Middle Powers and Soft-Power Rivalry: Egyptian–Israeli Competition in Africa

Abstract

Scholars of international relations have long recognized the importance of soft power in great powers’ hegemonic designs. In contrast, we know little of middle powers’ 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 “Us” versus “Them” distinction in target states that unites them in the absence of a common enemy. Second, middle states’ soft-power strategies are likely to support coalition maintenance so long as it does not challenge target states’ national interests. Utilizing extensive archival and interview-based data, we examine how soft power featured in Egyptian–Israeli 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.

The impact of Israel's Sub-Saharan Relations on African Migrants in Israel

“…Simultaneously, a competition developed between the neighbouring two middle powers of the Global South, Israel and Egypt, the latter representing Palestinian and Arab interests, across Sub-Saharan Africa for almost two decades, from 1957 to 1974 (Siniver & Tsourapas, 2023). The Israeli and Egyptian soft power strategies did not explicitly aim to change the target states' position on the Arab-Israeli conflict.…”

“…Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, the founder of Ujamaa socialism, for example, remarked that Africans would not allow their friends to decide who their enemies should be. As late as May 1973, Arab members of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) were frustrated by the refusal of their African counterparts to take a united stand against Israel (Siniver & Tsourapas, 2023).…”

“…Yet, the Israel-African cooperation only unravelled definitely when it came into conflict with the growing international self-image of African states in the early 1970s (Siniver & Tsourapas, 2023) and the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when most Sub-Saharan states broke off relations with Israel, except for Apartheid South Africa. The negative perception of Israel was also influenced by its security cooperation, including nuclear armament, established in the 1970s with the apartheid regime in Pretoria.…”