For decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country...Show moreFor decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country started looking eastwards, increasingly seeking and accepting investment and aid from China. Mozambique witnessed increasing engagement from China, especially in the exploitation of raw materials and infrastructure development. In academic literature and public discourse, the South-South cooperation between the two developing countries is often portrayed as benefitting only China, ascribing the Mozambican state a merely passive and receiving role. This thesis scrutinizes this assumption and explores the different ways in which the Mozambican government asserts its agency vis-à-vis China, specifically in the mining sector. Indeed, the analysis shows that, despite structural constraints, the government does exercise agency on various levels.Show less
In light of Africa’s gradual integration into the global market economy, the continent has increasingly attracted international investments from the emerging economies, in particular Brazil and...Show moreIn light of Africa’s gradual integration into the global market economy, the continent has increasingly attracted international investments from the emerging economies, in particular Brazil and China, since the early 2000s. Since Africa has a rich historical past related to colonialism, exploitation of and subordination to the global North, these developments question the potential of these new, dominant players in Africa to break with this vicious cycle of dependency on dominant economies. As Latin America’s strongest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), Brazil’s growing cooperation with the African continent is therefore raising the question of the country’s economic and political intentions behind its South-South Cooperation (SSC) projects. Formerly regarded as a promoter of cooperation between Southern countries by the African community, Brazil’s shift in foreign policy towards economic pragmatism is now viewed as a double-edged sword. While extensive academic research has focused on China’s role in accessing these new markets, less work has looked at Brazil’s underlying intentions behind its SSC projects. In fact, Brazil’s leading agricultural SSC project in Mozambique, the ProSAVANA project, has sparked a public and academic debate about the implications of Brazil’s cooperation for its Southern partners. The hypothesis of this thesis therefore argues that since president Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva’s rise to power in 2003, Brazil uses SSC as a tool to strengthen its economic and political influence on Sub-Saharan Africa and to diversify its economy, while subordinating the local markets to Brazil’s economic activities, hence reproducing the dependency theory. In order to confirm this hypothesis, the following research question will be central to the discussion of this thesis: How does Brazil’s agricultural South-South Cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the ProSAVANA project in Mozambique, reproduce the dependency theory?Show less
The Portuguese decolonisation in Africa followed an exceptional path through the 1950s and 1960s. Portugal continued to reject decolonisation as other European powers’ colonies moved towards...Show moreThe Portuguese decolonisation in Africa followed an exceptional path through the 1950s and 1960s. Portugal continued to reject decolonisation as other European powers’ colonies moved towards independence. Due to its unique position, the decolonisation had a large international dimension, attracting much attention from not only many nation states but also both the UN (United Nations) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). This research will be concerned with the British media and how it portrayed the decolonisation of Mozambique, a Portuguese colony. The fact that Mozambique was the first state admitted to the British Commonwealth having never been part of the British Empire or under the control of any other member state indicates the connections that Britain has shared with Mozambique. Only one other state, Rwanda in 2009, has been afforded admittance. This research will highlight British interest in Mozambique and argue that this interest affected reporting in British newspapers concerning decolonisation in Mozambique.Show less
The thesis aims to illustrate how Food Aid, Free Trade Agreements, and Agricultural Dumping are closely related. By drawing the relation between these three seemingly separate issues, a divergent...Show moreThe thesis aims to illustrate how Food Aid, Free Trade Agreements, and Agricultural Dumping are closely related. By drawing the relation between these three seemingly separate issues, a divergent perspective upon the global trading system is exposed. The thesis reaches its outcome by using both macro and micro analyses. Where macro analyses allows the debate to have a more theoretical nature, the micro analyses of the case study on Agricultural Dumping in Mozambique shows a more practical side of the debate. By the use of these two analytical tools, the thesis illustrates how Agricultural Dumping is a negative effect of Food Aid, enabled through Free Trade Agreements. As open market policies and low domestic protection are part of these agreements, local agricultural markets in sub- Saharan Africa become unable to compete with subsidised imported agricultural goods. Hence, the three issues all contribute to an unequal market system that, in certain situations, provides advantages for the donor country and leaves the receiving country at a disadvantage.Show less
The effects of climate change are evident for communities living in the Limpopo River valley in southern Mozambique. The floods in this region will most likely become more frequent, and increase in...Show moreThe effects of climate change are evident for communities living in the Limpopo River valley in southern Mozambique. The floods in this region will most likely become more frequent, and increase in intensity, while the overall population continues to grow. Permanent migration to the resettlement site of Chiaquelane is an option many people of the community in Chókwè have chosen, in order to adapt to the Limpopo River flood risk. Through qualitative research in both Chókwè and Chiaquelane, over a three month fieldwork period, this study was aimed at uncovering the implications of permanent migration as an adaptation strategy, using theories of livelihood sustainability and natural disaster risk resilience. Semi-structured interviews, group interviews, and field observation are the main research methods that were deployed. Main findings include, among others, that permanent migration to Chiaquelane brings about absolute safety from the Limpopo River floods, but it also entails a decrease in livelihood opportunities; the soils are less fertile, there are little to no employment opportunities and it is hard to start a (lost) business from scratch. The decision to stay in (or return to) Chókwè entails that people better preserve their social networks, can rely on pre-existing employment opportunities, are surrounded by more and better facilities, and most importantly, can continue to work on their machambas and sell the surplus on the market. The results of this study furthermore suggest that, in its current state, the resettlement programme tends to reinforce existing inequalities within the Gaza Province. Secondly, the results suggest that permanent migration is not a fully voluntary decision; it heavily depends on (1) the amount of received government assistance and (2) the assets – social as well as material – that are available to someone.Show less
Abstract This thesis investigates whether South-South Cooperation can lead to agricultural growth in Africa, based on the transfer of knowledge and best-practice techniques developed in Brazil....Show moreAbstract This thesis investigates whether South-South Cooperation can lead to agricultural growth in Africa, based on the transfer of knowledge and best-practice techniques developed in Brazil. Using a case study analysis of ProSAVANA, a triangular cooperation project between Japan, Brazil and Mozambique, this thesis analyses the effectiveness of the project in combining financial aid with technical knowledge transfer to cultivate the Nacala Corridor of Northern Mozambique. Based on the findings of the case study, this thesis argues ProSAVANA has been largely unsuccessful in achieving agricultural development in Mozambique. This is primarily due to its focus on private investment and commercial gains, which has been heavily criticised by civil society groups and local farmers in Mozambique. This paper concludes by arguing that ProSAVANA is damaging the long-term reputation of SSC, following claims of land grabbing and exploitation of resources, which is in stark contrast to its principles of shared development goals and mutual respect. This harms SSC’s chances of changing the development landscape in the long run.Show less
