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

Tella, Oluwaseun

doi:10.1080/02589346.2017.1295620

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…That many of the articles produced during the Zuma era addressed BRICS-Africa interaction is not surprising since scholars and officials in South Africa argue that the country's BRICS membership "serves as a gateway for BRIC countries to Africa." 39 Among BRIC states, China is clearly the primary focus: of the 45 total articles dealing with the relationship between BRIC states and South Africa or Africa, 76% focused on China. In contrast, research on relations between the United States and South Africa or Africa more broadly remains limited.…”

Section: Alliances From a Rising Power Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking “Alliances”: The Case of South Africa as a Rising Power

Williams

Papa

2020

African Security

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How does South Africa view international alliances? International relations (IR) scholars have been debating the end of alliances and the relevance of the alliance paradigm itself. South Africa presents an excellent test case for advancing these debates for three reasons. First, it has been committed to nonalignment yet engages in close and complex interstate collaborations. Second, debates about the alliance paradigm have largely taken place in, and focused on, the Global North. And third, there is a gap in South African scholarship on this subject. This article examines the South African understanding of alliances through a systematic study of its academic and policy landscape including an analysis of 285 articles from South Africa's five most highly ranked IR journals and key policy documents produced during the post-apartheid period. The article outlines how alliances are conceptualized and operationalized. It finds that the alliance concept in South Africa departs from the traditional understanding in the Global North: alliances are often driven by mutually shared political and developmental objectives rather than an external security threat. These objectives, combined with a perception of new economic opportunities, have led to an increase in the importance of South Africa's strategic partnerships with rising powers, and reinforced its multi-alignment diplomacy.

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Section: Alliances From a Rising Power Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking “Alliances”: The Case of South Africa as a Rising Power

Williams

Papa

2020

African Security

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“…This contradicts the Western culture that privileges the individual. Thus, Africa possesses human values to offer the world and the West in particular where there seems to be a moral vacuum (Tella, 2017b). This implies that Africa could well serve as a model in terms of humanness and placing community over individualism.…”

Section: Aspiration 5: An Africa With a Strong Cultural Identity Commentioning

confidence: 99%

Agenda 2063 and Its Implications for Africa’s Soft Power

Tella

2018

Journal of Black Studies

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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.

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“…Ubuntu might become attractive even to Western societies that seem to be experiencing a moral vacuum. South Africa and other African states might serve as a source of inspiration on the values of humanness and community rather than individualism (Tella, 2017). Nussbaum (2003) observes that Ubuntu could have a positive influence on international relations and the transformation of organizations.…”

Section: Currencies Of South Africa’s Soft Power: Culture Political mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Masters (2015) has explored the nexus between South African parliamentary diplomacy and soft power. The second strand of scholars such as Ogunnubi and Isike (2015), Smith (2011), Bodomo (2009) and Tella (2017) have adopted a comparative approach to analyse how South Africa’s soft power has fared against the backdrop of regional and global powers’ soft power including Nigeria and the BRIC countries. The notable comprehensive and conscious attempt to examine the contradictions that impede the projection of South Africa’s soft power is an article by Tella and Ogunnubi (2014) in which the authors explore how xenophobia has punctured South Africa’s soft power efficacy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Tella

2017

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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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.

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

Cited by 17 publications

References 26 publications

Rethinking “Alliances”: The Case of South Africa as a Rising Power

Rethinking “Alliances”: The Case of South Africa as a Rising Power

Agenda 2063 and Its Implications for Africa’s Soft Power

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

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