The concept of Sustainable Development is increasingly used in development policies. Still, it remains questionable whether sustainable development is feasible in reality. Since a few years, China...Show moreThe concept of Sustainable Development is increasingly used in development policies. Still, it remains questionable whether sustainable development is feasible in reality. Since a few years, China aims to be leading in sustainable development. Their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could secure that leading role at a global scale. Nonetheless, many scholars argue that this project is far from sustainable. Others refute this criticism and state that the BRI has the most potential for sustainable development. This thesis aims to investigate this debate by answering the following question: To what extent is ecologically sustainable development implemented within the Chinese BRI Railroad projects in Sub-Saharan African Countries? A qualitative data analysis (small-N) will answer this question. The conditions of sustainable development will be compared to practice by studying three railroad projects. This thesis will view sustainable development through an ecological lens with a focus on Strong Sustainability. This thesis analyses how the projects relate to the criteria of Strong Sustainability: protecting and promoting biodiversity, sustainable water management and carbon emission reductions. The results show that the SGR projects do attribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. Still, they could have done more to make the project genuinely sustainable; a lot of environmental concerns remain unaddressed within the projects. Therefore, these projects cannot be labelled as ecologically sustainable under the criteria of Strong Sustainability.Show less
Studies on China’s involvement in Africa have proliferated in the past 20 years, reflecting China’s increasing political and economic interests in the continent. China is keen to portray itself as...Show moreStudies on China’s involvement in Africa have proliferated in the past 20 years, reflecting China’s increasing political and economic interests in the continent. China is keen to portray itself as a new partner in Africa, unfettered by colonial ties. This thesis focuses on Kenya’s biggest infrastructure project since independence in 1963, a railway linking the port city of Mombasa with the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. It looks at official Chinese pronouncements on the rationale for Chinese involvement in the context of China’s “win-win” rhetoric; explains Kenya’s drive to improve its infrastructure and the potential benefits not only for Kenya but for the East African region; and investigates the extent to which the China-Kenya deal on the new railway is, or could turn out to be, a “win” for Kenya.Show less
Many scholars today are occupied with China’s engagements with Africa, as China is slowly changing the rules of development. One of the largest nations it is interacting with today is Kenya, and...Show moreMany scholars today are occupied with China’s engagements with Africa, as China is slowly changing the rules of development. One of the largest nations it is interacting with today is Kenya, and this thesis will apply three theories in international relations to the case of economic development under Chinese investments in Kenya: the theories of Wallerstein, Alden and Nurkse which elaborate on global, regional, and national engagement with developing economies respectively. The main objective of this thesis is to identify and illustrate the effects of China’s financial support and investments in Kenya’s economy. China’s rhetoric of mutually beneficial cooperation reflects, at least theoretically, its benevolence and underlying focus on development. China’s underlying economic and diplomatic motivations will be discussed, followed by expounding on the presence of Chinese businesses in Kenya, the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative, and Kenya’s Vision 2030. The Kenyan government should be careful to keep the economic growth in its own hands by not relying too much on Chinese credit loans and investments, but focus at generating its own capital.Show less
Research master thesis | African Studies (research) (MA)
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The thesis argues to give special attention to Chinese contractors with a provincial background (State-owned enterprise established at the provincial level) and their activities in African...Show moreThe thesis argues to give special attention to Chinese contractors with a provincial background (State-owned enterprise established at the provincial level) and their activities in African countries. Chinese actors who have an earlier entrance to the African market experience a ‘disembedding’ process as other forms of Chinese capital flow in. In face of intensified intra-China competition, provincial SOEs struggle to secure a position in the local market. This thesis explores how Chinese camps navigate changing and unfamiliar environment by cultivating connections with Senegalese actors and local communities. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Touba, Matam, Thiès, Thienaba and Dakar. The tracking strategy is a combination of go-along, participant observation and small-talks. The conceptual tool of this thesis, based on the concepts of ‘scale’ (Xiang 2013), ‘navigation’(Vigh, 2006, 2009) and ‘connection’ (Kaag 2012), attempts to understand how flows at one scale can influence or disrupt another scale; and on the local level, how actors experience these disruptions and move through the social forces created in the momentum as socially immediate and socially imagined; and how, through connection and connecting, they find a temporary anchor. This thesis looks at how Chinese contractors navigate the ambiguity of trust and potentiality of obligation to make work and social life possible. It also looks at how Chinese navigate the Chinese guanxi practice and Senegalese system reciprocity to cultivate stable interpersonal relations with significant local actors, such as the Mbacke marabouts in Touba. Keywords: Senegal; China; social navigation; reciprocity; religion; infrastructure; provinceShow less
Over the years, media and academics have been discussing the miraculous transformation of Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia, from murder capital to most innovative city in 2013. The...Show moreOver the years, media and academics have been discussing the miraculous transformation of Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia, from murder capital to most innovative city in 2013. The application of the social urbanism model under mayor Sergio Fajardo is said to have contributed to the inclusion of historically marginalized neighborhoods substantially, however, although murder rates have declined as a result, violence continues to be a problem affecting the residents of these neighborhoods. Therefore, the question that this thesis addresses is: how has the construction and improvement of transit infrastructure, as part of the city’s model of social urbanism, contributed to social inclusion and violence reduction in what were previously the most violent neighborhoods of the city? The findings of this research suggest that the effects of the interventions were limited to the areas surrounding the transit constructions and social urbanism failed to benefit the population of the marginalized comunas as a whole.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to explore the role of Chinese economic involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in the specific case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to evaluate the...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to explore the role of Chinese economic involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in the specific case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to evaluate the extent to which dependency theory accurately describes these relationships. While this paper argues that patterns of dependency might not be accurate in describing Sino-African trade, the same cannot be asserted when looking at Sino-Congolese trade, which appears to embody centre-periphery dynamics. However, when addressing Chinese economic relations with Congo, another major aspect that needs consideration is investment. The potential impact that Chinese investment could have in the DRC deepens the analysis on the nature of Sino-Congolese relationship and proves that dependency theory does not provide an accurate depiction even in the Congolese case.Show less
