Elisa Gambino
Biographic Data
| ID | 4096630 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Elisa Gambino |
| GIVEN NAMES | Elisa |
| FAMILY NAME | Gambino |
| SIGNATURE | GAMBINO E |
| AFFILIATIONS | London School of Economics and Political Science |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0338-2334 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Flexible embeddedness: How Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa
The ‘rise of the South’, and particularly that of China, has promoted lively debates around the centrality of Southern firms in shaping the contours of twenty first century economic globalisation. This paper contributes to these debates by examining the internationalisation of Chinese lead firms. It extends and develops the concept of embeddedness within the Global Production Network (GPN) approach and economic anthropology to highlight how local…
Beyond trade? Chinese private capital under the African Continental Free Trade Area
Since the early 2000s, imports from China have largely substituted imports from Europe; since the 2010s, Chinese firms are also localizing production activities in African economies. Increasing Chinese investment raises the question of whether the localization of Chinese private capital supports Africa's structural transformation and development objectives, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is implemented. The policy …
A Global Sense of Work place: Labour Relations in Sino-African Construction Sites
China-Africa relations are increasingly unfolding beyond government-to-government agreements and elite relations, as extensive engagement in infrastructure development demonstrates. This chapter explores labour relations in Sino-African construction sites to illuminate “practices in the making” emerging from said encounters. With a specific focus on the Lamu Port construction site in Northern Kenya, the chapter delves into the practice of “living…
Infrastructure, time and labour: Movement and suspension along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor
Africa’s renewed push towards infrastructure development brought with it new forms of territorialisation tied to both capital and labour. Infrastructures are expected to connect specific African hubs to global trade flows, promote industrialisation and increase employment rates, yet they often struggle to fulfil said promises. We explore the relationship between Africa’s ‘infrastructure turn’ and changing labour relations through the case of the …
Corridors of Opportunity: African Infrastructure and the Market Expansion of Chinese Companies
Maps 4.1 Trans-African highways as defined in 1978 4.2 The transport networks to be supported by the first PIDA PAP by 2020 and 2040 4.3 European Transport Corridors of the TEN-T as revised in 2021 4.4 Map of population density in Africa, 2015 and map of the transport networks to be supported by the PIDA PAP, 2012-2020 98-99 5.1 Map of the region and ports 6.1 Total traffic and share of transit traffic in West African ports, 2011-2018 8.1 Cameroo…
Connectivity and competition: The emerging geographies of Africa’s ‘Ports Race’
This paper critically analyses Africa’s ‘Ports Race’, the massive increase in port infrastructure investment taking place across the continent since the mid-2000s. It argues that the phenomenon shapes, and is shaped by, three interconnected trends: (1) an emerging material–political–institutional lock-in to a new extractivist paradigm of capital accumulation; (2) continental governments’ growing embrace of state-led development strategies; and (3…
Infrastructure and the Politics of African State Agency: Shaping the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa
Infrastructure development has experienced a political renaissance in Africa and is again at the centre of national, regional, and continental development agendas. At the same time, China has been identified by African policy-makers as a particularly suitable strategic partner. As infrastructure has become a main pillar of Sino-African cooperation, there has been growing analytical interest in the role of African actors in shaping the terms and c…
Transport Corridors in Africa
In-depth examination of the inherent tensions and dynamics of transport corridors in Africa: between short-term optics and long-term durability; between regional integration and national interest; between the facilitation of trade and the generation of corridor revenue. The image of the corridor, a central pathway of road and rail carving its way through Africa's interior, has guided the coordination of transport and trade developments on the con…
La participation chinoise dans le développement des infrastructures de transport au Kenya: Une transformation des géométries du pouvoir
Historiquement, les infrastructures ont été à la fois un outil et un reflet du pouvoir étatique, et les projets destinés à les déployer qui sont mis en œuvre actuellement sur le continent africain contribuent au repositionnement de l’État comme moteur du développement. Au demeurant, les divergences d’agendas des acteurs étatiques et paraétatiques, ainsi que la participation d’acteurs privés ou étrangers produisent une réalité politique complexe e…
Infrastructure and the Politics of African State Agency: Shaping the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa
Infrastructure development has experienced a political renaissance in Africa and is again at the centre of national, regional, and continental development agendas. At the same time, China has been identified by African policy-makers as a particularly suitable strategic partner. As infrastructure has become a main pillar of Sino-African cooperation, there has been growing analytical interest in the role of African actors in shaping the terms and c…
Connectivity and competition: The emerging geographies of Africa’s ‘Ports Race’
This paper critically analyses Africa’s ‘Ports Race’, the massive increase in port infrastructure investment taking place across the continent since the mid-2000s. It argues that the phenomenon shapes, and is shaped by, three interconnected trends: (1) an emerging material–political–institutional lock-in to a new extractivist paradigm of capital accumulation; (2) continental governments’ growing embrace of state-led development strategies; and (3…
Flexible embeddedness: How Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa
The ‘rise of the South’, and particularly that of China, has promoted lively debates around the centrality of Southern firms in shaping the contours of twenty first century economic globalisation. This paper contributes to these debates by examining the internationalisation of Chinese lead firms. It extends and develops the concept of embeddedness within the Global Production Network (GPN) approach and economic anthropology to highlight how local…
Infrastructure, time and labour: Movement and suspension along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor
Africa’s renewed push towards infrastructure development brought with it new forms of territorialisation tied to both capital and labour. Infrastructures are expected to connect specific African hubs to global trade flows, promote industrialisation and increase employment rates, yet they often struggle to fulfil said promises. We explore the relationship between Africa’s ‘infrastructure turn’ and changing labour relations through the case of the …
La participation chinoise dans le développement des infrastructures de transport au Kenya: Une transformation des géométries du pouvoir
Historiquement, les infrastructures ont été à la fois un outil et un reflet du pouvoir étatique, et les projets destinés à les déployer qui sont mis en œuvre actuellement sur le continent africain contribuent au repositionnement de l’État comme moteur du développement. Au demeurant, les divergences d’agendas des acteurs étatiques et paraétatiques, ainsi que la participation d’acteurs privés ou étrangers produisent une réalité politique complexe e…
Transport Corridors in Africa
In-depth examination of the inherent tensions and dynamics of transport corridors in Africa: between short-term optics and long-term durability; between regional integration and national interest; between the facilitation of trade and the generation of corridor revenue. The image of the corridor, a central pathway of road and rail carving its way through Africa's interior, has guided the coordination of transport and trade developments on the con…
La participation chinoise dans le développement des infrastructures de transport au Kenya: Une transformation des géométries du pouvoir
Historiquement, les infrastructures ont été à la fois un outil et un reflet du pouvoir étatique, et les projets destinés à les déployer qui sont mis en œuvre actuellement sur le continent africain contribuent au repositionnement de l’État comme moteur du développement. Au demeurant, les divergences d’agendas des acteurs étatiques et paraétatiques, ainsi que la participation d’acteurs privés ou étrangers produisent une réalité politique complexe e…
Corridors of Opportunity: African Infrastructure and the Market Expansion of Chinese Companies
Maps 4.1 Trans-African highways as defined in 1978 4.2 The transport networks to be supported by the first PIDA PAP by 2020 and 2040 4.3 European Transport Corridors of the TEN-T as revised in 2021 4.4 Map of population density in Africa, 2015 and map of the transport networks to be supported by the PIDA PAP, 2012-2020 98-99 5.1 Map of the region and ports 6.1 Total traffic and share of transit traffic in West African ports, 2011-2018 8.1 Cameroo…
Connectivity and competition: The emerging geographies of Africa’s ‘Ports Race’
This paper critically analyses Africa’s ‘Ports Race’, the massive increase in port infrastructure investment taking place across the continent since the mid-2000s. It argues that the phenomenon shapes, and is shaped by, three interconnected trends: (1) an emerging material–political–institutional lock-in to a new extractivist paradigm of capital accumulation; (2) continental governments’ growing embrace of state-led development strategies; and (3…
Infrastructure and the Politics of African State Agency: Shaping the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa
Infrastructure development has experienced a political renaissance in Africa and is again at the centre of national, regional, and continental development agendas. At the same time, China has been identified by African policy-makers as a particularly suitable strategic partner. As infrastructure has become a main pillar of Sino-African cooperation, there has been growing analytical interest in the role of African actors in shaping the terms and c…
Transport Corridors in Africa
In-depth examination of the inherent tensions and dynamics of transport corridors in Africa: between short-term optics and long-term durability; between regional integration and national interest; between the facilitation of trade and the generation of corridor revenue. The image of the corridor, a central pathway of road and rail carving its way through Africa's interior, has guided the coordination of transport and trade developments on the con…
A Global Sense of Work place: Labour Relations in Sino-African Construction Sites
China-Africa relations are increasingly unfolding beyond government-to-government agreements and elite relations, as extensive engagement in infrastructure development demonstrates. This chapter explores labour relations in Sino-African construction sites to illuminate “practices in the making” emerging from said encounters. With a specific focus on the Lamu Port construction site in Northern Kenya, the chapter delves into the practice of “living…
Infrastructure, time and labour: Movement and suspension along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor
Africa’s renewed push towards infrastructure development brought with it new forms of territorialisation tied to both capital and labour. Infrastructures are expected to connect specific African hubs to global trade flows, promote industrialisation and increase employment rates, yet they often struggle to fulfil said promises. We explore the relationship between Africa’s ‘infrastructure turn’ and changing labour relations through the case of the …
Beyond trade? Chinese private capital under the African Continental Free Trade Area
Since the early 2000s, imports from China have largely substituted imports from Europe; since the 2010s, Chinese firms are also localizing production activities in African economies. Increasing Chinese investment raises the question of whether the localization of Chinese private capital supports Africa's structural transformation and development objectives, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is implemented. The policy …
Flexible embeddedness: How Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa
The ‘rise of the South’, and particularly that of China, has promoted lively debates around the centrality of Southern firms in shaping the contours of twenty first century economic globalisation. This paper contributes to these debates by examining the internationalisation of Chinese lead firms. It extends and develops the concept of embeddedness within the Global Production Network (GPN) approach and economic anthropology to highlight how local…
China's Global Influence and Migration (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · International Development and Aid (5 works) · China (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Business (3 works) · Economic geography (3 works) · Politics (3 works) · African Studies and Geopolitics (2 works)