Chinese aid to Africa is creating pariah states rather than just
supporting them, claim the authors of the report, ‘Chinese Aid and Africa’s
Pariah States 2000-2011’.
Professors Clionadh Raleigh and Roudabeh Kishi from the
University of Sussex, said although China isn’t targeting pariah states with
aid, “it is making states into pariahs through providing resources to state
leaders who are unafraid to use repression as a means to quell competition. If
the state has complete control over its budget, it will use its position to
bolster its capacity to repress any potential opposition in order to secure its
position,” citing Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Uganda as examples.
Traditional donor
aid from the West to African nations usually requires the recipient country to
adhere to conditions that support democracy, human rights, electoral
transparency and the fight against corruption. Chinese aid is predominately
directed towards whichever countries satisfies its needs – which include
gaining access to new markets as well as securing its energy requirements – with
a recipient’s institutional quality having no bearing on its choices. The
crucial factor for Chinese aid provision is that it must benefit China; they
also found that countries with a weaker rule of law get more aid as Chinese
businesses are allowed to flourish in such environments.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/chinese-aid-to-africa-creating-pariah-states-study-claims-1.2250472
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