Product details
- ISBN 9781032949246
- Weight: 770g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 21 Oct 2025
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Negative images of Africa, which define the continent as being riven with poverty, crime, or war, are increasingly being challenged. Examples of soft power, such as Nigeria’s Nollywood, athletic successes in Kenya, Rwanda’s commercial diplomacy, and South Africa’s liberal constitution, are all reasserting African agency and shaping more positive understandings of the continent.
This book considers the role and impact of soft power in the African context and how it relates to the 21st century scramble for Africa. Bringing together leading scholars in the field, this book delves into various aspects of soft power in Africa, shedding light on how the continent’s attractiveness is shaped by soft power in the continent’s biggest states, the small states, and also the regional organisations, such as the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and East African Community (EAC). The book then goes on to assess the ways in which great powers, most notably China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and France, are themselves deploying soft power in Africa in order to vie for influence, resources, and strategic advantages.
Understanding Soft Power in Africa will be an important read for researchers in political science, international relations, African studies, and cultural studies, as well as for African policymakers.
Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge in South Africa. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has authored and edited eight books, including Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies, and Cultural Exports (Routledge, 2021), which is the first book on African soft power. In addition, he has published over 40 mostly single-authored book chapters and journal articles in Politikon, Social Dynamics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Black Studies, and other academic journals. He has also written approximately 30 op-eds. His research interests encompass soft power, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics, and knowledge production in Africa.
