A master thesis from Aalborg University
China in Africa: Economic Relations and the quest for Good Governance and Human Rights in Africa.
[China in Africa: Economic Relations and the quest for Good Governance and Human Rights in Africa]
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Publication year
2008
Submitted on
2008-12-19
Pages
126 pages
Abstract
This thesis deals with China-Africa relations with the focus on China’s major economic engagement in the African energy sectors; oil, minerals and other natural resources, and China’s principle of non-interference in internal affairs and its influence on good governance and human rights issues. It is done in the context of the four case countries: Angola, Nigeria, Sudan and Zimbabwe but also with reference to Africa as a whole. As to the issue of human rights, the concept of cultural relativism including the Asian values is used in order to understand the Chinese view on and prioritisation of human rights. According to China, the prioritisation of economic rights can be justified as development is possible without a complete adherence to human rights as it itself believes to have proven that through its own modernisation process and economic growth. The objectives of the thesis are to explore the China-Africa relations in terms of economic and political engagement, and how such engagements affect good governance and human rights issues in Africa. The main research question is thus: How, and to what extent, can the principle of non-interference in internal affairs in China’s Africa Policy be reconciled with the challenge of good governance and the respect of human rights?
This thesis deals with China-Africa relations with the focus on China’s major economic engagement in the African energy sectors; oil, minerals and other natural resources, and China’s principle of non-interference in internal affairs and its influence on good governance and human rights issues. It is done in the context of the four case countries: Angola, Nigeria, Sudan and Zimbabwe but also with reference to Africa as a whole. As to the issue of human rights, the concept of cultural relativism including the Asian values is used in order to understand the Chinese view on and prioritisation of human rights. According to China, the prioritisation of economic rights can be justified as development is possible without a complete adherence to human rights as it itself believes to have proven that through its own modernisation process and economic growth. The objectives of the thesis are to explore the China-Africa relations in terms of economic and political engagement, and how such engagements affect good governance and human rights issues in Africa. The main research question is thus: How, and to what extent, can the principle of non-interference in internal affairs in China’s Africa Policy be reconciled with the challenge of good governance and the respect of human rights?
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