China’s New Role in African Politics From Non-Intervention towards Stabilization? Routledge Global Cooperation Series

China's rise to global power status in recent decades has been accompanied by deepening economic relationships with Africa, with the New Silk Road's extension to Sub-Saharan Africa as the latest step, leading to much academic debate about the influence of Chinese business in the continent. However, China's engagement with African states at the political and diplomatic level has received less attention in the literature. This book investigates the impact of Chinese policies on African politics, asking how China deals with political instability in Africa and in turn how Africans perceive China to be helping or hindering political stability.

While China officially operates with a foreign policy strategy which conceives of Africa as one integrated monolithic area (with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) the flagship of inter-continental cooperation), this book highlights the plurality of context-specific interaction patterns between China and African elites, demonstrating how China's role and relevance has differently evolved according to whether African countries are resource-rich and geostrategically important from the Chinese perspective or not. By looking comparatively at a range of different country cases, the book aims to promote a more thorough understanding of how China reacts to political stability and instability, and in which ways the country contributes to domestic political dynamics and stability within African states.

China?s New Role in African Politics will be of interest to researchers from across Political Science, International Relations, International Law and Economy, Security Studies, and African and Chinese Studies.

1. China's New Role in African Politics: From Non-Intervention towards Stabilization? Christof Hartmann, Nele NoesseltPart 1: Patterns, Discourses, and Practices 2. China’s African Dream: Assessing China’s New Strategy Nele Noesselt 3. Layered Rhetorics and Multiple Realities: China and Africa Julia Strauss 4. China and Regional Security in Africa Georg Lammich 5. Coping with Security challenges in African Society. The roles of overseas Chinese associations in Africa Liu Haifang 6. China's Contribution to African Governance: Some Conceptual Thoughts Christof HartmannPart 2: Case Studies 7. Financing Regime Stability? The Role of Chinese Credit Lines in Post-War Angola Lucy Corkin 8. The Role of China and Asymmetric Bargaining in Ethiopia’s Authoritarian Backsliding Steve Hess 9. The Dialectics of Political Instability and Democracy in China’s Engagements in Zambia Richard Aidoo 10. Emerging Alternative? China’s Developmental Peace Approach in South Sudan Chun Zhang 11. China and Rwanda – natural allies or uneasy partners in regime stability Sven Grimm, Christine Hackenesch 12. Zimbabwe and China: an all-weather relationship for development and stability? Lloyd Sachikonye 13. China and Africa’s Peace and Security: Examining China’s Role in Nigeria’s Insecurity Efem Ubi 14. ‘We are black Chinese’ – Making sense of APC’s pro-China campaign in Sierra Leone’s 2018 elections Patricia Rinck 15. Conclusion Christof Hartmann, Nele Noesselt

Christof Hartmann is Professor of Political Science, in particular International Relations and African Politics, at the Department of Political Science, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Nele Noesselt is Professor of Political Science with a special focus on China and East Asia at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.