TITLE:
Conservative-Progressive Power Games, Mutual Jostling in Africa and Resilience of Sino-African Relations under COVID-19 Wind
AUTHORS:
Benjamin Mwadi Makengo
KEYWORDS:
Conservative-Progressive Competition, Mutual Jostling in Africa, Power Games in Africa, Sino-African Relations’ Resilience under COVID-19 Wind
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.11 No.3,
July
12,
2021
ABSTRACT: By taking
the subprime crisis as its historical fact of analysis and game theory as its
theoretical explanatory basis, this paper aims to explain and demonstrate why
Sino-African relations may well withstand in the ongoing “conservative-progressive
power games” in Africa under COVID-19 wind, even though they are being further
jostled by the “conservative’s offensive”. To support my central point, I start
from the assumption that, as was just the case with the subprime crisis, the
socioeconomic and financial dimension will once again become a compass [but
also a barometer] in the decisions and actions of all the states at stake—the “conservatives”,
the “progressives”, as well as the different African countries. Thus, the
improvement of the socioeconomic and financial situation on its own territory
will become the major challenge of almost all these states at stake. And China,
which is less affected by the socioeconomic and financial crisis caused by
COVID-19 than the “conservatives”, will be well able to bear the costs of its
increasing engagement on the African continent.
Although a relative decline or quasi-stagnation of its engagement on the
continent can be noted—but rather less than in the case of the “conservatives”,
due of course to the comparative shocks of this crisis caused by COVID-19 on
their economic activities. In this same logic, another explanatory point is
that, if Sino-African relations fall, a big hole will be left in African
economies—because of China’s pronounced economic integration in Africa. A hole
that the “conservatives”—hit hard by this crisis due to COVID-19, will not be
able to fill during this critical moment, in the sense of satisfying the
demands of Africa—which is also hit hard by the same crisis. Finally, the game
theory as an explanatory theoretical basis, via the five (5) points game,
imagined in terms of gain on the African continent, according to the costs of “conservative-progressive
engagements”—which are conditioned here by the socioeconomic and financial
crisis due to COVID-19, demonstrates as well this affirmation of the resistance
of Sino-African relations. In this game, following the assumptions put forward,
the most possible scenario is the one that affirms that: Sino-African relations
and “conservatives” both withstand. Because, China, less affected by the socioeconomic and
financial crisis due to COVID-19, will still be able to bear the costs of its
engagement on the African continent. But also, in the case of the fall of the “conservatives”,
China alone will not be able to fully cover the gap left by them due to the crisis
caused by COVID-19, which also negatively impacted its economy and finances.
And the point remains to think about the post- COVID-19
scenario of these “conservative-progressive power games” on the African
continent.