The Emerging Interference of Non-Interference: An Analysis of China’s Security Presence in East Africa
Akiyama, Connor K.
2021
- Across dozens of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, China’s multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative and its navy’s “New Historic Missions” have increasingly dominated global headlines, drawing attention to a region often neglected by Western audiences. Beyond the dueling stories of economic exploitation and “win-win” economic partnerships, a new element of the Sino-African relationship focused ... read moreon traditional security matters, such as arms sales, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, piracy, and military education is rapidly developing. Simultaneously, China’s long-standing policy of non-interference and respect for sovereignty has been forced to evolve to support China’s newfound African interests, thus forging a new style of engagement. The novelty of this new political influence, however, has meant that the Sino-African relations has been forced into pre-existing narratives about China that have little to do with Africa itself. Using a case study analysis of three east African countries with varying levels of U.S. military and economic engagement, this thesis explores whether China pushes its interests farther relative to the level of foreign competition and local host country support.Although many Western governments have openly warned African partners about the dangers of China’s growing security presence, I propose that, as of now, Chinese security engagement does not have an interest in undermining pre-existing security relationships, and instead eschews becoming a primary security guarantor. Furthermore, I have chosen to use a regional security framework for my case studies rather than arbitrarily selecting cases from unrelated countries thousands of miles apart. Although the Sino-African relationship contains many potential future pitfalls, I conclude that there is an alternative perspective of the Sino-African relationship that offers space for cooperation while not undermining regional security in the process.read less
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