The European Union’s Soft Power in Africa: Model or Placebo?

While there is growing interest in the exercise of soft power in Africa, few studies have been conducted on the European Union’s (EU) soft power on the continent. This chapter engages this subject by examining the impact of the EU’s soft power projection on Africa, especially in the areas of democracy promotion, aid diplomacy and providing an institutional model for African regional organisations. It also highlights the constraints to successful wielding of the EU’s soft power in Africa and submits that, despite its longstanding relations with Africa, the supranational organisation’s potential to serve as a model is undermined by its neo-colonial image, the new scramble for Africa with the attendant incursion of old and new players on the continent that has presented alternative allies to Africa and more recently, the failure of the EU’s COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy.