Public Diplomacy and the Cultivation of National Image: the Case of China’s Image in Kenya

Abstract

China’s public diplomacy has been proactive and reactive aimed at communicating China’s soft power to global audiences and counteracting a negative portrayal of China’s image. It is this context that provides the platform for understanding China's public diplomacy in Kenya. China has used several tools to communicate its soft power and its national image in Kenya, the focus of which has been to shape Kenyans’ public opinion in its favour. These tools include the Chinese international media, the Confucius Institutes, the educational exchange and Chinese government scholarships. Nonetheless, the impact of these on Kenyans’ perception of China’s national image is still less understood. This study’s overall objective was to examine the role of Chinese public diplomacy in pursuit of China’s positive image in Kenya. It focused on four specific objectives, namely; to examine the influence of public diplomacy on national image, to investigate the role of Chinese media on the perception of China’s image in Kenya, to explore the role of Chinese Cultural Institutes and Centres on the image of China in Kenya, and to analyse the role of Chinese educational exchanges on China’s image in Kenya. It was grounded on Liberalism and used the soft Power model developed by Joseph S. Nye Junior. It applied a mixed methods research design that combined elements of positivism and interpretivism. The positivist approach involved the use of a quantitative approach including the collection of primary data from research respondents and applying statistical methods of data analysis. This study sampled 400 participants from different cohorts representing the Kenyan public residing in Nairobi city. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and the researcher interviewed 10 per cent of the participants; 40 respondents, 4 from each of the ten cohorts. The quantitative data were analysed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The qualitative data was collected through document reviews and interviews and was analyzed using content analysis. This study found that public diplomacy has permitted China to expose foreign audiences to China’s intangible power assets including culture, policies and political values. This study found that China has a formidable presence in Kenya’s media space perhaps more than elsewhere on the African continent. However, it determined that despite China’s efforts to project its soft power in Kenya through the Chinese media few Kenyans obtain their information about China from Chinese media sources. This study established that in terms of CI numbers it hosts, Kenya has more than the African average, of two. Nonetheless, despite China’s intensification of its ‘charm offensive’ in Kenya through the CI, the CI has not had the desired results for influencing the Kenyan public to adopt a positive and favourable image of China’s national image. It found that China’s educational exchange with Kenya and its award of CGS to Kenyan students is aimed at allowing Kenyan students to experience China’s education, culture, political values and policies so that they can develop a favourable view of China. A significant number of students returning from China had a favourable view of China's political system and its cultural value. This study concludes that China’s PD has influenced if not transformed the market of ideas and information about China’s image. Despite the PRC’s intensified Chinese media activity, and cultural diplomacy via the CIs and CGS in Kenya, its influence on the Kenyan public’s perception of China is limited. This study recommends that scholars should conduct longitudinal studies to trace the influence of PD on the national image in the long term. Moreover, there is a need for scholars to conduct cross-sectional studies comparing the influence of at least two instruments of China’s PD on its national image.

China’s public diplomacy has been proactive and reactive aimed at communicating China’s soft power to global audiences and counteracting a negative portrayal of China’s image. It is this context that provides the platform for understanding China's public diplomacy in Kenya. China has used several tools to communicate its soft power and its national image in Kenya, the focus of which has been to shape Kenyans’ public opinion in its favour. These tools include the Chinese international media, the Confucius Institutes, the educational exchange and Chinese government scholarships. Nonetheless, the impact of these on Kenyans’ perception of China’s national image is still less understood. This study’s overall objective was to examine the role of Chinese public diplomacy in pursuit of China’s positive image in Kenya. It focused on four specific objectives, namely; to examine the influence of public diplomacy on national image, to investigate the role of Chinese media on the perception of China’s image in Kenya, to explore the role of Chinese Cultural Institutes and Centres on the image of China in Kenya, and to analyse the role of Chinese educational exchanges on China’s image in Kenya. It was grounded on Liberalism and used the soft Power model developed by Joseph S. Nye Junior. It applied a mixed methods research design that combined elements of positivism and interpretivism. The positivist approach involved the use of a quantitative approach including the collection of primary data from research respondents and applying statistical methods of data analysis. This study sampled 400 participants from different cohorts representing the Kenyan public residing in Nairobi city. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and the researcher interviewed 10 per cent of the participants; 40 respondents, 4 from each of the ten cohorts. The quantitative data were analysed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The qualitative data was collected through document reviews and interviews and was analyzed using content analysis. This study found that public diplomacy has permitted China to expose foreign audiences to China’s intangible power assets including culture, policies and political values. This study found that China has a formidable presence in Kenya’s media space perhaps more than elsewhere on the African continent. However, it determined that despite China’s efforts to project its soft power in Kenya through the Chinese media few Kenyans obtain their information about China from Chinese media sources. This study established that in terms of CI numbers it hosts, Kenya has more than the African average, of two. Nonetheless, despite China’s intensification of its ‘charm offensive’ in Kenya through the CI, the CI has not had the desired results for influencing the Kenyan public to adopt a positive and favourable image of China’s national image. It found that China’s educational exchange with Kenya and its award of CGS to Kenyan students is aimed at allowing Kenyan students to experience China’s education, culture, political values and policies so that they can develop a favourable view of China. A significant number of students returning from China had a favourable view of China's political system and its cultural value. This study concludes that China’s PD has influenced if not transformed the market of ideas and information about China’s image. Despite the PRC’s intensified Chinese media activity, and cultural diplomacy via the CIs and CGS in Kenya, its influence on the Kenyan public’s perception of China is limited. This study recommends that scholars should conduct longitudinal studies to trace the influence of PD on the national image in the long term. Moreover, there is a need for scholars to conduct cross-sectional studies comparing the influence of at least two instruments of China’s PD on its national image.