This study emphasizes the role of soft power in China’s relations with Africa. It attempts to explore and interpret China’s role in Africa from Joseph Nye’s perspective of soft power and Realism in general. China’s foreign policy is ideologically underpinned by nationalism. In the past two decades, it is based on the need to protect its national interest, by expanding trade and diplomatic relations. For this reason, China has expanded economic interest in Africa by means of mutual development and investment, economic cooperation and trade. This has led to the growth of ‘soft’ ties between China and Africa, through the provision of aid and diplomatic cooperation. By using ‘soft power’ as a vehicle to promote the perception of a peaceful rise to power, it also makes a valuable contribution to the Chinese goal of constructing a harmonious world. Based on the research, the conclusion is that China has achieved impressive gains in its overall level of soft power in Africa, especially in economic and political aspects of its relationship with Africa and less in its cultural penetrations. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (International Politics)

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study attempts to determine if South Africa was actively attempting to boost its soft power or symbolic power during the country’s bid to host the Fifa 2010 World Cup. Preceding works dealing with mega-events identified a number of potential benefits to the hosting nation. Some of these benefits include opportunities for development (sport and socio-economic), nation building, urban regeneration, and marketing. Previous works have focused a great deal on economic and nation building aspects of mega-events. The marketing possibility for a host to develop as a tourist destination has also enjoyed some focus. There also exists a large amount of literature dealing with power – its nature, resources and types. There is for instance structural and relational power while, in the traditional sense, wealth and military might may be seen as power resources. However, the importance and maintenance of soft power – or symbolic or co-optive power, as defined in this study – has been greatly overshadowed by the traditional ideas of power and as a result, neglected by International Relations scholars. This study links the marketing potential of mega-events with the deployment of soft power. The case study specifically deals with South Africa’s World Cup bid as a marketing forum for enhancing the country’s soft power. For such an analysis it is necessary to investigate South Africa’s diplomatic status, global position, relationship with the North and South, and power resources. The importance of soft power being essential to South Africa’s specific situation, global position and future, is also investigated. Using the bid for the 2010 World Cup, this study concludes that South Africa was indeed projecting specifically chosen images of the country with the intention of enhancing the country’s soft power. It is furthermore argued that these images are both a reflection and in support of South Africa’s foreign policy and emerging middle power position. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie poog om vas te stel of Suid Afrika doelgerig probeer het om die land se sagte mag te versterk tydens die Fifa 2010 Wêreldbekerbod. Vorige studies oor grootskaalse gebeurtenisse meen dat dit sekere potensieële voordele inhou vir die gasheer. Dit sluit in geleenthede vir ontwikkeling (sport en sosio-ekonomies), nasiebou, en stedelike herlewing en bemarking. Vorige werke het ook meerendeels gefokus op die ekonomiese en nasie-bou aspekte van grootskaalse gebeurtenisse. Die bemarkingsvoordele wat dit inhou vir die gasheer se toerismebedryf is ook gereeld vehandel. Daar bestaan ook vele geskrewe werke oor mag. Verskillende bronne van mag is ondermeer ‘n gewilde onderwerp. Daar is byvoorbeeld strukturele mag en verhoudings mag. Tradisioneel word militêre en ekonomiese vermoëns gesien as bronne van mag. Die belangrikheid van sagte mag of simboliese mag, soos dit in hierdie studie gedefinieër word, is egter tot ‘n groot mate oorskadu deur traditionele idees van mag. Daardeur het Internasionale Betrekkinge akademici dit ook tot ‘n mate afgeskeep. Hierdie studie illustreer die bemarkingspotentiaal wat grootskaalse gebeurtenisse inhou vir sagte mag. Die gevallestudie handel spesifiek oor Suid Afrika se 2010 bod as ‘n potentieële bemarkingsforum vir die bevordering van die land se sagte mag. Die analise het vereis dat Suid Afrika se diplomatieke status, globale posisie, verhouding met die Noorde en Suide, en bronne van mag behandel word. Die belangrikheid van sagte mag vir Suid Afrika se toekoms word ook aangespreek. Die gevolgtrekking is dat Suid Afrika wel gepoog het om sekere gekose beelde na die buiteland te projekteer. Die spesifieke doel met die beelde was om die land se sagte mag uit te brei. ‘n Verdere bevinding is dat die beelde gelyktydig Suid Afrika se buitelandse beleid en ontluikende middel magsposisie gereflekteer het.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 2008 global economic crisis marks the beginning of considerable systemic changes in global governance. The ‘Group of 20’ (G20), which entered the centre stage of global governance in response to the crisis, may be seen as both a result of and as a vehicle for those changes. Representing some 85 per cent of the global economy the group has the potential to alter the international order almost by stealth. Hence, there is good reason for undertaking a deeper examination of its role in and impact on global governance. This study critically examines some of the changes in global governance embodied – and brought about – by the G20. By using analytical tools from the critical theory of Robert Cox and constructivism, it studies changes in three dimensions of global governance: the material, the institutional and the ideational, so as to achieve a holistic understanding of the nature of the changes taking place within global governance. In so doing, the study sheds light on the role of the G20 in global governance, the impact of the group on global cooperation and the nature of the shift in global governance that it represents. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die 2008 globale ekonomiese krisis kan as die begin van aansienlike sistemiese veranderinge in globale regeerkunde beskou word. Die 'Groep van 20' (G20), wat in reaksie op die krisis ’n sentrale rol in globale regeerkunde ingeneem het, kan as beide 'n resultaat en drywer van hierdie veranderinge gesien word. Die groep verteenwoordig ongeveer 85 persent van die globale ekonomie, en het dus die potensiaal om grootskaalse verandering in die internasionale orde te weeg te bring. Dit is dus belangrik om die groep se rol in globale regeerkunde meer deeglik te ondersoek. Deur gebruik te maak van analitiese metodes wat gebasseer is op die kritiese teorie van Robert Cox asook konstruktivisme, ondersoek hierdie studie veranderinge in drie dimensies van globale regeerkunde. Materiële en institusionele veranderinge, asook veranderinge binne die dimensie van idees, word geïdentifiseer met die oog op 'n meer holistiese begrip van die aard van die veranderinge. Die studie werp daardeur lig op die rol van die G20 in globale regeerkunde, die groep se impak op globale samewerking, en die aard van die magsverskuiwing in globale regeerkunde wat dit verteenwoordig.

This thesis considers how attitudes shaped British, French, and American policy regarding the rebirth of Poland. From the outbreak of war in 1914 to the plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921, Allied and American policy-makers first considered whether Poland should be an independent state and then where its borders should be. As they did this, they developed attitudes about these questions, for instance about Poles and the right or ability of the Polish nation to administer a modern state. Such considerations assumed that national character exists and is important in the success or failure of a country. My research draws on literature from social psychology in defining the development of such understandings as consistent with stereotyping, in other words using generalisations about social groups to understand those groups or individuals. Allied and American policy-makers considered Poles to be, for instance, quarrelsome, aggressive, anti-Semitic, pitiable, passionate, or loyal. The thesis begins by examining pre-war attitudes to Poland and the impact of the war on these and on the diplomacy of the Polish question. It then discusses the re-emergence of an independent Poland in 1918 and the impact on policies and attitudes of the Polish delegation’s claims at the Paris Peace Conference, of events on the ground, and of the Russo-Polish War. Allied and American decision-making on the rebirth of Poland was central for European diplomacy not only because the attitudes they expressed left lingering grudges on both sides, but also because Poland’s frontiers were an irritant throughout the interwar period until Germany and Russia invaded Poland in September 1939. Moreover, the conclusion that attitudes were a factor in decision-making contributes to a growing recognition among international historians and international relations theorists that it is necessary to look beyond individuals' 'rational' motivations.

Freie Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 2003.

This dissertation of limited scope traces the attempts by Gorbachev (1985-1991) to reform an economic, political and social system which was in a state of terminal decline. The origins of its demise, it is argued, lay in the ossified command economy inherited from Stalin. The enormous damage inflicted on Soviet agriculture during collectivisation in the 1930s~ when millions of productive peasants died, proved to be a fatal blow to that sector. Tlms, Gorbachev followed a two-fold strategy ofrefonn. Glasnost (openness) was introduced to allow constructive debate on economic and social matters. Despite a hesitant beginning, the right to criticise allowed the emergence of more radical campaigners, such as Yeltsin who demanded greater democracy. Significantly, the revival of ethnic nationalist demands in the republics led to disintegration. Perestroika (restructuring) was intended to modernise and boost living standards. The economy faltered but the market was not yet in place / History / M.A. (History)

This study emphasizes the role of soft power in China’s relations with Africa. It attempts to explore and interpret China’s role in Africa from Joseph Nye’s perspective of soft power and Realism in general. China’s foreign policy is ideologically underpinned by nationalism. In the past two decades, it is based on the need to protect its national interest, by expanding trade and diplomatic relations. For this reason, China has expanded economic interest in Africa by means of mutual development and investment, economic cooperation and trade. This has led to the growth of ‘soft’ ties between China and Africa, through the provision of aid and diplomatic cooperation. By using ‘soft power’ as a vehicle to promote the perception of a peaceful rise to power, it also makes a valuable contribution to the Chinese goal of constructing a harmonious world. Based on the research, the conclusion is that China has achieved impressive gains in its overall level of soft power in Africa, especially in economic and political aspects of its relationship with Africa and less in its cultural penetrations. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (International Politics)

The attacks of September 11, 2001, have changed America forever. In a horrific manner the vulnerability of the highly developed states was demonstrated and exposed in world politics. The event is ushering a new political era where far reaching shifts in international relations are under way. In the post Cold-War international world it appears that the ideological conflict between capitalism and socialism has been replaced by a new world order. One that has retained the binary conflict structure of the Cold War, except that this binary is now presented by political Islam and consumerist's capitalism (Martin, 2000:155). Indeed, in the previous bipolar world order, the acute distinction between capitalism and communism served to attenuate the discord in and between religions. This complex blurring of distinctions has been systematically heightened since the end of the Cold War, as it has allowed Western governments to maintain controlling interests outside of their dominions (Gupta, 2002:6) . This struggle has since been conceived in a variety of different, but related ways: A 'Clash of Civilizations' (Huntington 1996), or as an inescapable dialectic typical of the process of globalization itself (Barber, 1996:245). In the case of Huntington's (1996:19-20) genealogical narrative, he refers to global politics and the way in which the future will be reconfigured according to cultural identities. The division along these cultural lines, will furthermore "shape" the patterns of cohesion, disintegration, and conflict in the Post-Cold War world" (Huntington, 1996:20). Huntington's thesis is rather overriding in explaining the clash between the supposedly 'West' vs. 'Rest', whose interaction is historically determined. Yet, the genealogical narrative is not sufficient in taking into account the dynamics of globalization. Benjamin Barber's structural narrative, on the other hand, goes to great lengths to illustrate the paradoxical relationship between Jihad and McWorld, and how both forces tend to survive in a world that they inevitably create. By' acknowledging the relevance of both binaries (East/West), it is hoped to transcend them by presenting a structural-genealogical grand narrative, which will essentially allow one to understand Jihad as being a structural moment of the genealogical narrative. Given this general strategy, it will become perceptible that Jihad is one form of anti-globalization as the structural narratives become part of the genealogical and the genealogical part of the structural. In essence, then, this thesis is attempting to come to grips with the phenomenon of September 11, from a political-philosophical perspective. More specifically, this study will firstly be looking at two different, but related narratives that have emerged post-September 11, to make sense of the event. Given the structural-genealogical approach, the central concern in this study is consequently to look at two separate but related interests. The one pertains to history and the other to historiography.

Strategic upheavals, such as the emergence or disappearance of geopolitical threats or radical technological changes, generate profound uncertainty and intense debate about a state’s future strategy. How do decisionmakers reexamine and revise strategy amidst these upheavals? Existing theories of strategic change recognize the significance of upheavals, but raise questions about the mechanisms by which decisionmakers embrace or discard new ideas about strategy. contend that understanding strategic change requires attention to narratives––stories about the past and present of international politics that suggest legitimate pathways for future action. I develop a theory of narrative emergence, positing that after upheavals, national security elites compete to mobilize support for their vision of future policy. They use public and private debates to legitimate their positions and build domestic coalitions. I identify four rhetorical strategies––persuasion, rhetorical coercion, co-optation, and transgression––that have different effects in mobilizing or demobilizing coalitions. If one coalition builds cross-cutting support, this can entrench their rhetoric in public discourse over time as part of a dominant narrative that shapes subsequent strategy debates through constraining and enabling effects. I evaluate this theory in the context of two cases of strategic upheaval in the United States, focusing on the puzzles of U.S. nuclear strategy: the arrival of the atomic age and the achievement of strategic parity between the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals. In the first case, I use qualitative and text analysis to track the rise of a dominant narrative about nuclear weapons during the early Cold War. In this contradictory narrative which I label “Waging Deterrence,” the bomb was both an unusable, revolutionary deterrent and an essential tool for fighting and winning the next war. I draw on archival sources to trace the emergence of this narrative during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, showing this narrative was not predetermined, but contingent on domestic debates as speakers––Presidents, civilian advisors, military elites, and others––used rhetorical strategies in public and private to co-opt and silence opponents. This narrative constrained the possibilities for strategic revision during the later Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. In the second case, parity’s mutual vulnerability upended this narrative; narratives remained unsettled until the Carter administration, where domestic legitimation contests facilitated the return of Waging Deterrence to justify competitive nuclear postures that had a lasting impact on U.S. nuclear strategy. The project offers a novel mechanism to understand strategic change and highlights the discursive and domestic politics of nuclear strategy, showing that foundational U.S. deterrence concepts emerged in part from domestic legitimation contests that rendered other options illegitimate. It also offers insights into policy debates about the future of nuclear and grand strategy amidst contemporary upheavals, suggesting contested processes of narrative construction will be central to shaping future strategy.

Diese Dissertation analysiert den Zusammenhang von neokonservativer Logik und der Idee des „American Decline“ in der außenpolitischen Debatte der USA von den 1960er-Jahren bis 2021 mit einem Fokus auf der Obama-Präsidentschaft (2009-17). Unter Anwendung der Imperiumstheorie untersucht sie Texte führender neokonservativer Plattformen und Denker_innen, die sich mit dem Wesen, den Aufgaben, den Kosten, dem Nutzen und der Zukunft amerikanischer Weltmacht befassen. Die Studie enthüllt die Niedergangsidee als einen integralen Bestandteil der neokonservativen Logik, der US-Superiorität legitimiert und stabilisiert. Sie vermittelt den Amerikaner_innen einen höheren Zweck und Orientierung, unterdrückt aber alternative Pfade für die Vereinigten Staaten durch die Gleichsetzung von US-Superiorität mit Weltordnung. / This dissertation examines the relationship between neoconservative logic and the idea of „American Decline” in the U.S. foreign policy debate from the 1960s until 2021 with a focus on the Obama presidency (2009-17). Building on imperial theory, the project analyses texts from leading neoconservative platforms and thinkers, dealing with the nature, tasks, costs, benefits and future of American world power. The study reveals the idea of decline as integral to neoconservative logic, as an element that legitimizes and stabilizes U.S. superiority. It provides Americans with a sense of mission and orientation and suppresses alternative paths for the United States due to its equation of U.S. superiority with world order.