Browsing by Author "Matambo, Emmanuel."
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Item The evolution of China-South Africa relations : a constructivist interpretation.(2014) Matambo, Emmanuel.; Mtshali, Khondlo Phillip Thabo.The rise of China in the international system and its involvement in Africa has attracted a lot of attention and speculation. Western perceptions of China’s involvement in Africa are fraught with concerns that a more powerful, undemocratic China will not compel odious African governments to heed Western calls for better governance. China’s foreign policy of “non-interference” in domestic affairs has been criticised as China’s ploy to perpetuate its poor record of human rights; and provide alternatives to countries that are under Western sanctions. Another concern is that China is challenging Western economic dominance in Africa. Thus, the West regards China’s incursions into Africa with suspicion and paranoia. The wide use of realism to explain international relations is hugely responsible for the pessimistic attitude towards the rise of China. In realist perspectives, the rise of China will unavoidably disrupt the current international order and portend possible disaster for other international actors. This research uses constructivism, a relatively underutilized theory of international relations, to analyse relations between China and South Africa. The reasons for this undertaking are manifold. First, by looking at relations between the two countries, the research shows that nations relate according to specific social contexts, from which stem shared identities and interests. Second, the research seeks to illustrate, by dividing Sino-South African relations into three epochs, that China and South Africa have visibly changed their identities and interests since the mid-twentieth century. This shows that, contrary to realism, national identities and interests are subject to change. Third, the fact that China and South Africa perceive each other as allies in the current international system reinforces the constructivist claim that when identities and interests between actors in the international system correlate, the formation of genuine cooperation, community and international interests becomes possible. This is a further departure from realism which claims that cooperation among “self-interested” actors is difficult if not impossible to achieve. Furthermore, much literature about China looks at China as a country with an enduring and unchangeable identity. It is hoped that through the use of constructivism, this notion will be put to credible scrutiny. The research emphasizes the fact that South Africa should not be fanatic in its embrace of China as a kindred spirit of the global South and a better alternative to Western countries. The paranoia of the West is as misplaced as African naiveté in dealing with China. This caveat will also prove that constructivism is not an idealistic approach to international relations. It concedes the fact that cooperation and mutual development among nations can be hard to attain when social relations provide no conducive environment for their nurturance.Item The role of identity and interest in the evolution and sustenance of Sino-Zambian relations: a constructivist perspective.(2017) Matambo, Emmanuel.; Mtshali, Khondlo Phillip Thabo.Relying on China-Zambia relations as a case study, this dissertation uses the constructivist approach to international relations to look at the role that identity and interests play in shaping relations between nations. The study has established that the Chinese and Zambian governments have assumed and constructed relations that have kept the intimacy between the two countries largely undisturbed for fifty-three years. Factors such as third world solidarity and a concerted struggle against colonial and foreign domination were major points of unity between the two countries. After the Cold War, these ideological leanings have been largely replaced by a more economically inclined basis for relations but the two countries remain cordial and intimate allies. The constructivist/interpretivist paradigm of research was used to arrive at the findings made. The research approach used was qualitative, the research style used was case study and the research methods included interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. In order to answer the research questions satisfactorily and to draw credible conclusions, purposive sampling was used to draw participants from various fractions of the Zambian society – ranging from the civil society, a congress of trade unions, political commentary, Zambian workers in a Chinese firm to ordinary Zambians. The research findings suggest that at state level, Zambia and China have constructed very influential intersecting identities and common interests that have fortified relations between the two countries. However, the findings also suggested that these identities and interests should not be conflated with identities and interests of non-state actors which are – at some points – at variance with national identities and interests. Primary data exudes an amount of apprehension among ordinary Zambians about the growing presence of Chinese nationals who are not coming at the behest of their government and hence whose interests differ from those stated by the Chinese government. The study recommends that more attention be paid to how dynamics between ordinary Chinese and Zambians are likely to influence relations at a state level because of Zambians’ concerns about “the Chinese.” This notwithstanding, the study argues that as things stand, national identities and interests, crafted at the highest echelons of both countries and the practical and developmental importance the two countries have for each other are the most overriding factor in insulating China-Zambia relations from renunciation or any substantial decline.