Efficacy of China’s Soft Power in Nigeria: Impact of Personal Engagement and Media Exposure on Lagos Residents’ Attitude Towards China

Mistura Adebusola Salaudeen*, Steve Guo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

Although the budding Sino-African relations has drawn enormous attention in the media and the academia, there is little empirical understanding about the acculturation of Chinese values and the effectiveness of China’s soft power in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria. This article investigates the cognitive, affective, and behavioural intentions of Lagos residents (Lagosians) towards China. Based on Nye’s conceptualisation of soft power, a theoretical model was developed to explore how engagement with China’s soft power instruments and media exposure to Sino-African-related information influence Lagosians’ attitudes towards China on the three attitudinal levels. Findings from a clustered random survey (n = 624) drawn from Lagos residents reveal that their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards China are multidimensional and majorly predicted by their personal experience (engagement with China’s presence) and their second-hand experience (exposure to China-related news in local media), rather than by the intensity and tenacity of China’s diplomatic strategies in the country.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-23
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Contemporary China
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Dec 2024

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Development
  • Political Science and International Relations

User-Defined Keywords

  • attitudes
  • China-Nigeria partnership
  • media exposure
  • Sino-African relations
  • Soft power

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Efficacy of China’s Soft Power in Nigeria: Impact of Personal Engagement and Media Exposure on Lagos Residents’ Attitude Towards China'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this