Converging Critical Issues,
Competing Actors? Europe and
China towards Security in Africa
Dr Catherine Gegout
RUSI Conference
21-22/09/11
Questions
How do European and Chinese actors address
critical security issues in Africa? What are their
priorities and strategies?
And under which conditions are they, or could
they be working together?
Argument
This paper argues that European and Chinese
actors present themselves as ethical actors
towards Africa, but in practice are more
concerned with the security of their citizens
and businesses than that of people in Africa.
It also shows that they are increasingly
cooperating with one another in order to
address similar security problems.
Outline
1. Europe, Security for Africa or for Europeans?
2. China, Revising its Status Quo Policy
3. Europe and China: Forced Cooperation and
Trust-Building
Europe, Security for Africa or for
Europeans?
This section shows that on the one hand, Europe puts an
emphasis on peace-making and African institution building
(political advice on the creation of institutions, financial
participation, training of troops, planning capacities).
However on the other hand, it faces many internal
disagreements among its member states, it does not
consider the African Union an important international
actor, it is desperate to prevent migrants from entering its
territory, it sells arms to Africa, and it is reluctant to
legislate against its companies which illegally exploit
resources in Africa.
Peace-making and Institution-building
Ensuring European Security and Economic Interests
China, Revising its Status Quo Policy
China is traditionally in favour of a status quo policy, as it does
not want to interfere in conflicts within African states, and
as it prefers to make business deals with African states on a
bilateral level rather than to focus on the African Union.
However, this status quo policy has had unintended
consequences at a time when there is an increased
presence of Chinese workers and businesses in Africa.
Non-Interference
Backlash and Response
Europe and China: Forced
Cooperation and Trust-Building
China does not seem to want to establish institutional relations with
the European Union and the African Union. Instead, the UN Security
Council is the main institution where highly sensitive security issues
are discussed between European and Chinese actors. They have
cooperated on the fight against piracy. China was absent from the
negotiations on conflict management in the Ivory Coast, but it
accepted to condemn Gaddafi’s policy in Libya at the UN in 2011.
This section analyses the extent of cooperation between Europe
and China in these fields.
Lack of Institutional Cooperation
Fight against Piracy
Ivory Coast and Libya
Conclusion
Similar critical issues, similar motives and
responses:
- concerned with promoting their own image at the
UN
- in favour of multilateralism
- prefer using the UN rather than African
institutions to deal with crises in Africa
- do not always agree with the policies adopted by
the African Union