Shows
CHINA-MENAChina-Global South RelationsChina has made significant inroads into much of the global south, a trend that does not always receive adequate attention in the West. China's image in those countries has deteriorated in recent years, and there appears to be an assumption that this is universal. However, polling data from Africa and the Middle East show that China's reputation in the developing world is in much better shape. In today's podcast, we are joined by Dr. Lina Benabdallah. Dr. Lina Benabdallah is a Wake Forest University assistant professor of politics and international affairs. Her research interests include international relations theory, foreign...2022-12-2158 min
Ufahamu AfricaEp. 148: A conversation with fellow Wanjiku Ngugi and Catherine Muya on new media and democracyIn this episode, we explore the concept of digitization, new media, and its impact on democratization in Africa. Our guest is Catherine Muya, a lawyer currently leading the digital rights department at ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa. In her current role she leads the implementation of various projects aimed at promoting online free expression and an open internet.Muya speaks with our non-resident fellow Wanjiku Ngugi and helps us interrogate the place of women in politics in the digital age and various aspects of digital political communication in Kenya, and Africa by extension, today. Books, Links...2022-07-1646 min
The Belt and Road PodcastA Systematic Analysis of International Chinese Contractors - w/ Hong ZhangOn episode 51, Juliet and Erik welcome back Dr. Hong Zhang to discuss the history, interests, corporate structures and agency of International Chinese infrastructure contractors. Discussion is based on Hong Zhang's May 2021 working paper for SAIS-China Africa Research Initiative entitled: Chinese International Contractors in Africa: Structure and Agency. Hong Zhang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University's SIAS-CARI and a 2021-22 China and the World Program Fellow at Columbia University. She received her PhD in Public Policy from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in 2021. She is one of...2022-02-031h 01
Ufahamu AfricaEp. 129: Looking back on Ufahamu Africa in 2021 and ahead to 2022Welcome back to a new year of Ufahamu Africa! Kim and Rachel talk about some of your and our favorite episodes of 2021, the big events that affected Africa in 2021, and more! Books, Links, & ArticlesUfahamu Africa on Foreign Policy PlaylistThe Lawfare Podcast: Making Sense of the Crisis in Ethiopia"The Enemy in Her Imagination: A Fable" by Elleni Centime Zeleke"Take the Soul from Everyone, and the Liberty of All" by Rama Salla Dieng The West Africa Autocratization Tracker by Expédit Ologou Senegal’s violent protests reveal that its long-stable democracy is fragil...2022-01-0830 min
Ufahamu AfricaBonus: Laura Seay’s review of Lina Benabdallah’s book on China-Africa relationsIn this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Yi Dionne read Laura Seay’s review of Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations, a book by Lina Benabdallah (@LBenabdallah). The review was published in last year's African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular (#APSRS20), and this recording is being shared as part of a collaboration with The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog), a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post.Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com. 2021-09-0406 min
The China Africa ProjectChina's Role in Re-Energizing the South Sudan Peace ProcessSouth Sudan marked its tenth anniversary this month as an independent country. Regrettably, though, after a decade of civil war and divided government that has left at least 400,000 people dead and displaced a third of the population, there isn't much to celebrate.
From the beginning, China's played an important role in South Sudan, from the creation of the country to playing a lead mediation role in the peace process to being the only major power with combat troops on the ground operating under UN command.
With the peace process now largely stalled, a lot of people are now looking to...2021-07-301h 14
The China in Africa PodcastChina's Role in Re-Energizing the South Sudan Peace ProcessSouth Sudan marked its tenth anniversary this month as an independent country. Regrettably, though, after a decade of civil war and divided government that has left at least 400,000 people dead and displaced a third of the population, there isn't much to celebrate. From the beginning, China's played an important role in South Sudan, from the creation of the country to playing a lead mediation role in the peace process to being the only major power with combat troops on the ground operating under UN command. With the peace process now largely stalled, a lot of...2021-07-301h 14
The China in Africa PodcastChina’s role in re-energizing the South Sudan peace processSouth Sudan marked its tenth anniversary this month as an independent country. Regrettably, though, after a decade of civil war and divided government that has left at least 400,000 people dead and displaced a third of the population, there isn't much to celebrate.
From the beginning, China's played an important role in South Sudan, from the creation of the country to playing a lead mediation role in the peace process to being the only major power with combat troops on the ground operating under UN command.
With the peace process now largely stalled, a lot of people are now looking to...2021-07-2900 min
The AIAC PodcastAccra to Bandung, Addis to BeijingBefore the boring neutrality of the “Global South”, there was the counter hegemonic posture of the Third World. The historic site for the official formation of Third World identity was the 1955 Asian-African conference when delegates from 30, mostly newly independent states descended on Bandung in Indonesia to discuss their mutual ambitions for post-colonial world-making. Then, the affinities between Africa and Asia were obvious and deeply felt. What has become of this Afro-Asian solidarity? What about China in Africa? And Africans in Asia? Our guests for this episode of AIAC Talk are Lina Benabdallah, AIAC contributing editor and Assistant Profess...2021-06-011h 23
In Pursuit of DevelopmentKnowledge production and network-building in China’s foreign relations — Lina BenabdallahWithin international relations theory and foreign policy circles, there is considerable interest in understanding China’s rise to power. In an exciting new book, my guest argues that China’s various types of encounters with countries in the Global South are very different from the behaviour and investment strategies of the US and European countries. In Shaping the future of power: Knowledge Production and network-building in China-Africa Relations, Lina Benabdallah explores the integrated roles of social relations, knowledge production and power in China’s foreign relations. She argues that it is simply not enough to look at...2021-02-171h 00
Ufahamu AfricaEp. 105: Repatriation of Museum Objects, Part 1This week, we are sharing expertise from Souleymane Bachir Diagne who spoke on a panel last October as part of "Repatriation of Museum Objects" for Cornell University's Institute for European Studies. Next week, we will be sharing the expertise of Cécile Fromont, another of the event's panelists, as part 2 of this episode.In the news, Kim and Rachel talk about recent events in Ethiopia and Niger, how food security affects us all, and the recent transfer of power in the United States.Books, Links, & ArticlesFemale Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa b...2021-01-2350 min
Mark Leonard's World in 30 MinutesEurope's pivot to AfricaAlmost a year ago, when EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made her first business trip outside the EU, she chose the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa as her destination and took quite a stand . Also this year was supposed to be a “decisive year” in African-European relations: The German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development talked at the beginning of 2020 about a “treaty of the century” which should have been sealed at the AU-EU Summit. However, with the pandemic ongoing, the Summit was postponed, and priorities shifted. Where do we stand now in building a “strategic partnership” between the...2020-11-2027 min
Ufahamu AfricaEp. 97: A conversation with Lina Benabdallah on the link between China and AfricaPresidential elections are happening in multiple African countries, where we're seeing constitutional changes that allow presidents to seek third terms. Kim and Rachel also talk about the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria, the politics of education access, and a new report on migration in Africa. This week's interview features Lina Benabdallah—an expert on China-Africa relations—and the links between China and Africa (plus, her new book!). Books, Links, & ArticlesShaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations by Lina BenabdallahA Sensational Encounter with High Socialist China by Paul G. P...2020-10-1740 min
KonfliktEn spruta för nationenOm hur jakten på ett vaccin mot pandemin blivit en geopolitisk kapplöpning. Finns det risk att människor hamnar i kläm när nationens stolthet står på spel? Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Länder i hela världen testar nu olika typer av vaccin som ska stoppa virusets framfart. I potten ligger förutom människors liv, också politiska och ekonomiska vinster. Men kommer alla att ta ett vaccin när det väl finns? Och hur frivillig ska den där vaccineringen bli? Kanske finns svaret redan nu – när lärare...2020-10-0255 minThe Belt and Road PodcastPeople-centered Power: Chinese Knowledge Production, Networks, and Training Programs in Africa - Lina BenabdallahProf. Dr. Lina Benabdallah discusses her latest book, "Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge production and network-building in China-Africa Relations." Lina looks at China's rise and the Belt and Road beyond the hardware investments - the major infrastructure projects which have been most emphasized. She compares three major types of professionalization interventions: military and security cooperation, media and journalist training, and educational exchanges such as those done through Confucius Institutes. She suggests that these person-to-person engagements in Africa have far reaching impacts and constitute an important angle on Chinese global engagements often less understood and studied. ...2020-09-2154 min
Kesh Politcis كاش بوليتيكKesh Politics كاش بوليتيك Dr. Lina Benabdallah (العلاقات الصينية الإفريقية)كيف هي صيرورة العلاقات الصينية الإفريقية؟ وماهي أهم الاستراتجيات المنتهجة من طرف العملاق الصيني لضمان مصالحه في القارة السمراء؟
الإجابة في العدد الرابع من حصة #كاش_بوليتيك "رفقة الدكتورة #لينا_بن_عبد_الله أستاذة مساعدة في العلوم السياسية والشؤون الدولية
بجامعة ويك فورست Wake Forest University بشمال كارولينا و.م.أ
وصاحبة كتاب: Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations2020-09-061h 47
Into AfricaHow Beijing Courts African PartnersChina's footprint in Africa extends beyond infrastructure projects and financing. How significant are the relationships spun between Chinese elites and their African counterparts? In our eighth episode with African Arguments, Shinovene Immanuel (The Namibian), Lina Benabdallah (CSIS), and John Culver (Former National Intelligence Officer) join host Judd Devermont for a conversation on Chinese engagement with Africans. Guests also discuss Namibia's fishrot corruption scandal and politics in Algeria. Background Readings:
Why Mali Needs a New Peace Deal - Judd Devermont and Marielle Harris
Under the Radar: Summer Edition - Judd Devermont and Ryan Cummings
The S...2020-09-0334 minInto AfricaHow Beijing Courts African PartnersChina's footprint in Africa extends beyond infrastructure projects and financing. How significant are the relationships spun between Chinese elites and their African counterparts? In our eighth episode with African Arguments, Shinovene Immanuel (The Namibian), Lina Benabdallah (CSIS), and John Culver (Former National Intelligence Officer) join host Judd Devermont for a conversation on Chinese engagement with Africans. Guests also discuss Namibia's fishrot corruption scandal and politics in Algeria. Background Readings:
Why Mali Needs a New Peace Deal - Judd Devermont and Marielle Harris
Under the Radar: Summer Edition - Judd Devermont and Ryan Cummings
The S...2020-09-0334 minThe Belt and Road PodcastGreen Development or Greenwashing? Tyler Harlan on China's Green Finance, Green Energy, and Green CooperationIn this episode, Dr. Tyler Harlan breaks down the discourses vs. reality of the green turn in the Belt and Road Initiative since Xi Jinping announced it in 2017. He describes the state of knowledge and realities of implementation of the three main aspects of the 'Green Belt and Road': green finance, green energy, and green development cooperation. He also reflects on his research on rural development within China and on China's renewable energy investments across the Mekong Region to shed light on specific cases explored. Check out his article, entitled "Green development or greenwashing? A political ecology...2020-08-2744 min