China in Africa
China has become a crucial player in African development. Often caricatured, Chinese presence in Africa is not limited to exploiting the natural resources needed for its economic growth. It is a continent wide open to foreign investors, where social, safety, and environmental standards are generally non-existent or not complied with; it therefore serves as a springboard for the internationalization of Chinese companies, both public and private. These compete with Western companies in all sectors (mining, construction and public works, telecoms, etc.), where they gain experience with international competition so as to tackle markets in developed countries. Their action coordinates effectively with that of the Chinese government which, for its part, is seeking to reinforce its diplomatic influence: in exchange for privileged access to mining resources for Chinese companies, the state extends loans to African countries that are then used to build infrastructure courtesy of Chinese companies.
For African countries, access to this financial boon with no strings attached in terms of governance (unlike aid granted by international financial institutions (IFIs) and Western countries, even if their conditions are often very selective) is a godsend. Although it is criticized, often rather hypocritically, by Western countries whose support for corrupt authoritarian regimes has never really ceased despite their virtuous words, the growing Chinese presence in Africa is contributing to a development of infrastructure that is unprecedented since decolonization. This presence is nevertheless being increasingly rejected by local African populations. As well as contributing to the destruction of craftsmanship through the import of cheap Chinese products (particularly textiles), Chinese companies are accused of not respecting environmental and social norms. They are blamed for bringing in large numbers of Chinese workers, including unqualified ones, who are usually self-sufficient: there are therefore few spinoffs for the local economy, particularly where jobs are concerned.
China in Africa: a growing influence
Comment: China gives “aid” – which does not correspond to the criteria for official development assistance – to many African countries: Nigeria, Angola, Ghana or Ethiopia primarily. Although diplomatic links with the People’s Republic of China go back a long way (before the 1980s for half of African states), the Confucius Institutes, of which there were about fifty in 2017, were created over the course of the last decade.
- growth > Growth
- A long-term, sustained increase in a country’s production of economic wealth, in other words, its GDP. Economic growth is not synonymous with development. Measuring it with purely economic and monetary tools is becoming increasingly unsatisfactory because of the deterritorialization and internationalization of economic activities, as well as the failure to take account of any wealth creation that cannot be monetized (elimination of illiteracy, gains in scientific or cultural knowledge, etc.). This implies special emphasis on high productivity despite the potential destruction (especially ecological) caused by growth that is seen exclusively from the angle of economics and financial profitability.
- environmental > Environment
- In broad terms, the environment is understood as the biosphere in which living species cohabit, while ecology studies the relations between these organisms and their environment. The environment encompasses very diverse natural areas from undisturbed virgin forests to artificialized environments planned and exploited by humans. In a more limited definition of the term, “environmental” issues are those relating to natural resources (their management, use and degradation) and biological biodiversity (fauna and flora). As a cross-cutting public concern, the environment encompasses issues of societal organization (production models, transport, infrastructure, etc.) and their impacts on the health of humans and ecosystems.
- developed countries > Developed Country
- At point 4 of his Inaugural Address of 1949, American President Harry S. Truman outlined a program of aid for “underdeveloped areas. This phrase refers to all the countries regarded as “lagging behind” in progress toward what thus becomes the model set by the developed, industrialized countries, which at that time had stronger growth and higher standards of living. The evolution of the terminology from underdeveloped to developing and developed countries has not altered the linear, evolutionist aspect of the overall vision. Nor has it in any way nuanced the homogenization and reification of the groups so described.
- governance > Governance
- Inspired by management and entrepreneurship, the expression global governance refers to the formal and informal institutions, mechanisms and processes through which international relations between states, citizens, markets and international and non-governmental organizations are established and structured. The global governance system aims to articulate collective interests, to establish rights and duties, to arbitrate disputes and to determine the appropriate regulatory mechanisms for the issues and actors in question. Governance takes various forms: global multilateral governance, club-based governance (restricted to members, e.g. G7/8/20), polycentric governance (juxtaposition of regulatory and management mechanisms operating at various levels), and so on.
- aid > Official development assistance
- Gifts and loans granted by developed countries (bilateral aid) and international institutions (multilateral aid) to developing and less developed countries: food aid, technical assistance, military assistance, debt relief, and so on. Bilateral aid (2/3 of world aid) leads to dependency (obligation to buy goods and services from the donor’s companies). Introduced during the Cold War era and the time of decolonization, it was used by the United States and the USSR to create or maintain links with their respective blocs, as well as between former metropoles and their former empires. The target of spending 0.7% of developed countries’ GDP for ODA, which was set by the UN in 1970, has only rarely been reached. The European Union is the primary world provider of aid. Multilateral aid is conditional upon respecting economic and political “good governance” criteria.
- institutions > Institutions
- The term institution refers to social structures (rules, standards, practices, actions, roles) that are long-lasting, organized in a stable and depersonalized way, and play a part in regulating social relationships. An institution can be formalized within organizations (international or otherwise). In political science, institutionalism tackles the objects of political analysis by studying their structural basis and their organizational model rather than thinking about how they relate to society.
- decolonization > Decolonization
- The empires that resulted from the two great waves of colonization were called into question by colonized countries during the inter-war period. They subsequently collapsed after World War II. The United Kingdom relied on the Commonwealth to make a relatively smooth exit from colonialism, whereas France lost two wars, one in Indochina, the other in Algeria. In 1955, the Bandung conference brought together representatives from twenty-nine countries to mark their support for independence struggles. Spain and Portugal were the last European states to cling to their empires, which nevertheless collapsed in 1975. Although the colonial empires have all disappeared, they have left their mark on territories that are claiming their independence. The last half-century has witnessed the ongoing Israeli colonization of Palestine.