240092 SE VM1 / VM6 - Southern Africa-China Relations and their Impact on Democracy in Southern Africa (2024W)

The course will be tailored towards enriching debate on African democracy, with close attention to how Southern Africa’s relationship with China could impinge on that democracy. Up to the new millennium, relations between Southern Africa and China were shaped by the elite (state actors), but that has been changing, mainly due to the increasing and more varied presence of China and the Chinese in Southern Africa. Ordinary Southern African citizens have become vocal on the interaction between Southern Africa and China in all ways that it manifests itself (from the state level to the non-state level). The course will draw on case studies from Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The three countries offer a rich diversity in their historical, political, economic and social makeup, and how these have shaped their relationship with China. In addition, citizens of the three countries enjoy civil liberties to different extents, and this impacts on the influence they could have on directing Africa-China relations.