Asymmetrical rivalry between China and Japan in Africa: to what extent has Sino-Japan rivalry become a global phenomenon?

Abstract

To what extent is China–Japan rivalry a global phenomenon, and what is the nature of the rivalry they engage in outside their own region? Literature on Sino-Japanese rivalry abounds, but it pays scant attention to the relevance of the rivalry outside East Asia. This article argues that Sino-Japanese rivalry has indeed become a global phenomenon, that various forms of the rivalry are evident in Africa, and that they are mostly of an asymmetrical nature. Quantitatively, China’s contribution to Africa is far greater than that of Japan, with the exception of foreign direct investment (FDI). Qualitatively, though, Japan has a stronger sense of the rivalry than China has, revealing a psychological aspect to the asymmetry as well. Contextually, the types of activity that Chinese and Japanese actors carry out in Africa are not necessarily the same, which makes the rivalry all the more asymmetrical. The rivalry has become more apparent recently, not only because of the rise of China but also because of a change in the meaning of ‘Africa’ – from a region of ‘poverty’ and ‘hunger’ to a region of ‘economic opportunities’. That said, Africa – to a greater or lesser degree in each of its countries – still suffers from conflict and instability. As a result, the ability of Japan and China to exert power and influence throughout Africa is somewhat restricted.     

African agency and global orders: the demanding case of nuclear arms control

Abstract

How much agency do African states have to shape global orders? This study puts the global nuclear order under scrutiny to answer this question. It amounts to a demanding case. Arms control is something that global great powers take very seriously, and there is no weapons category that they take more seriously than nuclear weapons. My findings provide a nuanced picture. Although often outflanked and frustrated by nuclear weapon states, the nuclear order would look different without African actors exerting their agency. They successfully shaped background and foreground institutions constituting the global nuclear order by building advocacies for new institutions upon already existing ones, reaching out to state and non-state actors outside of Africa, and channelling communication through African states with authority in global fora. This study makes three contributions: First, it underlines the key finding of recent literature on African agency that African actors are more to be reckoned with than often assumed. Second, it provides novel evidence about the diplomatic mechanisms through which they come to make a difference. Third, it adds to our grasp of the constitution of global orders as well as the processes through which they come to be made, re-made and unmade more generally.     

Peripheral states and conformity to international norms: the dilemma of the marginalised

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand the seemingly paradoxical behaviour of states of the Global South, which on one the hand conform to transnational norms in order to integrate into the international society and on the other hand (sometimes simultaneously) differentiate themselves from them. To that end, this article develops the dilemma of the marginalised in order to show that conformity and differentiation become two paradoxical strategies for marginalised actors to pursue the same goal: equality with powerful states. The transformation of the Organisation of African Unity to the African Union, where significant changes in Africa’s policy vis-à-vis global powers took place, serves as a case study to illustrate how marginalised actors struggle between conformity and differentiation in order to claim their place in the international arena. It also shows how the dilemma of the marginalised can be compelling to help us understand the predicaments of marginalised actors across vastly different situations of structural inequality. Acknowledging the dilemma helps us understand their behaviour rather than to dismiss it as irrational, thereby recognising Third World agency in shaping the international system.     

Who governs? Religion and order in postcolonial Africa

Abstract

This article explores how mutually productive intersections between religion and governance constitute international political order in sub-Saharan settings. Asking ‘who governs’, I propose religion–governance entanglement as a means of analysing these intersections and rethinking governance, order and religion in Africa. Existing literatures typically characterise the public reliance on religious actors and institutions as being part of a uniquely ‘post-secular’ moment in contemporary world politics or a wider ‘post-Westphalian’ shift in modern governance. Enduring dynamics between postcolonial states and the Global North problematise these framings. In sub-Saharan Africa, religion has a protracted history in postcolonial hybrid governance, overlapping the regional presence of international non-govermental organisations following decolonisation. Using the example of South Sudan, I build on recent analyses of religious-political activities that leave their collective implications under-theorised.     

非洲国家劳工权益保护法律制度评述

随着中国企业进入非洲国家投资的规模不断扩大,国际社会有关中国在非企业劳工权益保护的争论也越来越多,这种情况反映出中国企业对非洲国家劳工权益保护法律缺乏了解。通过对坦桑尼亚、津巴布韦等国劳工权益保护法律的梳理,可以发现不少非洲国家都有较为严格的劳工保护制度,在劳动合同、集体谈判、维护人身权、限制外国雇员数量等方面有明确的法律规定。对于中国企业而言,需要在日常管理中更加注重劳工权益保护,重视集体谈判等机制,更好地保护所在国劳工权益。     

南亚地区安全:多重层次分析视角

多年以来,南亚地区安全形势一直未能有较大改观,极大地制约了南亚地区整体及各个国家的发展潜力,尽管各方均有意愿实现"吴越同舟"的梦想,然而现实是持续冲突的特点更为突出。多重层次是形成南亚地区安全困境的重要诱因,也是南亚地区难以摆脱安全困境的桎梏。正是各个层次之间的互动及影响导致了南亚地区的安全困境。面对安全困境,南亚地区各个国家根据规模与国家实力的不同采取了相应的因应战略,即自助、借势与合作战略。总体而言,实力较强的次地区大国的因应战略以自助为核心,较弱小的南亚国家则采取合作的策略以求得生存。针对多重安全困境对地区安全形势的影响,南亚各国的战略倾向有所不同,效果也不尽相同。从发展趋势来看,南亚次地区的安全仍然不容乐观。作为南亚地区的紧邻,中国在推进"一带一路"合作中将面临南亚地区安全困境所带来的挑战。     

Climate finance in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)

Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries lack sufficient funds to combat climate change. The growth of projects under the clean development mechanism (CDM) is not consistent in the region and the relation of that growth to national GDP is not equivalent either. The disbursement of climate funds promised by different countries and donor organisations to different countries in GMS region is very low. A few countries have relied more on external funds to combat climate change, while some have developed their own funds. A strong database and involvement of civil societies might help the region better utilise these climate funds.     

Mais Médicos: Cuba's Medical Internationalism Programme in Brazil

In 2014, at the request of the Brazilian government and under the sponsorship of PAHO, the Cuban government sent 11,400 doctors to work in underserved areas. This article examines the origins and development of this programme, Mais Médicos. The significance of this programme is explored, as well as what it illustrates about south‐south cooperation as a whole.     

NGO workers’ internalisation of the human rights-based approach in Bangladesh

The Western origin of human rights raises the question of how the human rights-based approach to development (HRBA) is understood in non-Western countries. This article explores individual practitioners’ perceptions of the HRBA in an NGO working in Bangladesh, drawing on interviews with its workers. The data suggest that participants accept the universal values of human rights and make sense of the HRBA influenced by their organisational and national contexts. Conceptualising this process as “internalisation”, this article argues that the organisational support and workers’ field experience are critical for incorporating contextual consideration into their interpretation and practice of the HRBA.     

PIRATES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEAS

Piracy has been endemic in the South China and surrounding seas for centuries. There is a long history of piracy waxing and waning depending on the political and economic situation in the region. There have been differing levels of piracy on the South China Coast and the seas around the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In the Sulu and Celebes Seas as well as off the coast of Aceh, there are examples of piracy used as a tactic by groups also engaged in terrorism. Piracy has periodically been suppressed by a strong naval power in the region. The growth and projection of Chinese naval power to control the South China Sea to the extent of the ‘nine dash line’ has suppressed piracy on the China Coast and in the South China Sea, but had limited impact on the Straits of Malacca and the seas around Borneo and Mindanao.