Making Sense of South Africa’s Soft Power: Projections, Prospects and Possibilities

Abstract

New scholarly literature that focuses on the currency of soft power is emerging in the analysis of South Africa’s foreign policy. This nascent strand of discourse captures the nexus between the ideational value of soft power and Pretoria’s foreign policy. Within this analytical context, Ogunnubi and Ettang probe the agents, sources and subjects involved in the projection of South Africa’s soft power. These issues are critical, given the role and utility of soft power for achieving South Africa’s foreign policy ambitions, and recognizing the country’s important position in the African continent. The chapter stresses that the deepening of South Africa’s soft power capability and influence will depend largely on the extent of the strategic calibration between the communicative realms of actors, instruments and recipients.