Foreign Aid And Soft Power Robert A Blair Robert Marty Phillip Roessler by Robert A. Blair, Robert Marty, Phillip Roessler instant download after payment.

Is foreign aid an effective instrument of soft power? Does it generate affinity for donor countries and the values they
espouse? We address these questions in the context of Chinese aid to Africa and the (ostensibly) competing aid
regime of the US. Using data on 38 African countries from Afrobarometer, AidData, and the Aid Information
Management Systems (AIMS) of African finance and planning ministries, we find that, if anything, Chinese aid to
Africa reduces beneficiaries’ support for China while increasing support for the US and other Western powers. In
contrast, US aid increases support for the US and other Western powers. We also find that US aid increases support
for liberal democratic values, such as a belief in the importance of elections. Chinese aid does not appear to weaken
support for these values, and may actually strengthen support for them. Our results belie concerns that China’s
expanding presence in Africa is diminishing American soft power or eroding Africans’ commitment to liberal
democracy. If anything, the opposite is true.