China’s Public Diplomacy: Citizen Engagement in Nairobi City County, Kenya (2000-2023)
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Date
2024-06
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Public Diplomacy is a pathway of foreign policy that has gained momentum in international Relations studies since the post-cold war period. This study examined China’s Public Diplomacy: Citizen Engagement in Nairobi City County, Kenya (2000-2023). The objectives of the study were; to assess the influence of Chinese micro and small business enterprises in Nairobi City county in promoting China’s public diplomacy towards Kenya, to discuss the roles of Chinese professionals working in Nairobi City County in advancing China’s public diplomacy towards Kenya, to examine the participation of beneficiaries of scholarships and exchange programs in China’s public policy towards Kenya. The study was premised on the increasing engagement of Chinese citizens in promoting China’s public diplomacy towards Kenya. The study was limited to Nairobi City County, in Kenya. The study was significant for it examined new forms of public diplomacy in China –Kenya relations. This study was anchored on the soft power theory. The study used a case study methodological design. The study adopted purposive sampling technique and the targeted population were Chinese business entrepreneurs, Africans employed in Chinese micro and small businesses and Chinese professionals working in service, education, construction and industrial sectors. The research used an oral interview guide to collect data. The data was qualitatively analyzed using inferences, description and logical explanation. The study found out that in Nairobi City County ordinary Chinese citizens and their African agency were proactively engaged in promoting China’s public diplomacy towards Kenya. Whereas, Africans who worked in Chinese commercial and construction enterprises had a positive image of China and thus were agents of Chinese public diplomacy towards Kenya, the majority of African micro and small scale businesses were totally opposed to penetration of Chinese citizens in micro and small scale businesses. The study established that China’s citizen public diplomacy towards Kenya has become an effective tool of Chinese soft power in Kenya.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree
of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy at Kenyatta University, June 2024.
Supervisor
Evans Onyango