| ID | 199081 |
| Title Proper | Soft Power Narratives of Fifty Years of Kuwaiti-Senegalese Relations |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Leichtman, Mara A |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | More than 50 years ago, Senegal was one of the first African states to establish diplomatic relations with Kuwait. While Senegal receives the largest amount of Kuwaiti development assistance of any sub-Saharan African country, this relationship cannot be reduced to simply one of recipient-donor. All Senegalese and Kuwaiti heads of state have worked to further these ties, explained in terms of shared political ideals, including peace, non-alignment, experimentation with parliamentary democracy, freedom of press, Islamic solidarity, and small state alliance building. Using diplomacy and military deployment as ‘soft power’, and Islam as religious statecraft, Senegal’s strategic friendship with Kuwait contributed to its regional and global position. The West African country took a strong stance on certain Middle Eastern conflicts and sent soldiers to fight for Kuwait’s liberation from Iraq. Bilateral relations between the two states ranged from large loans to nominations for positions in international organizations, press collaboration, museum development, firefighter and teacher exchanges, educational scholarships, and charity work. Relations between the ‘Gateway to Africa’ and the small Gulf emirate have been touted as a ‘South-South partnership’ and model for ‘Arab-African’ cooperation, albeit within a particular power dynamic elucidated in this article. |
| `In' analytical Note | Middle East Critique Vol. 34, No.2; 2025: p.239-261 |
| Journal Source | Middle East Critique 2025-06 34, 2 |
| Key Words | Kuwait ; Small States ; Soft Power ; Foreign Policy ; South-South relations ; Senega ; Arab-African cooperation ; Religious statecraft |