China's security policy in Africa

A new or false dawn for the evolution of the application of China's non-interference principle

Bibliographic Data

ID5725271
AuthorsBenjamin Barton (0000-0001-8167-4872, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume25
Issue3
Pages413-434
Publication date2018-07-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSouth African Journal of International Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1022-0461 • E-ISSN: 1938-0275
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10220461.2018.1526707
OpenAlexW2897128528
LanguageEN
Citations received7

This paper discusses the application of the non-interference principle in the context of China’s security policy in Africa, to determine the extent to which we are witnessing an evolution in the application of this principle. Indeed, as seen with the recent opening of the military base in Djibouti or with China’s contribution to peace talks in South Sudan, it would appear that the non-intervention principle is undergoing a course reversal. This paper will argue that, in spite of these apparent shifts, there has been no fundamental change to the application of this principle. To make this point, this article applies Ren’s typology, which characterises three levels of nuance in the forms that the application of non-interference has taken in practice. This typology is then applied in a comparative manner across the four following components of China’s security policy in Africa: peacekeeping operations; military cooperation; naval power projection; and crisis management mediation

China · Development economics · Economic system · Economics · Geography · Great power · Peacekeeping · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Typology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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