Page 1. Reviezv of Afiican Political Economiy No.92.211-236 ( ROAPE Publications Ltd., 2002 ISSN ... more Page 1. Reviezv of Afiican Political Economiy No.92.211-236 ( ROAPE Publications Ltd., 2002 ISSN 0305-6244 Globalisation From Below: Conceptualising the Role of the African Diasporas in Africa's Development Giles Mohan & AB Zack-Williams ...
The role of China must be understood in the context of competing and intensified global energy po... more The role of China must be understood in the context of competing and intensified global energy politics, in which the US, India and China are among the key players vying for security of supply. Contrary to popular representation, China's role in Africa is much more than this however, opening up new choices for African development for the first time since
... So, given China's search for natural resources in Africa it is now more ... more ... So, given China's search for natural resources in Africa it is now more important than ever to ensure that rentier states are held accountable. A related question concerns whether the demand for resources will be destabilizing geopolitically. ...
... Robins S (2003) Whose modernity? Indigenous modernities and land claims after apartheid. Deve... more ... Robins S (2003) Whose modernity? Indigenous modernities and land claims after apartheid. Development and Change 34 (2), 26585. ...
... by articulating our theoretical framework for understanding the political economy of Sino-Afr... more ... by articulating our theoretical framework for understanding the political economy of Sino-Africanrelations. ... the historical contours and contexts of contemporary China-Africa relations before examining ... democratisation, rights discourses and the contemporary politics of aid in the ...
China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, has increasingly dynamic econ... more China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, has increasingly dynamic economic, political and diplomatic activities on the continent. Chinese leaders and strategists believe that China's historical experience and vision of economic development resonates powerfully with African counterparts and that the long standing history of friendly political linkages and development co-operation offers a durable foundation for future partnership. In doing so, we see from the Chinese side and amongst some western commentators a form of exceptionalism and generalisation regarding both China and Africa. In this paper instead we seek to develop theoretical tools for examining China as a geopolitical and geoeconomic actor that is both different and similar to other industrial powers intervening in Africa. This is premised on a political economy approach that ties together material interests with a deconstruction of the discursive or 'extra-economic' ways by which Chinese capitalism internationalises. From there we use this framework to analyse contemporary Chinese engagement in Africa. We examine the changing historical position of Africa within Beijing's foreign policy strategy and China's vision of the evolving international political system, looking in particular at China's bilateral and state-centric approach to working with African 'partners'. Chinese practice is uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the notion of 'development' as an independent policy field of the kind that emerged among Western nations in the course of the 1950s and increasingly China has come to be viewed as a 'rogue creditor' and a threat to the international aid industry. Rather than highlighting one strand of Chinese relations with African states (such as aid or governance) we propose here that it is necessary to critically reflect on the wider geopolitics of China-Africa relations (past and present) in order to understand how China is opening up new 'choices' and altering the playing field for African development for the first time since the neo-liberal turn of the 1980s.
The impetus for this special issue is the inescapable fact of China's growing presence acros... more The impetus for this special issue is the inescapable fact of China's growing presence across Africa, as part of China's wider internationalisation strategy. While the growth of Chinese influence was greeted by an explosion of media interest, involving some rather ...
... They also continue a long-standing tendency to move from an examination of the particular, t... more ... They also continue a long-standing tendency to move from an examination of the particular, the local, to an obsession with the whole, the continent ( [Kanneh, 1998]). From one specific event commentators are happy to ascribe such characteristics to Africa as a whole. ...
The World Bank has defined structural adjustment lending as' non-project lending to ... more The World Bank has defined structural adjustment lending as' non-project lending to support programmes of policy and institutional change necessary to modify the structure of the economy so that it can maintain both its growth rate and the viability of its balance of ...
The debates on the politics of Chinese engagement with African development have been infused with... more The debates on the politics of Chinese engagement with African development have been infused with increasing concern over Chinese use of aid in exchange for preferential energy deals. Normative liberal discourse criticizes the Chinese for disbursing 'rogue aid' and undermining good governance in the African continent. These criticisms not only ignore the longer term motivations and modalities of Chinese aid and the historical diversity of Chinese relations with Africa, but also uncritically assumes 'Western' aid to be morally 'better' and 'more effective' in terms of development outcomes. There are three parts to this paper. First, it will discuss the emerging debates surrounding Chinese engagement in Africa, especially around aid and development issues. Second, the paper maps the historical development of China-Africa engagement and investigates the impacts of the changing modalities of Chinese aid in two case study countries: Angola and Ghana. We then conclude with a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between these two cases. Our principal argument is that different ideologies and practices of governance are used by both the Chinese and the western donors to conceal their own interests and political discourses in the African continent.
Page 1. Reviezv of Afiican Political Economiy No.92.211-236 ( ROAPE Publications Ltd., 2002 ISSN ... more Page 1. Reviezv of Afiican Political Economiy No.92.211-236 ( ROAPE Publications Ltd., 2002 ISSN 0305-6244 Globalisation From Below: Conceptualising the Role of the African Diasporas in Africa's Development Giles Mohan & AB Zack-Williams ...
The role of China must be understood in the context of competing and intensified global energy po... more The role of China must be understood in the context of competing and intensified global energy politics, in which the US, India and China are among the key players vying for security of supply. Contrary to popular representation, China's role in Africa is much more than this however, opening up new choices for African development for the first time since
... So, given China's search for natural resources in Africa it is now more ... more ... So, given China's search for natural resources in Africa it is now more important than ever to ensure that rentier states are held accountable. A related question concerns whether the demand for resources will be destabilizing geopolitically. ...
... Robins S (2003) Whose modernity? Indigenous modernities and land claims after apartheid. Deve... more ... Robins S (2003) Whose modernity? Indigenous modernities and land claims after apartheid. Development and Change 34 (2), 26585. ...
... by articulating our theoretical framework for understanding the political economy of Sino-Afr... more ... by articulating our theoretical framework for understanding the political economy of Sino-Africanrelations. ... the historical contours and contexts of contemporary China-Africa relations before examining ... democratisation, rights discourses and the contemporary politics of aid in the ...
China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, has increasingly dynamic econ... more China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, has increasingly dynamic economic, political and diplomatic activities on the continent. Chinese leaders and strategists believe that China's historical experience and vision of economic development resonates powerfully with African counterparts and that the long standing history of friendly political linkages and development co-operation offers a durable foundation for future partnership. In doing so, we see from the Chinese side and amongst some western commentators a form of exceptionalism and generalisation regarding both China and Africa. In this paper instead we seek to develop theoretical tools for examining China as a geopolitical and geoeconomic actor that is both different and similar to other industrial powers intervening in Africa. This is premised on a political economy approach that ties together material interests with a deconstruction of the discursive or 'extra-economic' ways by which Chinese capitalism internationalises. From there we use this framework to analyse contemporary Chinese engagement in Africa. We examine the changing historical position of Africa within Beijing's foreign policy strategy and China's vision of the evolving international political system, looking in particular at China's bilateral and state-centric approach to working with African 'partners'. Chinese practice is uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the notion of 'development' as an independent policy field of the kind that emerged among Western nations in the course of the 1950s and increasingly China has come to be viewed as a 'rogue creditor' and a threat to the international aid industry. Rather than highlighting one strand of Chinese relations with African states (such as aid or governance) we propose here that it is necessary to critically reflect on the wider geopolitics of China-Africa relations (past and present) in order to understand how China is opening up new 'choices' and altering the playing field for African development for the first time since the neo-liberal turn of the 1980s.
The impetus for this special issue is the inescapable fact of China's growing presence acros... more The impetus for this special issue is the inescapable fact of China's growing presence across Africa, as part of China's wider internationalisation strategy. While the growth of Chinese influence was greeted by an explosion of media interest, involving some rather ...
... They also continue a long-standing tendency to move from an examination of the particular, t... more ... They also continue a long-standing tendency to move from an examination of the particular, the local, to an obsession with the whole, the continent ( [Kanneh, 1998]). From one specific event commentators are happy to ascribe such characteristics to Africa as a whole. ...
The World Bank has defined structural adjustment lending as' non-project lending to ... more The World Bank has defined structural adjustment lending as' non-project lending to support programmes of policy and institutional change necessary to modify the structure of the economy so that it can maintain both its growth rate and the viability of its balance of ...
The debates on the politics of Chinese engagement with African development have been infused with... more The debates on the politics of Chinese engagement with African development have been infused with increasing concern over Chinese use of aid in exchange for preferential energy deals. Normative liberal discourse criticizes the Chinese for disbursing 'rogue aid' and undermining good governance in the African continent. These criticisms not only ignore the longer term motivations and modalities of Chinese aid and the historical diversity of Chinese relations with Africa, but also uncritically assumes 'Western' aid to be morally 'better' and 'more effective' in terms of development outcomes. There are three parts to this paper. First, it will discuss the emerging debates surrounding Chinese engagement in Africa, especially around aid and development issues. Second, the paper maps the historical development of China-Africa engagement and investigates the impacts of the changing modalities of Chinese aid in two case study countries: Angola and Ghana. We then conclude with a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between these two cases. Our principal argument is that different ideologies and practices of governance are used by both the Chinese and the western donors to conceal their own interests and political discourses in the African continent.
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Papers by Giles Mohan