Lina Benabdallah lecture: "Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations"
About the Lecture
What is the role of social capital and network-building in China’s foreign policy in Africa? Many studies on China’s rising power tend to focus on military spending, infrastructure projects, and investments in natural resource extractions. Although these elements are important, they should not overshadow other essential types of investments, i.e. in human and social capital, that are central to the success of Chinese foreign policy in Africa. This study is an examination of China’s increasing investments in building powerful set of professional and personal networks formed through professionalization training programs, scholarships, and other exchanges sponsored by the Chinese government for African recipients.
About the Speaker
Lina Benabdallah is an assistant professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University and research associate at Johns Hopkins SAIS China Africa Research Initiative (CARI). She is the author of “Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network Building in China-Africa Relations” (University of Michigan Press 2020). The book probes the type of power mechanisms that build, diffuse, and project China’s power in Africa. Her analyses and publications appeared in Foreign Policy, Journal of International Relations and Development, the Third World Quarterly, and the Washington Post among others.
Event Details
This lecture is part series on China and Africa sponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
Originally published at asia.nd.edu.