Mohan, Giles and Lampert, Ben
(2013).
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1093/afraf/ads065 |
|---|---|
| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
Most analyses of China’s renewed engagement with Africa treat China as the driving force, and little recognition is given to the role of African agency, especially beyond the level of state elites. This article investigates the extent of African agency in engagements with China and argues that at various levels African actors have negotiated, shaped and even driven Chinese engagements in important ways. Suggesting a theoretical framework that captures agency both within and beyond the state, the article provides an empirical analysis of African agency first by showing how elements of the Angolan state created a hybrid set of institutions to broker Chinese investment projects, and second by discussing how African social actors have influenced and derived benefits from the activities of Chinese migrants in Ghana and Nigeria. While both cases demonstrate African agency, the ability of African actors to exercise such agency is highly uneven, placing African politics at the heart of any understanding of China-Africa relations.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
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| Copyright Holders: | 2012 The Authors, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal African Society |
| ISSN: | 0001-9909 |
| Funders: | ESRC (RES-062-23-0487 and RES 062-23-1893) |
| Keywords: | China-Africa relations; African agency; Chinese foreign investment; Chinese migrants; Angola; Ghana; Nigeria |
| Academic Unit/Department: | Mathematics, Computing and Technology > Design, Development, Environment and Materials |
| Interdisciplinary Research Centre: | Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance (CCIG) OpenSpace Research Centre (OSRC) |
| Item ID: | 34522 |
| Depositing User: | Ben Lampert |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Oct 2012 09:02 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Jan 2013 12:24 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/34522 |
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