Development assistance has re-emerged as a major topic in international politics.Tracingback to the process of decolonization, and being heavily influenced by the geo-politicalrealities of the Cold War the African development is again an important topic.Senegal,despite close historical relations to Europe, has been a recipient of developmentassistance since gaining independence from France in 1960.　　Until the end of the Cold War the struggle between the two ideological camps keptEuropean countries involved in the development sector.It can be argued that at the timethe industrialized countries were predominately interested at supporting the developingcountries only to prevent them from allying themselves with the other ideological camp.　　The changes in the international system at the end of the Cold War meant thatdevelopment assistance became a secondary topic, resulting in a growing disinterest ofthe industrialized countries in the matter.Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) andprivate companies took over the work that governments of industrialized countries hadplayed before.　　However, despite the continuing supply of development assistance the living standards inSenegal, like in most other African countries, failed to improve.On the contrary, theyeither stagnated or worsened in comparison to the final years of the colonial period.　　The arrival of non-industrialized countries as providers of development assistance hashad a profound impact not only in Africa, but the international system as a whole.China,as a developing country with the highest rate of economic growth in history is a majoractor.　　States increasingly relied on soft power, that is persuasion and example, rather thetraditional hard power of military might to protect their interests.Supporting thedevelopment of other countries is considered to be a major component of this theory.　　At the same time the citizens of developing countries are becoming increasingly aware ontheir dependency on foreign aid and a resulting weakening of sovereignty and began toquestion the underlying principles of development assistance.The increasing politicalactivities of local populations are causing a major shift in the development assistancesector: by critically assessing government performance their position towards the aidproviding body determine not only.the success of the assistance given, but also whetherthe donating country is able to increase their soft power.　　Senegals history is an example of the apparent failure of the traditional developmentpolicies.The combination of post-development and the emergence of new actors couldprovide a major breakthrough for an increase of living standards for the people ofSenegal.By becoming the provider of measurably successful development assistanceChina could not only support this endeavor, but also make major gains in soft power.