Obert Hodzi
Biographic Data
| ID | 307581 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Obert Hodzi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Obert |
| FAMILY NAME | Hodzi |
| SIGNATURE | HODZI O |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Liverpool |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5896-3414 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 59 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Externalisation and acculturation
Foreign intervention practices have unintended consequences for both the intervener and the intervened-in countries. The result has been a disdain and hesitancy by global powers within the liberal international order, notably the United States and, to a comparative extent, China and Russia as well as international organisations, to sanction unilateral and multilateral interventions. Despite this, these global powers continue to pursue their inter…
Joint authoritarian image management
Actors, Agency, and Localization
Whether the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is being praised or criticized, the focus often is on the perceptions of it in African countries rather than how it is conceptualized in those countries and by continental entities such as the African Union (AU). As a result, there is no understanding of the collective African conceptualization of the BRI and how that conceptualization shapes the continent’s engagement with China and, in turn, the percep…
Introduction
Over the past five years, China–Africa engagements have undergone significant changes, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Padraig Carmody (2021) describes the pandemic’s effect on China’s global engagements as a critical juncture. This is because due to its extended lockdown, China prioritized domestic consumption and sustainability of its economy, buffering it from external pressures. This led to China restructuring its position in the global …
Beyond ‘networked individuals’
The accessibility of social media and communication platforms such as WhatsApp in sub-Saharan Africa has expanded exponentially over the past decade. The benefits are that new communities of ‘networked individuals’ outside of the traditional geographic localities have emerged. The capacity of ordinary citizens to autonomously gather, process and publish information has taken away states’ monopoly over information, enabling citizens to form altern…
Higher education as ‘strategic power’? An assessment of China-Africa higher education partnerships and collaborations
China is internationalizing its higher education sector – setting up several bilateral and multilateral partnerships between public and private institutions across the globe. However, as the “West” is disentangling itself from partnerships with Chinese institutions of higher education and the Confucius Institutes (CIs), African countries seem to be turning to Beijing. As a result, China overtook France to become the most preferred destination for…
The challenges of China-European Union security cooperation in Africa
Comparing US and Chinese Foreign Aid in the Era of Rising Powers
China is emerging as a key state actor in international development – a sector that has been dominated by the United States for decades. US and Chinese foreign aid programs can be compared on the basis of several benchmarks: 1) official state definition and accounting of foreign aid programs; 2) historical foundations and origins; 3) sectoral distribution, particularly in terms of the professed goals and objectives of the aid program; 4) nature o…
Movement for Democratic Change and the Rise of Nelson Chamisa
Nelson Chamisa is central to the political terrain of contemporary Zimbabwe. Post the soft coup of November 2017 and the death of Morgan Tsvangirai in early 2018, Chamisa became president of the Movement for Democratic Change party and contested the July 2018 presidential election. The tempo of changes in the Movement for Democratic Change presidency is not related directly to the shift from Mugabe to Mnangagwa. However, broader politics formed a…
China's Role in Global Development Finance
China's economic success has prompted both academic political economists and applied policy analysts to speculate about the implications of a new ‘China model’ of economic development and global economic governance. A particular issue is the degree to which the China model involves developing in opposition to or in cooperation with the pre‐existing norms of global economic governance. Recognizing the ambiguity of the China model, we consider two …
Introduction to the Special Issue
This introductory article examines the concept of strategic localization, which is central to the theme of this Special Issue of Politics & Policy . We focus on how African states, for regime survival and/or pragmatic reasons, reinterpret China's development discourse and preferences and implement them in their local contexts. We hypothesize that the China model of development has become a rhetorical commonplace used to legitimize policies percei…
African Political Elites and the Making(s) of the China Model in Africa
States in Africa are labeled “system ineffectual,” inconsequential to global politics, and lacking material and ideational capabilities to structure their foreign relations. The result is a portrayal of a passive Africa at the whims of its bilateral partners—be they China, the United States, or Russia. Contra this impolitic framing of Africa, this article explores how states in Africa are strategically shaping the norms of development paradigms p…
Africans in China and Chinese in Africa
Relations between China and African nations have intensified following the ratification of several multilateral and bilateral developmental agreements, especially after the third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in 2006. In the past decade, the relations have transcended to the micro-level, with important implications for households and individuals. Of note are the varying forms of population migration between the two places for r…
Bridging the asymmetries? African students’ mobility to China
African students’ mobility to China is growing – making China the second most popular destination for African students studying abroad, after France. Generally, due to the pervasive poverty and inequality in African states, educational mobility is a means to escape individual socio-economic challenges for the transformation of lives. However, is the African students’ mobility to China able to achieve those expectations? Through a critical analysi…
Chinese in Africa
This introduction presents background information to a special issue exploring the complexities of the Chinese identity and forms in which ‘Chineseness’ is expressed by Chinese migrants in Africa. Existing literature and media reports on the Chinese in Africa assumes that they are a homogenous group, this introductory article argues to the contrary. The Chinese diaspora in Africa range from descendants of migrants that settled in Africa in the se…
Following the Flow
The liberal international order has been under heavy strain in recent years. From Brexit to Trump’s presidency, its tenacity is being put to the test. The resultant commotion should be a window of opportunity for China to materially revise the existing order or establish an alternative order under its leadership. However, the puzzle that is unfolding but not yet significantly examined is that China is seemingly not taking advantage of the upheava…
Empty bravado or hopeful illusions’
China and Africa
Prevailing narratives in the discourse on China-Africa engagement are that China is developing Africa. This paper departs from those narratives because they disregard the agency of Africa's political elite. Basing its argument on the nature of the African political elite, the paper analyses their role in determining the impact of China's economic and trade engagement on economic development in their respective countries. To do that, it first disc…
Delegitimization and ‘Re-socialization’
Socialization of Africa into the liberal international order was largely a preserve of the West. However, as China expands its economic and political influence across Africa, the liberal international order is being put to the test. Representing alternative global governance norms and values, China is seeking the legitimation of its emerging global leadership by delegitimizing its rival, the United States. How the delegitimization and expected ‘r…
Political transition to democracy
This paper argues that the crisis of electoral democracy in Zimbabwe and Cote d'Ivoire is a result of underlying structural and institutional deficiencies within national and regional multinational institutions. It assesses the extent to which they have been ‘enablers’ or ‘spoilers’ of electoral-based transitions to democracy. Yet it avoids generalisations of the security sector's involvement in political transitions. In terms of structure, the p…
Unconditional aid
China's development assistance to Africa has attracted varied criticisms from academics, Western governments and international donor organisations. The main criticisms have been directed at the lack of good governance conditions on its development assistance to African governments and its dealings with countries under sanction or isolation from the international community, owing to poor governance, human rights abuses and/or corruption. Using the…
African Political Elites and the Making(s) of the China Model in Africa
States in Africa are labeled “system ineffectual,” inconsequential to global politics, and lacking material and ideational capabilities to structure their foreign relations. The result is a portrayal of a passive Africa at the whims of its bilateral partners—be they China, the United States, or Russia. Contra this impolitic framing of Africa, this article explores how states in Africa are strategically shaping the norms of development paradigms p…
Africans in China and Chinese in Africa
Relations between China and African nations have intensified following the ratification of several multilateral and bilateral developmental agreements, especially after the third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in 2006. In the past decade, the relations have transcended to the micro-level, with important implications for households and individuals. Of note are the varying forms of population migration between the two places for r…
Bridging the asymmetries? African students’ mobility to China
African students’ mobility to China is growing – making China the second most popular destination for African students studying abroad, after France. Generally, due to the pervasive poverty and inequality in African states, educational mobility is a means to escape individual socio-economic challenges for the transformation of lives. However, is the African students’ mobility to China able to achieve those expectations? Through a critical analysi…
China and Africa
Prevailing narratives in the discourse on China-Africa engagement are that China is developing Africa. This paper departs from those narratives because they disregard the agency of Africa's political elite. Basing its argument on the nature of the African political elite, the paper analyses their role in determining the impact of China's economic and trade engagement on economic development in their respective countries. To do that, it first disc…
Delegitimization and ‘Re-socialization’
Socialization of Africa into the liberal international order was largely a preserve of the West. However, as China expands its economic and political influence across Africa, the liberal international order is being put to the test. Representing alternative global governance norms and values, China is seeking the legitimation of its emerging global leadership by delegitimizing its rival, the United States. How the delegitimization and expected ‘r…
Unconditional aid
China's development assistance to Africa has attracted varied criticisms from academics, Western governments and international donor organisations. The main criticisms have been directed at the lack of good governance conditions on its development assistance to African governments and its dealings with countries under sanction or isolation from the international community, owing to poor governance, human rights abuses and/or corruption. Using the…
Movement for Democratic Change and the Rise of Nelson Chamisa
Nelson Chamisa is central to the political terrain of contemporary Zimbabwe. Post the soft coup of November 2017 and the death of Morgan Tsvangirai in early 2018, Chamisa became president of the Movement for Democratic Change party and contested the July 2018 presidential election. The tempo of changes in the Movement for Democratic Change presidency is not related directly to the shift from Mugabe to Mnangagwa. However, broader politics formed a…
Beyond ‘networked individuals’
The accessibility of social media and communication platforms such as WhatsApp in sub-Saharan Africa has expanded exponentially over the past decade. The benefits are that new communities of ‘networked individuals’ outside of the traditional geographic localities have emerged. The capacity of ordinary citizens to autonomously gather, process and publish information has taken away states’ monopoly over information, enabling citizens to form altern…
Introduction to the Special Issue
This introductory article examines the concept of strategic localization, which is central to the theme of this Special Issue of Politics & Policy . We focus on how African states, for regime survival and/or pragmatic reasons, reinterpret China's development discourse and preferences and implement them in their local contexts. We hypothesize that the China model of development has become a rhetorical commonplace used to legitimize policies percei…
Chinese in Africa
This introduction presents background information to a special issue exploring the complexities of the Chinese identity and forms in which ‘Chineseness’ is expressed by Chinese migrants in Africa. Existing literature and media reports on the Chinese in Africa assumes that they are a homogenous group, this introductory article argues to the contrary. The Chinese diaspora in Africa range from descendants of migrants that settled in Africa in the se…
Higher education as ‘strategic power’? An assessment of China-Africa higher education partnerships and collaborations
China is internationalizing its higher education sector – setting up several bilateral and multilateral partnerships between public and private institutions across the globe. However, as the “West” is disentangling itself from partnerships with Chinese institutions of higher education and the Confucius Institutes (CIs), African countries seem to be turning to Beijing. As a result, China overtook France to become the most preferred destination for…
Empty bravado or hopeful illusions’
Unconditional aid
China's development assistance to Africa has attracted varied criticisms from academics, Western governments and international donor organisations. The main criticisms have been directed at the lack of good governance conditions on its development assistance to African governments and its dealings with countries under sanction or isolation from the international community, owing to poor governance, human rights abuses and/or corruption. Using the…
Political transition to democracy
This paper argues that the crisis of electoral democracy in Zimbabwe and Cote d'Ivoire is a result of underlying structural and institutional deficiencies within national and regional multinational institutions. It assesses the extent to which they have been ‘enablers’ or ‘spoilers’ of electoral-based transitions to democracy. Yet it avoids generalisations of the security sector's involvement in political transitions. In terms of structure, the p…
Following the Flow
The liberal international order has been under heavy strain in recent years. From Brexit to Trump’s presidency, its tenacity is being put to the test. The resultant commotion should be a window of opportunity for China to materially revise the existing order or establish an alternative order under its leadership. However, the puzzle that is unfolding but not yet significantly examined is that China is seemingly not taking advantage of the upheava…
Empty bravado or hopeful illusions’
China and Africa
Prevailing narratives in the discourse on China-Africa engagement are that China is developing Africa. This paper departs from those narratives because they disregard the agency of Africa's political elite. Basing its argument on the nature of the African political elite, the paper analyses their role in determining the impact of China's economic and trade engagement on economic development in their respective countries. To do that, it first disc…
Delegitimization and ‘Re-socialization’
Socialization of Africa into the liberal international order was largely a preserve of the West. However, as China expands its economic and political influence across Africa, the liberal international order is being put to the test. Representing alternative global governance norms and values, China is seeking the legitimation of its emerging global leadership by delegitimizing its rival, the United States. How the delegitimization and expected ‘r…
Chinese in Africa
This introduction presents background information to a special issue exploring the complexities of the Chinese identity and forms in which ‘Chineseness’ is expressed by Chinese migrants in Africa. Existing literature and media reports on the Chinese in Africa assumes that they are a homogenous group, this introductory article argues to the contrary. The Chinese diaspora in Africa range from descendants of migrants that settled in Africa in the se…
China's Role in Global Development Finance
China's economic success has prompted both academic political economists and applied policy analysts to speculate about the implications of a new ‘China model’ of economic development and global economic governance. A particular issue is the degree to which the China model involves developing in opposition to or in cooperation with the pre‐existing norms of global economic governance. Recognizing the ambiguity of the China model, we consider two …
Introduction to the Special Issue
This introductory article examines the concept of strategic localization, which is central to the theme of this Special Issue of Politics & Policy . We focus on how African states, for regime survival and/or pragmatic reasons, reinterpret China's development discourse and preferences and implement them in their local contexts. We hypothesize that the China model of development has become a rhetorical commonplace used to legitimize policies percei…
African Political Elites and the Making(s) of the China Model in Africa
States in Africa are labeled “system ineffectual,” inconsequential to global politics, and lacking material and ideational capabilities to structure their foreign relations. The result is a portrayal of a passive Africa at the whims of its bilateral partners—be they China, the United States, or Russia. Contra this impolitic framing of Africa, this article explores how states in Africa are strategically shaping the norms of development paradigms p…
Africans in China and Chinese in Africa
Relations between China and African nations have intensified following the ratification of several multilateral and bilateral developmental agreements, especially after the third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in 2006. In the past decade, the relations have transcended to the micro-level, with important implications for households and individuals. Of note are the varying forms of population migration between the two places for r…
Bridging the asymmetries? African students’ mobility to China
African students’ mobility to China is growing – making China the second most popular destination for African students studying abroad, after France. Generally, due to the pervasive poverty and inequality in African states, educational mobility is a means to escape individual socio-economic challenges for the transformation of lives. However, is the African students’ mobility to China able to achieve those expectations? Through a critical analysi…
The challenges of China-European Union security cooperation in Africa
Comparing US and Chinese Foreign Aid in the Era of Rising Powers
China is emerging as a key state actor in international development – a sector that has been dominated by the United States for decades. US and Chinese foreign aid programs can be compared on the basis of several benchmarks: 1) official state definition and accounting of foreign aid programs; 2) historical foundations and origins; 3) sectoral distribution, particularly in terms of the professed goals and objectives of the aid program; 4) nature o…
Movement for Democratic Change and the Rise of Nelson Chamisa
Nelson Chamisa is central to the political terrain of contemporary Zimbabwe. Post the soft coup of November 2017 and the death of Morgan Tsvangirai in early 2018, Chamisa became president of the Movement for Democratic Change party and contested the July 2018 presidential election. The tempo of changes in the Movement for Democratic Change presidency is not related directly to the shift from Mugabe to Mnangagwa. However, broader politics formed a…
Higher education as ‘strategic power’? An assessment of China-Africa higher education partnerships and collaborations
China is internationalizing its higher education sector – setting up several bilateral and multilateral partnerships between public and private institutions across the globe. However, as the “West” is disentangling itself from partnerships with Chinese institutions of higher education and the Confucius Institutes (CIs), African countries seem to be turning to Beijing. As a result, China overtook France to become the most preferred destination for…
Beyond ‘networked individuals’
The accessibility of social media and communication platforms such as WhatsApp in sub-Saharan Africa has expanded exponentially over the past decade. The benefits are that new communities of ‘networked individuals’ outside of the traditional geographic localities have emerged. The capacity of ordinary citizens to autonomously gather, process and publish information has taken away states’ monopoly over information, enabling citizens to form altern…
Actors, Agency, and Localization
Whether the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is being praised or criticized, the focus often is on the perceptions of it in African countries rather than how it is conceptualized in those countries and by continental entities such as the African Union (AU). As a result, there is no understanding of the collective African conceptualization of the BRI and how that conceptualization shapes the continent’s engagement with China and, in turn, the percep…
Introduction
Over the past five years, China–Africa engagements have undergone significant changes, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Padraig Carmody (2021) describes the pandemic’s effect on China’s global engagements as a critical juncture. This is because due to its extended lockdown, China prioritized domestic consumption and sustainability of its economy, buffering it from external pressures. This led to China restructuring its position in the global …
Externalisation and acculturation
Foreign intervention practices have unintended consequences for both the intervener and the intervened-in countries. The result has been a disdain and hesitancy by global powers within the liberal international order, notably the United States and, to a comparative extent, China and Russia as well as international organisations, to sanction unilateral and multilateral interventions. Despite this, these global powers continue to pursue their inter…
Joint authoritarian image management
Political science (19 works) · China (16 works) · International Development and Aid (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Politics (13 works) · Economics (12 works) · Political economy (12 works) · China's Global Influence and Migration (10 works) · Law (10 works)