China in Africa: America's Soft Power Challenge

Abstract

This thesis examines the challenges posed to US strategic interests by China's use of soft power in Africa and argues that the US needs to respond with its own soft power campaign while recognizing that it can actually benefit from China's deep engagement on the continent. More specifically, this thesis will assess the effectiveness of China's historical "narrative offensive," examine China's grand strategy in the context of aid to developing nations, evaluate America's response to China's Africa strategy, and consider implications and a way ahead for both nations, Africa represents multiple strategic interests for the US: HIV/AIDS, oil, global trade, armed conflicts, and terror. China enjoys over 60 years of uninterrupted activity on the continent. During this period, China created multiple soft layers of activity with African governance culminating with institutionalized diplomatic overtures and economic assistance through the recurring Forums on China-Africa Cooperation and Chinese banking institutions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA600836

Entities

People

  • Toby E. Merrill

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Continents
  • Developing Nations
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Education
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Natural Resources
  • New York
  • Political Systems
  • United States
  • United States Africa Command

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Strategic Security Studies