Uganda: A mix of strategies for soft power goals

Abstract

Uganda has claimed a leadership role in the Great Lakes region (GLR) by employing both hard power and soft power strategies. This dual approach results from two factors: Uganda’s peculiar geostrategic difficulties and the influence of what writer Mukwaya calls "movementocracy" in Uganda (Mukwaya, Aaron K. Kabweru. 2002. The Uganda Movementocracy Foreign Policy and the Great Lakes Region: An Analytical Overview. Symposium on the Great Lakes Region: Reinforcing the Region’s Solidarity and Setting an Agenda for a Culture of Peace, Unity and People-Centred Development. Kampala, Uganda: The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation). Overall, this suggests that alternative development theory or thinking is an appropriate framework for understanding the ambitions and activities of Uganda. Although Uganda has achieved its goals of a strong regional presence and international recognition, it is, however, hampered by economic and political deficiencies that must be resolved before it can truly be a regional leader.