Nigeria’s Omolúwàbí, South Africa’s Ubuntu, Kenya’s Harambee, and Egypt’s Pharaonism. This book will be of interest to researchers from across political science, international relations, cultural studies, foreign policy, and African Studies. Oluwaseun Tella is Director, The Future of Diplomacy, Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Global Africa Series Editors: Toyin Falola and Roy Doron Yoruba Oral Tradition in Islamic Nigeria A History of DÀDÀKÚÀDÁ Abdul-Rasheed Na’allah Development in Modern Africa Past and Present Perspectives Edited by Martin S. Shanguhyia and Toyin Falola Borders, Sociocultural Encounters and Contestations Southern African experiences in Global view Edited by Christopher Changwe Nshimbi, Inocent Moyo & Jussi Laine Governance and Leadership Institutions in Nigeria Edited by Ernest Toochie Aniche and Toyin Falola African Indigenous Knowledges in a Postcolonial World Essays in Honour of Toyin Falola Edited by Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso, Ngozi Nwogwugwu and Gift Ntiwunka Nigerian Female Dramatists Expression, Resistance, Agency Edited by Bosede Funke Afolayan Bessie Head and the Trauma of Exile Identity and Alienation in Southern African Fiction Joshua Agbo Africa’s Soft Power Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports Oluwaseun Tella The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe Kalu Ogbaa Illicit Financial Flows from South Africa Decolonial Perspectives on Political Economy and Corruption Edited by Serges Djoyou Kamga Africa’s Soft Power Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports Oluwaseun Tella First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue,New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Oluwaseun Tella The right of Oluwaseun Tella to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Tella, Oluwaseun, author. Title: Africa's soft power : philosophies, political values, foreign policies and cultural exports / Oluwaseun Tella. Other titles: Global Africa ; 21. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Series: Global Africa ; 21 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020057540 (print) | LCCN 2020057541 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032008356 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003176022 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Power (Social sciences)–Africa. | Africa–Foreign relations–Philosophy. | Nigeria–Foreign relations. | South Africa–Foreign relations. | Egypt–Foreign relations. | Kenya–Foreign relations. Classification: LCC JZ1773 .T385 2021 (print) | LCC JZ1773 (ebook) | DDC 327.96–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057540 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057541 ISBN: 978-1-032-00835-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-00836-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-17602-2 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003176022 Typeset in Baskerville by Taylor & Francis Books Contents List of tables viii Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction 1 2 De-Americanising and Africanising soft power 12 3 Nigeria: Naija swagger 41 4 South Africa: Mzansi symbolism 82 5 Egypt: The resilient pharaoh 123 6 Kenya: Harambee attraction 149 7 Conclusion: Africa as a model 174 Bibliography 179 Index 200 Tables 1.1 Soft Power 30 2 1.2 Global Soft Power Index 3 1.3 The eight largest economies in Africa 4 3.1 Grants received by Nollywood 44 3.2 2015 MAMA Awards 46 3.3 2016 MAMA Awards 47 3.4 Nigeria’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations 54 3.5 Corruption Perception Index 65 3.6 Freedom in Africa 66 4.1 2015 MAMA awards 84 4.2 2016 MAMA AWARDS 84 4.3 Times Higher Education top 10 African universities 88 4.4 Cybermetrics Lab top 10 African universities 88 4.5 Top ten most admired African brands in 2020 102 4.6 2020 Global Peace Index 105 4.7 Migrant acceptance index 113 5.1 The ten countries with the highest number of jobs created in the travel and tourism sector 124 5.2 Top ten remittance recipients in 2018 129 5.3 Top ten troop contributors to the United Nations 135 6.1 2019 IAAF top 10 medallists 151 6.2 Top ten countries of origin of tourists visiting Kenya 153 6.3 International Criminal Court cases 164 6.4 Kenya’s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index 170 Acknowledgements There is no gainsaying that a writer’s life is a lonely one. However, I found myself in the deepest solitude while writing this book owing to a major life challenge, particularly in the year the manuscript was completed. This book grew out of my previous research on soft power published in journal articles and book chapters. For several years, I have engaged how Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, and the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) wield their soft power resources in Africa. I have also examined the place of soft power in regional governance, focusing on the African Union (AU). This has provided me (in this book) with the opportunity to present my thoughts on how the regional powers in Africa – Nigeria and South Africa as well as Egypt and Kenya – have exercised their soft power on the continent and beyond. Thus, in my deepest solitude, I had to rely on the support of family, friends, and colleagues without whom this book would not have been completed. First, I would like to thank the ultimate soft and hard power force – Almighty God – who saw me through arguably the most challenging period of my life. I am also grateful to my aunt, Mrs Omolola Faluade, who provided the moral and spiritual support I needed during the period. I completed the first draft of the book at her house in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I also relied heavily on the spiritual and moral support of Pastors Tunde Obokhai, Maltida Obokhai, and John Mowoe, and my spiritual brother, Dr Adeoye Akinola. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my colleagues at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg, particularly the formid­ able Director, Professor Alexander Broadbent, and Director of Research, Anthony Kaziboni, for their unwavering support in the final year of this project. The high value the Institute places on research contributed to the success of this book. I also owe a profound debt of gratitude to my parents and siblings for their support during challenging times. I hope that this seminal work on Africa’s soft power will make a significant contribution to academic scholarship on regional powerhood and foreign policy in Africa. I also hope that this contribution will shape the decisions of African policymakers in an increasingly globalised world where the need for effective deployment of soft power cannot be overemphasised.