Some Strings Attached: Explaining the Motivations for and Impact of Chinese Engagement in Ghana
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- China’s engagement in Africa is a hotly debated subject today. Policymakers in Washington D.C. increasingly see China’s actions as predatory and with the intention of domination over the continent. In Beijing, on the other hand, Xi Jinping frequently tout’s ‘win-win’, ‘no political strings attached’ cooperation. Drawing on publicly available data and 33 interviews with 29 individuals from a variety of backgrounds, this thesis seeks to analyze China’s actions in Ghana to shed light on the motivations for and the effects of China’s engagement in Africa. This thesis concludes that the Chinese government has both economic motivations and political objectives for its engagement with Ghana, and it utilizes a variety of strategies across different sectors to advance those economic and political interests. As for the effects of China’s increased engagement in Ghana, country-level generalized data indicates win-win outcomes for both countries. But closer analysis suggests that across different sectors, China’s engagement with Ghanaian elites has resulted in close financial relationships that threaten Ghana’s ability to conduct policy without undue influence from the Chinese central government. China’s engagement also has worrying implications for Ghana’s environment, local industry, and media and information and communication technology (ICT) freedom. But Ghanaian leaders, civil society organizations, and citizens also have exhibited significant agency in shaping the terms of the bilateral China-Ghana relationship.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2020 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | McFaul, Cole |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Diamond, Larry |
Subjects
| Subject | Center for Democracy Development and the Rule of Law |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University |
| Subject | Belt and Road Initiative |
| Subject | China-Ghana Relations |
| Subject | China-Africa Relations |
| Subject | Chinese Influence in Africa |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- McFaul, Cole. (2020). Some Strings Attached: Explaining the Motivations for and Impact of Chinese Engagement in Ghana. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/mm242gs9686
Collection
Stanford University, Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. (CDDRL)
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- cmcfaul@stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...