China in the Global South

This book scrutinises the frequently ignored agency of the Global South’s sub-national actors in their interactions with China. Comprised of eleven case studies employing a multidisciplinary approach, contributors examine China’s presence in the Global South on a country-by-country basis, analyzing how various non-state and sub-state actors are responding to the rise of China, and whether they are attracted by the cooperation models that China proposes, or deterred by its new assertiveness. Contributions cover diverse and heterogeneous geographies from the Global South, from Papua New Guinea to Argentina, Madagascar to Russia. In examining such diverse cases, contributors focus on two interrelated questions: What is the actual economic, political, and social impact of China’s growing presence in the Global South? And, critically, how do the citizens of the Global South understand and interpret China’s rise? Taken together, the case studies develop a comprehensive picture of a complex and sometimes problematic process of China’s inclusion into the economic, social, and political realities of the Global South. This book identifies and fills the gaps in the existing literature on China’s rise by offering a nuanced perspective on China’s relations with the countries of the Global South, accounting for variables such as social context, intersubjective meanings, and identities. It also provides an important contribution to the literature on international politics of development and China’s role in the transformation of the South-South cooperation. It is a vital text for students and scholars interested in China’s rise in the context of international relations and world order. It provides insights and will be of interest to those in IR, development studies, anthropology, cultural studies, and communication studies.