Latest comments
Most commented
Home
Cooperating with China in Africa
17 March 2012
The Danish Institute for International Studies recently published the policy brief 'Cooperating with China in Africa'. The policy brief looks at early experiences of OECD donors of cooperating with China in Africa. There is quite some buzz about this so-called trilateral cooperation. The report however states that 'existing activities remain small-scale and largely bilateral, with little African ownership.
China as a Development Aid Actor
10 March 2012
Oxford University China-Africa Network (OUCAN)
with generous support from the China Centre presents an International Symposium on "China as a Development Aid Actor: Rethinking Development Assistance and its Implications for Africa and the West" hosted by the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford.
Seminar Deborah Brautigam
22 February 2012
What Can Western Donors learn from .....
On March 28, prof. Deborah Brautigam will give a lecture on what western donors can learn from China's approach in Africa. The
seminar is organised in cooperation with African Studies Centre in Leiden.
For details and registration please visit the ASC website.
South-South cooperation is gaining prominence and was high on the agenda at the Busan conference on aid effectiveness.
All eyes were on China: would China be in or out? Ultimately China signed the Busan Declaration because it states that the nature, modalities and responsibilities of South-South cooperation are different from North-South cooperation and that the principles and commitments are only a voluntary reference for China.
Future of Global Governance
Friday, 3 February 2012
"Rising Powers" and the Future
of Global Governance
International Conference
16th-17th May 2012
University of Sussex, UK
Little more than a decade ago,the economic and financial crisis
that swept across the non-Western world (the so called ‘Asian
financial crisis’ of 1997-8) was ostensibly a harbinger of the end
of ‘late development’ and a reassertion of the West’s political
and economic dominance over the Global South.
Brazil in Africa
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Brazil in Africa: bridging the divide?
By: Oliver Stuenkel, Professor of International Relations
at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, Brazil
On Wednesday I'll participate in a debate about Brazil's growing role in Africa at the 7th International Turkish - African Congress in Khartoum (Sudan). Turkey - another emerging power with growing interest in Africa - seems eager to study China's, India's and Brazil's activities there and learn from them.
Future of INGO in post-western world
January, 4, 2012
The future of international NGOs depends on what the post-western world will look like in ten years from now. The nature of the post-western world is likely to challenge the legitimacy, funding and effectiveness of INGOs generally and particularly of those from the West. Here I discuss a few of these challenges.
Future Calling
December 12, 2011
Hivos and the Broker have started an online discussion Future Calling on the future of international NGOs in a changing global world.
The debate is opened by Michael Edwards who challenges the international NGOs to change their ways of working. He argues that international NGOs offer the 'wrong' solutions to the complex problems of today. In his thinkpiece Development INGOs - retirement, replacement or rejuvenation? he formulates the leading questions for the discussion:
Emerging partners of Africa
November 17, 2011
By Bert Helmsing, Professor of Local & Regional Development at the international Institute of Social Studies at the Erasmus University, the Netherlands.
In their African Economic Outlook 2011, the African Development Bank and the OECD together with its UN partners, the Economic Commission for Africa and the UNDP, argued that the growing presence of Emerging Partners is a welcome addition and Africa’sneeds and potentials are so large that there is room for everyone.
Moreover, Africa’s relationships with its Traditional Partners are still dominant in trade, foreign direct investment and in aid. There is no need or excuse for Traditional Partners to lower or change their relationships with Africa and the Emerging Partners and the Traditional Partners don’t bite each other. Emerging Partners do not bring down governance standards and do not worsen corruption, at least not visibly in national level surveys; there is no evidence that Emerging Partners are contributing to a renewed indebtment of African countries or to its de-industrialization.
China and resource curse in Africa
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
On November 3-4 I participated in the workshop:'Beyond the resource curse, new dynamics in the management of natural resources: new actors and concepts' held in Paris.
Lecture: China in Africa
Lecture: China in Africa: the future of development aid?
By: journalist and China expert Jan van der Putten
Date: October 27, 2011, 15.00 - 17.00 hours
Where: Cordaid, Lutherse Burgwal 10, Den Haag
The First China-Africa NGO-Forum?
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Who was first to organise a China – Africa NGO-meeting:
Fahamu or China’s NGO Network for International Exchange?
The China – Africa People’s Forum took place
in Nairobi on August 29 and 30 this year. The
two-day meeting brought together 200 NGO
representatives from 19 African countries and
China. The meeting was organised by the China’s
NGO Network for International Exchange and
Kenya’s NGO Coordination Board. The forum
adopted the Nairobi Declaration, which called
upon Chinese and African governments to
support people-to-people exchanges and
enter into meaningful partnerships with NGO’s.
The NGO-forum will be institutionalised and
a second meeting will be held in Beijing in 2012.
The forum was hailed as a historic event.
For the first time in history, Chinese NGO’s
visited Africa, attended the forum and established
relationships with their African colleagues.
The forum showed that China’s interest in Africa
is more than trade, said Kenyan vice-president
Kalonzo Musayoka.
U.S. worry about China in Africa
Monday, September 12, 2011
Every now and then newspaper articles appear
that highlight the geopolitical rivalry between the
U.S. and China and how it plays out in Africa.
It is the story of a declining global power: the U.S.
and an emerging power: China. The U.S. criticizes
China that it doesn’t play by the rules: Chinese
companies enjoy state-backing and easy financing
and they do not adhere to international labor
and environmental standards.
Recently the Wall Street Journal published
‘In Africa, U.S. Watches China’s Rise’. According to
the author the US government is concerned about
China’s rapid rise in influence in Africa. China’s model
of development is popular among some African leaders.
The article quotes a deputy prime minister from
Zimbabwe saying: ‘China’s model is telling us you
can be successful without following the Western example’.
What can Western donors learn?
Chinese Dragon & Indian Elephant
Brazil: Africa's best friend?
Friday, July 15
Brazil’s increased economic engagement with Africa has
generally received positive commentaries. Brazil is seen
as a benevolent power without a hidden agenda. It's business
sector is said to act responsibly, creating employment and
following high quality standards. This stands in sharp contrast
to the critical media attention for China's endeavours on the
continent. Two recent reports seem to suggest that Brazil
is Africa’s best friend.
Publish What You Pay - Kinshasa Meeting
Tuesday May 31, 2011
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) is a global network of civil society organizations campaigning for transparency in the extractive industries (www.publishwhatyoupay.org). The regional meeting in Kinshasa (May 23 - 27) brought together over 100 campaigners from almost 30 African countries.
Transparency of company payments and government use of revenues is not enough. This was the emerging consensus of many discussions. Transparency of payments and revenues is an important first step but not sufficient to lift the resource curse.
The role of emerging powers and especially of China in the extractive industries was frequently discussed in and outside the plenary sessions and working groups. This was done in relation to oil extraction in Nigeria, Angola and Ghana (Jubilee field), and mining operations in Zambia, Liberia, Gabon and Mozambique.
News update 1
Monday, May 23, 2011
Read the first news update. The issues are: if emerging powers will change development aid, the role of emerging powers in extractive industries in Africa, the fourth European conference of African Studies and the launch of the partnerships resource centre.
China's Foreign Aid
Monday, May 9, 2011
China has published it's first policy document on foreign aid on April 21. The document describes in general terms the volume, distribution, forms and management of China's aid. According to the policy document, China spent $38 billion (256 billion yuan) in foreign aid between 1950 and 2009. 40% of the aid was given as grants, the rest was interest-free loans and concessional loans. In 2009 Africa received 45,7% of all Chinese Foreign aid.
Emerging powers and the effectiveness debate
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
An interesting discussion paper was recently published by ECDPM with the title ‘Emerging Economies in Africa and the development effectiveness debate’ (downloadable from the website http://www.ecdpm.org/). The report signals that making the most of the development opportunities presented by China, India and Brazil is a key priority for Africa in the 21 century. The report complements the current debate by looking into the impact of emerging powers on the relationship between Africa and Europe. This relationship is bound to change. Many Africans interviewed by the authors hope that Europe will change its approach to Africa and learn from the new forms of engagement by emerging powers.
The future of China – Africa health collaboration
TUESDAY, April 19, 2011
Health has received relatively little attention in the debate on the engagement of China in Africa. Maybe this is because in health the trade between China and Africa and Chinese investment in Africa is modest. The China – Africa health collaboration is above all an aid relation and although the economic significance of health in the overall relationship is limited, this situation may change in the near future. There is an interest from the Chinese and African governments to expand collaboration in health and include the private sector. The future outlook on this collaborative effort was the subject of the second international roundtable on health collaboration between China and Africa, which was held from February 11-12 2011 in Beijing. The roundtable was organised by the Institute of Global Health at Peking University and the China Institute of International Studies.