INFLUENCING AFRICA: US-CHINA INVESTMENT COMPETITION FOR ALIGNMENT

The great power competition between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China continues to develop. China has expanded its international presence aggressively due to its growing economic and military capabilities. This study focuses on the utility of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a means of soft power to affect the voting behavior of the countries of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) African Region Group. By comparing the voting coincidences of UNGA African states to the United States and China from 2003 to 2014, this paper shows that US FDI in African countries had no significant impact on the voting behavior of the UNGA African Region Group. Despite the higher level of investment by the United States, China had a higher voting coincidence with the African Region Group. This study suggests that FDI is not an effective soft power tool for the United States in its competition with China