Comparing the Effects of Chinese and Traditional Official Finance on State Repression and Public Demonstrations in Africa

Image: Flickr, hans-jonson
Image: Flickr, hans-jonson

Do foreign official finance flows from China and traditional Western sources vary in their effects on state repression and public demonstrations in Africa?

While one study by Kishi and Raleigh asserts a distinct, statistically significant positive association between Chinese official finance and repression, no quantitative comparative study has been conducted on the effects of Chinese and traditional official finance on public demonstrations in the form of protests and riots. The working paper on which this policy brief is based reassesses the effects of Chinese and traditional official finance on repression after rectifying some biases I identified in Kishi and Raleigh’s study. Notable among the biases is the study’s exclusion of analysis relating to recent (post—2013) years which have witnessed nascent reforms to Beijing’s foreign aid policy that, ostensibly, induce checks against misuse of Chinese official finance.

The views expressed in this publication/article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

1 Jan 2020