Why do We Need ‘Myth-Busting’ in the Study of Sino-African Relations?
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Why do We Need ‘Myth-Busting’ in the Study of Sino-African Relations? / Hirono, Miwa; Suzuki, Shogo.
In: Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 23, No. 87, 2014, p. 443-461.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do We Need ‘Myth-Busting’ in the Study of Sino-African Relations?
AU - Hirono, Miwa
AU - Suzuki, Shogo
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The literature on Sino-African relations has debated whether or not China’s growing presence is a threat to Western or African interests, and has come to the conclusion that China’s behavior is not particularly unique. Many countries, including Western liberal democracies, similarly give aid to local autocrats to secure natural resources. Why, then, has so much effort been made to come to this perhaps unsurprising conclusion? We argue for two reasons: first, the academic study of Chinese foreign policy remains heavily influenced by Western states’ policy relevance, resulting in an almost exclusive concern with the idea of a China threat; second, Eurocentrism in IR has led to the view that non-European/Western powers are different entities that would somehow threaten the moral fabric of the international order.
AB - The literature on Sino-African relations has debated whether or not China’s growing presence is a threat to Western or African interests, and has come to the conclusion that China’s behavior is not particularly unique. Many countries, including Western liberal democracies, similarly give aid to local autocrats to secure natural resources. Why, then, has so much effort been made to come to this perhaps unsurprising conclusion? We argue for two reasons: first, the academic study of Chinese foreign policy remains heavily influenced by Western states’ policy relevance, resulting in an almost exclusive concern with the idea of a China threat; second, Eurocentrism in IR has led to the view that non-European/Western powers are different entities that would somehow threaten the moral fabric of the international order.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - democracy
KW - foreign policy
KW - international relations
KW - policy approach
KW - political relations
KW - strategic approach
M3 - Journal article
VL - 23
SP - 443
EP - 461
JO - Journal of Contemporary China
JF - Journal of Contemporary China
SN - 1067-0564
IS - 87
ER -
ID: 45115476