Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-v4w92 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-25T09:51:29.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foreign Aid and Soft Power: Great Power Competition in Africa in the Early Twenty-first Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2021

Robert A. Blair Open the ORCID record for Robert A. Blair [Opens in a new window] ,
Robert Marty  and
Philip Roessler
Robert A. Blair*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Robert Marty
Affiliation:
The World Bank
Philip Roessler
Affiliation:
Department of Government, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: robert_blair@brown.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Is foreign aid an effective instrument of soft power? Does it generate affinity for donor countries and the values they espouse? This article answers these questions in the context of Chinese aid to Africa and the competing aid regime of the United States. The study combines data on thirty-eight African countries from Afrobarometer, AidData, and the Aid Information Management Systems of African finance and planning ministries. The authors use spatial difference-in-differences to isolate the causal effects of Chinese and US aid. The study finds that Chinese aid to Africa does not increase (and may in fact reduce) beneficiaries’ support for China. By contrast, US aid appears to increase support for the United States and to strengthen recipients’ commitment to liberal democratic values, such as the belief in the importance of elections. Chinese aid does not appear to weaken this commitment, and may strengthen it. The study also finds that Chinese aid increases support for the UK, France and other former colonial powers. These findings advance our understanding of the conditions under which competing aid regimes generate soft power and facilitate the transmission of political principles and ideals.

Keywords

foreign aidsoft powergreat power competitionChinaAfrica
Type
Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 52 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 1355 - 1376
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Alesina, A and Dollar, D (2000) Who gives foreign aid to whom and why? Journal of Economic Growth 5(1), 33–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almond, GA and Verba, S (1963) The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. New York: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, K and Winters, MS (2020) How do different forms of foreign aid affect government legitimacy? Evidence from an informational experiment in Uganda. Studies in Comparative International Development 55(2), 160–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BBC (2018) John Magufuli: Tanzania prefers ‘condition-free’ Chinese aid, 27 November. Available from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46364342.Google Scholar
Bermeo, SB (2016) Aid is not oil: donor utility, heterogeneous aid, and the aid-democratization relationship. International Organization 70(1), 1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, RA, Roessler, P, Marty, R (2021) Replication data for: Foreign aid and soft power: great power competition in Africa in the early 21st century. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HEZ7ZV, Harvard Dataverse, V1, UNF:6:+lAfOH0EqiQQYQ4QtwwmbQ== [fileUNF]Google Scholar
Blair, RA and Roessler, P (2021) Foreign aid and state legitimacy: evidence on Chinese and US aid to Africa from surveys, survey experiments, and behavioral games. World Politics 73(2), 315–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchard, J-MF and Lu, F (2012) Thinking hard about soft power: a review and critique of the literature on China and soft power. Asian Perspective 36(4), 565–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bluhm, R et al. (2018) Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries. AidData Working Paper 64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Böhnke, JR and Zürcher, C (2013) Aid, minds and hearts: the impact of aid in conflict zones. Conflict Management and Peace Science 30(5), 411–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brass, JN (2016) Allies or Adversaries: NGOs and the State in Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brautigam, D (1992) Governance, economy, and foreign aid. Studies in Comparative International Development 27(3), 3–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brautigam, D (2009) The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brautigam, D and Hwang, J (2016) Eastern Promises: New Data on Chinese Loans in Africa, 2000-2014. SAIS China Africa Research Initiative Working Paper 4.Google Scholar
Brazys, S and Dukalskis, A (2019) Grassroots Image Management: Confucius Institutes and Media Perceptions of China. AidData Working Paper 69.Google Scholar
Brazys, S, Elkink, JA and Kelly, G (2017) Bad neighbors? how co-located Chinese and World Bank development projects impact local corruption in Tanzania. The Review of International Organizations 12(2), 227–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briggs, RC (2019) Receiving foreign aid can reduce support for incumbent presidents. Political Research Quarterly 72(3), 610–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brookes, P and Shin, JH (2006) China's Influence in Africa: Implications for the United States. Backgrounder No. 1916. Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation.Google Scholar
Carnegie, A and Marinov, N (2017) Foreign aid, human rights, and democracy promotion: evidence from a natural experiment. American Journal of Political Science 61(3), 671–683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carothers, T (2011) Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve. New York: Carnegie Endowment.Google Scholar
Claassen, C (2020) Does public support help democracy survive? American Journal of Political Science 64(1), 118–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietrich, S, Mahmud, M and Winters, MS (2017) Foreign aid, foreign policy, and domestic government legitimacy: experimental evidence from Bangladesh. The Journal of Politics 80(1), 133–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietrich, S and Winters, MS (2015) Foreign aid and government legitimacy. Journal of Experimental Political Science 2(02), 164–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, LR (2020) Rethinking foreign aid and legitimacy: views from aid recipients in Kenya. Studies in Comparative International Development 55(2), 143–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, A et al. (2016) Aid on Demand: African Leaders and the Geography of China's Foreign Assistance. AidData Working Paper 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, A et al. (2018) Apples and dragon fruits: the determinants of aid and other forms of state financing from China to Africa. International Studies Quarterly 62(1), 182–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, A, Nunnenkamp, P and Thiele, R (2008) Does US aid buy UN General Assembly votes? A disaggregated analysis. Public Choice 136(1), 139–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easton, D (1965) A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Eichenauer, VZ, Fuchs, A and Brückner, L (2018) The Effects of Trade, Aid, and Investment on China's Image in Developing Countries. AidData Working Paper 54.Google Scholar
Findley, MG, Milner, HV and Nielson, DL (2017) The choice among aid donors: the effects of multilateral vs. bilateral aid on recipient behavioral support. The Review of International Organizations 12(2), 307–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finkel, SE, Pérez-Liñán, A and Seligson, MA (2007) The effects of U.S. foreign assistance on democracy building, 1990–2003. World Politics 59(3), 404–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedberg, AL (2005) The future of U.S.-China relations: is conflict inevitable? International Security 30(2), 7–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glennie, J and Sumner, A (2014) The $138.5 Billion Question: When Does Foreign Aid Work (and When Doesn't It)? Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, BE and Horiuchi, Y (2012) In search of soft power: does foreign public opinion matter for US foreign policy? World Politics 64(3), 555–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldsmith, BE, Horiuchi, Y and Wood, T (2014) Doing well by doing good: the impact of foreign aid on foreign public opinion. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 9(1), 87–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guiteras, R and Mobarak, AM (2015) Does Development Aid Undermine Political Accountability? Leader and Constituent Responses to a Large-Scale Intervention. Working Paper No. 21434. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanauer, L and Morris, LJ (2014a) China in Africa: Implications of A Deepening Relationship. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanauer, L and Morris, LJ (2014b) Chinese Engagement in Africa: Drivers, Reactions, and Implications for U.S. Policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holyk, GG (2011) Paper tiger? Chinese soft power in East Asia. Political Science Quarterly 126(2), 223–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaksson, A-S and Kotsadam, A (2018a) Chinese aid and local corruption. Journal of Public Economics 159, 146–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaksson, A-S and Kotsadam, A (2018b) Racing to the bottom? Chinese development projects and trade union involvement in Africa. World Development 106, 284–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katzenstein, PJ and Keohane, RO (eds) (2007) Anti-Americanism in World Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Knack, S (2004) Does foreign aid promote democracy? International Studies Quarterly 48(1), 251–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotsadam, A et al. (2018) Development aid and infant mortality. Micro-level evidence from Nigeria. World Development 105, 59–69.Google Scholar
Kurlantzick, J (2007) Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lancaster, C (2000) Redesigning foreign aid. Foreign Affairs 79(5), 74–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lekorwe, M et al. (2016) China's growing presence in Africa wins largely positive popular reviews. Afrobarometer Dispatch 122.Google Scholar
Lipset, SM (1959) Some social requisites of democracy: economic development and political legitimacy. The American Political Science Review 53(1), 69–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, PK and Parent, JM (2018) Twilight of the Titans: Great Power Decline and Retrenchment. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
McGiffert, C (ed.) (2009) Chinese Soft Power and Its Implications for the United States: Competition and Cooperation in the Developing World. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies.Google Scholar
Nye, JS (2004) Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs.Google Scholar
Nye, JS (2005) The rise of China's soft power. The Wall Street Journal, 29 December.Google Scholar
Radelet, S (2003) Bush and foreign aid. Foreign Affairs 82(5), 104–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rich, TS and Recker, S (2013) Understanding Sino-African relations: neocolonialism or a new era? Journal of International and Area Studies 20(1), 61–76.Google Scholar
Roeder, PG (1985) The ties that bind: aid, trade, and political compliance in Soviet-third world relations. International Studies Quarterly 29(2), 191–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sacks, A (2012) Can Donors and Nonstate Actors Undermine Citizens’ Legitimating Beliefs? Afrobarometer Working Paper 140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, JM (2019) Cultivating Friends? The Payoffs of U.S. Democracy Aid, 1975–2010. Paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Conference, 26–30 March, Toronto, Canada.Google Scholar
Scott, JM and Carter, RG (2019) Distributing dollars for democracy: changing foreign policy contexts and the shifting determinants of US democracy aid, 1975–2010. Journal of International Relations and Development 22(3), 640–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strange, AM et al. (2017) Tracking underreported financial flows: China's development finance and the aid–conflict nexus revisited. Journal of Conflict Resolution 61(5), 935–963.Google Scholar
Sun, Y (2013) China in Africa: Implications for U.S. Competition and Diplomacy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Sun, Y (2014) China's aid to Africa: monster or messiah? Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 7 February. Available from https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/chinas-aid-to-africa-monster-or-messiah/.Google Scholar
Taffet, JF (2007) Foreign Aid as Foreign Policy: The Alliance for Progress in Latin America. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Taylor, I (2019) France À fric: the CFA zone in Africa and neocolonialism. Third World Quarterly 40(6), 1064–1088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wade, A (2008) Time for the West to practise what it preaches. Financial Times, 23 January. Available from https://www.ft.com/content/5d347f88-c897-11dc-94a6-0000779fd2ac.Google Scholar
Watanabe, Y and McConnell, DL (2008) Soft Power Superpowers. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Wegenast, T et al. (2017) At Africa's Expense? Disaggregating the Social Impact of Chinese Mining Operations. GIGA Working paper No. 308.Google Scholar
Yarwood, J (2016) The struggle over term limits in Africa: the power of protest. Journal of Democracy 27(3), 51–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoshihara, T and Holmes, JR (2008) China's energy-driven ‘soft power’. Orbis 52(1), 123–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuichi Kono, D and Montinola, GR (2009) Does foreign aid support autocrats, democrats, or both? The Journal of Politics 71(2), 704–718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Link

Blair et al. Dataset

Dataset

https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HEZ7ZV
Link
Supplementary material: PDF

Blair et al. supplementary material

Blair et al. supplementary material

Download Blair et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 8.6 MB