The Politics of Chinese-financed Infrastructure Development in East Africa

The China Africa Project

How African governments negotiate infrastructure deals with Chinese lenders and construction companies is far more complex than many assume. While most focus on the role of the head of state, the reality is that the leader is just one of many actors that has a say in the process. A trio of scholars recently published an in-depth analysis that explores the internal political dynamics for three high-profile Chinese infrastructure projects in East Africa including the Bagamoyo Port in Tanzania, the Adama wind farm in Ethiopia, and the Port of Lamu expansion in Kenya. Frangton Chiyemura from The Open University, Elisa Gambino from LSE, and Tim Zajontz from the University of Freiburg in Germany join Eric & Cobus to discuss their research and why it's so important to understand the particular attributes of African agency in this process. SHOW NOTES: Chinese Political Science Review: Infrastructure and the Politics of African State Agency: Shaping the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa: https://bit.ly/3airYF4 JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Twitter: @ChinaGSProject| @stadenesque | @eric_olander | @fchemura | @tzajontz | @drelisagambino Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject FOLLOW CAP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine عربي: www.akhbaralsin-africia.com | @AkhbarAlSinAfr JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject