USIP supports a cohort of early career scholars from across Africa as they research how China’s economic engagement in Africa impacts peace and security. In a field often dominated by outside expertise, this project builds the capacity of local researchers in a manner that prioritizes academic independence and rigor. The cohort is guided by a research advisory committee of senior experts on Africa-China relations, and the final research outputs will serve policymakers both in Africa and in the broader international community.

Much of the research that has been conducted on the impact of China’s economic engagement with Africa has focused on their economic exchanges and security engagements in isolation of one another. But few have sought to understand the interconnections between these themes. These interconnections matter, as some Chinese firms are responsible for environmental degradation, population displacement, corruption and illegal extraction activities — all of which are factors that can drive conflict. 

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, under construction on the Blue Nile in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, June 24, 2018.  (Laura Boushnak/The New York Times)

Meanwhile, Chinese actors often claim that their economic engagements are a driver of developmental peace, claiming that they are pillars of human security on the continent. In a politicized context with competing narratives, evidence-based research is vital to understand what is working and what is not for human security in the region.

African scholars are best suited to shed light on these dynamics, as their perspective is rooted in their own political systems, economies and societies. And yet, much of the analysis on Africa-China engagement to date has been conducted by scholars from outside of the continent. This program addresses that shortfall by centering the analysis and research of African early career scholars from across the continent.

About the Project

This year, a total of 17 researchers from a mixture of Anglophone and Francophone countries in Africa are conducting original, fieldwork-based research on how to address human security issues that may be arising from Chinese economic engagements.

The researchers are analyzing topics such as infrastructure construction, resource extraction, wildlife trading, technology, and arms trading in the following countries: Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia.

Their academic independence and rigor are ensured by the research advisory committee, who guide and support the researchers’ work and dissemination. The four members of this research advisory committee also serve as advisors on research design, facilitate networking with other experts in their fields and co-organize periodic virtual training workshops.

Latest Publications

Vice President Harris Helps Focus on Ghana, West Africa

Vice President Harris Helps Focus on Ghana, West Africa

Thursday, March 30, 2023

By: Palwasha L. Kakar;  Katherine G. Todd

Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Ghana this week as the place to launch her show of U.S. commitment to a new partnership with Africa can be no surprise. Ghana is one of Africa’s more established democracies and is at the center of the coastal West Africa region that the United States has targeted for focused efforts to prevent instability and the spread of extremism that is driving insurgencies in the neighboring Sahel region. As Ghana confronts that threat, notably in its vulnerable north, its community and civil society groups form an essential resource that partners should support.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Fragility & ResilienceReligion

U.S.-China Rivalry: The Dangers of Compelling Countries to Take Sides

U.S.-China Rivalry: The Dangers of Compelling Countries to Take Sides

Thursday, March 30, 2023

By: Gregg A. Brazinsky

As the U.S.-China rivalry intensifies — with some speculating a new Cold War is in the offing — many Asian countries are looking on with concern. If Washington seeks to maintain its role as a global leader, it should be judicious in how it contests Chinese influence in Asia, which seems likely to be the key battleground of the new Sino-American rivalry. The United States must understand that Asian countries do not want to be forced to constantly manage competing pressures from superpowers. Cold War-era Sino-American competition demonstrates that forcing Asian countries to choose sides can ultimately be counterproductive and undermines one of the United States’ chief attributes in this global competition.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Tensions over Taiwan Rise with Tsai’s U.S. Stopover

Tensions over Taiwan Rise with Tsai’s U.S. Stopover

Thursday, March 30, 2023

By: Rosie Levine;  Jennifer Staats, Ph.D.

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan transits this week through the United States, stopping in New York on her way to Guatemala and Belize, and in California on her way home. Tsai has made six stopovers since she took office in 2016, but this is the first since July 2019. The stopovers are not official visits, but Tsai is expected to meet Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in California. Beijing has made it known it fiercely opposes the stopover and threatened to retaliate if McCarthy and Tsai meet.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

What’s the State of Play on the Global Fragility Act?

What’s the State of Play on the Global Fragility Act?

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

By: Corinne Graff, Ph.D.

The White House’s recent release of 10-year stabilization and conflict prevention plans marks another milestone in U.S. efforts to implement the closely watched Global Fragility Act (GFA). The legislation received bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress before being signed into law by then President Donald Trump in 2019. It requires the U.S. government to develop a strategy for preventing the drivers of violent conflict and extremism, and to test a more coordinated, cost-effective and sustained U.S. approach in hot spots around the world.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Fragility & Resilience

Positivism for Peace: Reforming the International System

Positivism for Peace: Reforming the International System

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

By: Andrew Cheatham

Among many insightful and concerning points raised by the U.S. intelligence community’s 2023 threat assessment, it notes that "great powers, rising regional powers, as well as an evolving array of non-state actors, will vie for dominance in the global order … [and] compete to set the emerging conditions and the rules that will shape that order for decades to come.” China’s efforts to supplant U.S. dominance of global governance, along with divisions in the international community over the war in Ukraine have brought to the fore questions over the utility and viability of today’s international order.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

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