Journal of International Studies

Since China forayed into African markets in the mid-2000s there has been ongoing speculation surrounding what China is doing in Africa, how it is doing it, and why. In media and policy circles the rhetoric relentlessly stresses ‘China  in  Africa,’ failing to realize that such lopsided and macro analyses obfuscate more than they illuminate. China’s political and economic engagement in Africa is deep. Between 2009 and 2012, China’s direct investment in Africa grew at an annual rate of 20.5 percent. While negligible in 2000, trade between the regions hit $195.8 billion in 2012 and is estimated to reach $385 billion by 2015. China’s engagement is also far-reaching. Public and private firms construct roads, hospitals, schools, stadiums and training centers for the exchange of technology and knowledge. State-owned energy companies explore for oil; manufacturing firms operate factories in remote African cities; and Chinese entrepreneurs sell knick-knacks in roadside shops. Th...

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Party Congress was completed in Beijing earlier last week. Themed “deepening reform,” the Session had raised high expectations in and outside China about the new directions and initiatives the Party will adopt to address the country’s various problems, including its economic slowdown and other internal challenges. Foreign policy has not been a key topic for this domestically focused Session: Other than the creation of a “state security committee,” which is believed will cover foreign and national security issues, there is little mention of foreign affairs in the communique released after the Session on the November 12.  Despite this lack of a foreign policy focus, the decisions made at the Plenum, from an African observer perspective the meeting had potential implications for Africa. Globalization and the economic interdependence among countries have enhanced the butterfly effect of China’s own policy adjustments on others. As Africa’...

Last week The Gambia decided to cut ties with Taiwan. The implications could be significant. Image Credit: flickr/alveaux An air of uncertainty descended upon Taipei on November 14 when he tricolor Gambian flag was pulled down at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hours after rumors had emerged that Banjul had unilaterally severed ties with Taiwan. By day’s end, it was confirmed that Gambian President Yahya Jammeh had made the move to end nearly eighteen years of diplomatic relations. Taiwan  reciprocated  on November 18, leaving it with only three allies on the African continent, and 22 worldwide. The setback — this was Taipei’s first loss of a diplomatic ally since Malawi cut ties in January 2008 and established relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) — immediately gave rise to speculation in Taipei as to whether the so-called  “diplomatic truce”  established between presidents Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan and Hu Jintao in China had come to an...

Vladimir Putin, nicknamed “Pootie Poot” by George W. Bush, demonstrates his first car, a Zaporozhets, to the U.S. President. (E. Draper/White House) The Seduction of George W. Bush By Peter Baker Peter Baker tells the intimate story of how Bush and Putin’s personal relationship shaped American foreign policy toward Russia. This excerpt from Baker’s new book is a rich collection of revealing anecdotes ranging from Putin’s suggestion that Bush amend the constitution to accommodate a third term to Bush’s frustrated characterization of Putin as an eighth grader who doesn’t know his facts. The A-Team Killings By Matthieu Aikins Rolling Stone Aikins examines how the lives of Afghan villagers have been caught in U.S. war efforts and how this further muddies relations with the Afghan government. This piece offers interviews with the villagers of the Nerkh district of Afghanistan, where the bodies of ten missing Afghan residents were found last Spring near an American Special Force...

English-language media completely ignored a noteworthy statement that led Der Spiegel's German-language website October 12, a call for China to "take on responsibility as a world power" in the Middle East. Penned by Bernhard Zand, the German news organization's Beijing correspondent, it is terse and to the point: now that China imports more oil from the Middle East than any other country in the world, it must answer for the region's security. "America's interest in the Middle East diminishes day by day" as it heads towards energy self-sufficiency, wrote Zand, adding: China's interest in a peaceful Middle East is enormous, by contrast. Beijing is not only the biggest customer of precisely those oil powers who presently are fanning the flames of conflict in Syria; as a VIP customer, Beijing has growing political influence, which it should use openly. The word of the Chinese foreign minister has just as much weight in Tehran and Riyadh as that ...

This past week South Africa’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe  attended  the fifth South Africa-China bi-national commission (BNC) in Beijing. There is nothing particularly shocking about this. China has worked hard in the last decade or more to establish relationships with African countries. And while we can argue (as myriad academics and journalists have) about the nature of this relationship — is it fundamentally unequal? Does it represent a version of Sino-imperialism? Does it provide a protection for African regimes that violate the human rights of their citizens? — The fact that the Chinese would want to engage with the most powerful economic and political power in sub-Saharan Africa seems obvious. But what is also interesting is that while by any economic measure China dwarfs South Africa, the relationship is far closer to one between semi-equals than it is the sort of asymmetrical relationship that plays out with China and most countries north of the Limpopo ...

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of discussing Iran-China relations on  China Pivots West , an excellent new podcast hosted by Kendrick Kuo  about China’s growing presence in Central Asia and the Middle East. The experience was made all the more enjoyable by the fact that the other guest on the podcast was John Garver, a top-notch scholar at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs who is the leading expert on the subject of Sino-Iranian relations . In  line with my recent article on  The Diplomat , during the podcast I discussed the possibility of a future clash between Iran and China as a result of Beijing becoming more deeply enmeshed in the Middle East, particularly in the context of America’s declining influence in the region. I noted the possibility that China might in a decade or two activate its String of Pearls strategy and actually establish a military presence in the Persian Gulf. This would be anathema to Iran’s long-standing goal of be...