African–European Trade Cooperation and the Promise of African Continental Free Trade Area as Africa’s Soft Power

This chapter analyzes the impact of soft power on trade relationships using Africa–Europe as analytical context. It examines the prospects of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as the epitome of African soft power. Although it may not seem arbitrary to assume that two continents with different socio-cultural attributes, institutional rules, and asymmetrical structural configuration can engage in a mutually beneficial cooperation, it has been observed that the inability of African states to deploy soft power partially accounts for why they are perpetually subservient to Europe in trade relationships. While there is a wealth of scholarly work on AU–EU cooperation in general, there is a dearth of materials on the role of African soft power in intercontinental cooperation. Therefore, this chapter addresses two salient questions. First, can the AfCFTA wield the AU’s soft power? Second, can the deployment of Africa’s soft power change the dynamics of African–European trade relationship? The chapter concludes that the AfCFTA can wield the AU’s soft power, but the ability of Africa to effectively deploy such soft power depends largely on the full implementation of the AfCFTA agreements.