China's Evolving Role in Afr

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Africa-China Engagements Since the 1990s, China-Africa diplomatic and economic relations have accelerated rapidly; however, it is important to note relations between them are not new. Going back to pre-colonial times, China and Africa have experienced ebbs and flows of people, goods, and ideas, at certain times more intensely than at others. Present-day Chinese engagement in Africa is highly politicized. Critics describe this engagement as a “new scramble for Africa”, with China's activities on the African continent labeled “neo-colonial”. Many such depictions, while perhaps based on some elements of truth, often lack empirical grounding and an understanding of the complex realities of increasingly multifaceted relations. They do, however, reflect African and Western concerns about Chinese activities and China’s global rise, often seen through the lens of earlier colonial histories of exploitation of the African continent. The purpose of this course is threefold. We will learn how various interests and historical framings impact the ways in which “China-in-Africa” narratives are constructed. We will explore both historical and contemporary linkages between Africa and China from both “upstairs” (macro-economic and -political) and “downstairs” (peopled, grounded) perspectives. And we will explore these engagements by sector and by individual African country. In so doing, we will attempt to tease out trends as well as impacts on African countries and concerns about development, human rights, labor issues, environmental impacts, and uneven power dynamics. The course aims to provide students the opportunity to critically discuss and analyze controversial and contested China-Africa (or Africa-China) socio-economic relations and their implications. It also aims to allow students the opportunity to examine select inter-related topics that shed light on “Chinese” influences and impacts on the economies, polities, and societies of individual African countries; “African” priorities, perspectives, and responses; and “Western” views (Note: all of these are in parentheses as we will discover that within each, there are myriad actors, each with their own sets of priorities.) This course aims to explore the interrelationships between African nations, their traditional Western partners, newer national actors, and China, in comparative perspective. We conclude with a discussion of African agency and shifting global dynamics.