When the United States Africa Command – AFRICOM – was created in 2007 and was formally activated the following year, many considered it to be the epitome of “smart power” – a carefully blended mix of hard and soft powder.  Like other U.S. military commands, it would possess formidable combat capability, but its signature ingredient was a soft power component. 

India’s trade with Africa was $45 billion in 2010. And while that’s up sharply from $11 billion in 2006, it still trails China’s $119 billion worth of trade with Africa, the country with a 20-year headstart in Africa. It has built highways and railways, bridges and airports and has been savvy at winning African friends through so-called soft power.

This was smart power. Genius, really. In 2007, 8 out of the 10 countries in the world that viewed the United States most fondly were African. And it can’t be a bad thing for America to have friends on a continent that is close to half Muslim and that, by 2025, will surpass China in population.

International paradigms, as realism and neoliberalism have historically defined the principles of international cooperation considering non-state actors as either negligent or influential. Hydro-politics, considers a new regime in which water can be considered by state and non-state actors as a new strategy to improve international cooperation. However, international law principles and the international water law framework seem to be working contradictory to the logics and schemes necessary for hydro-politics to become a successful platform for multilateral cooperation.

A representative of China's Human Rights Society told a public gathering of African officials that the West is unfairly maligning China's human records -- just as it unfairly maligned Michael Jackson, she said. The speech is a small (and, probably, uncoordinated) part of China's much larger effort to deploy soft power in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Chinese workers and firms are increasingly prevalent.

Earlier this week, the global climate campaign 350.org launched "Radiowave." It's designed to take a single powerful song, and use it as the focus of a campaign that will sweep down Africa, one country at time, for the next few weeks, finally landing in South Africa just as the UN's climate conference begins.

It is the country of India that has the highest potential for soft power deployment in emerging markets, specifically in Africa for the following reasons...

For the first time in its history, U.S. Embassy Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo took part in the SportsUnited Sports Envoy program....NBA representative Chris Clunie spent August 25-31 teaching over 250 Congolese youth basketball skills, as well as the importance of working together, open communication, and building a sense of self and community-awareness.