We asked Jumet about her project and aspirations for her year abroad.
Why are you interested in studying the African Lion?
In 2022, I was in Agadir during the African Lion exercises, and I was invited to one of the side events — an American scholar talking about her book on the U.S. military in Morocco during World War II. A U.S. Army Band had also been playing a series of American pop music concerts around the country. … I thought, this looks like soft power diplomacy.
The following year I began working on an article, part of a broader project on Moroccan soft power diplomacy, that focused on Moroccan sports diplomacy and how the country’s success in the 2022 World Cup allowed it to advance foreign policy objectives. When I realized applications for my 2025-26 sabbatical were approaching, I thought it was an opportune time to return to my interest in the African Lion, and I was fortunate to receive a Fulbright to investigate the topic further.
In 2024, for the 20th anniversary of African Lion, about half the New York National Guard members who participated came from Utica, giving me an opportunity to study how soft power works both ways. I had already interviewed members of the National Guard about their exposure to Moroccan culture during the exercises and what they brought back to their families and the broader communities, including their perceptions of Morocco. One interviewee told me he loved the tagines he ate in Morocco and has been trying to cook them at home but doesn’t have the right cookware to make them correctly. He also brought back traditional shoes for his wife, which she wears to work. So, beyond his household, people at his wife’s workplace are also being exposed to elements of Moroccan culture, such as the clothing.
What most excites you about your Fulbright project?
Seeing soft power and diplomacy in action. Also, exploring what hasn’t been explored yet. I haven’t found literature so far that looks at the side events of combined military exercises as spaces for this type of soft power and public diplomacy, so I hope to understand not just what’s going on, but why. I’m aiming to conduct interviews at various Moroccan ministries during my time teaching in Rabat to understand their soft power objectives. I’m also excited to gain the Moroccan perspective and pioneer a new space or approaches to understanding how these exercises strengthen U.S.-Moroccan relations. A lot of people don’t know it, but Morocco was one of the first countries to recognize the newly independent United States in the late 1700s. The U.S. and Morocco have a very long and deep history, so it’s an important place for Fulbright to operate and its recipients to explore the numerous ways that the two countries and their people can learn from each other and strengthen their ties.
What is the importance of soft power for a country like Morocco?
The concept of soft power started with Joseph Nye’s article looking at how foreign publics were attracted to the U.S. because of its Levi’s jeans, Hollywood movies, and McDonalds. Now, the literature has expanded to focus on the influence of additional large powers like Russia and China.
But what happens when you have a middle-income state from the Global South? Maybe it’s never going to have outsized economic or military influence of these larger powers, so that’s where soft power comes in. There are so many ways Morocco is engaging with soft power approaches, like with sports. Not only is it hosting the 2030 World Cup, but it has also been investing in other areas of athletics, including building up women’s and men’s soccer. There’s also tourism. The country has really invested in its image as not only a great place to go on vacation, but also as a stable country in a region that is increasingly unstable.
How do you think this experience will inform and inspire your work back at Hamilton?
In Morocco, there’s a huge focus on African relations. Part of my research is looking at not just global, but also regional, soft power, and Morocco’s place in the African Union. By teaching at UM6P, I’m going to gain new insights into South-South cooperation from the faculty and from institutes affiliated with the university. I can take what I learn back to Hamilton to enrich my Foreign Policies of MENA States course. I’ll also try to see about possibilities for exchange or virtual exchange, such as pairing Hamilton classes with Moroccan classes.
Posted July 30, 2025
