55 research outputs found
Middle powers and soft-power rivalry: Egyptian-Israeli competition in sub-Saharan Africa
Scholars of international relations have long recognized the importance of soft power in great powersâ hegemonic designs. In contrast, we know little of middle powersâ employment of noncoercive strategies of attraction and, in particular, how soft power operates in the context of middle-power antagonism. We suggest that, first, soft power enhances coalition-building strategies for middle powers. Contrary to expectations that states join forces against a shared threat, the use of soft power via development aid produces an âUsâ versus âThemâ distinction in target states that unites them in the absence of a common enemy. Second, middle statesâ soft-power strategies are likely to support coalition maintenance so long as it does not challenge target statesâ national interests. Utilizing extensive archival and interview-based data, we examine how soft power featured in EgyptianâIsraeli competition across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1957 to 1974. We demonstrate how soft power operates beyond the context of great power agenda setting, therefore providing novel evidence for the importance of soft power in the interplay between interstate antagonism and noncoercion in world politics
Precedents, parliaments, and foreign policy:Historical analogy in the House of Commons vote on Syria
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