Relocating African Agency: Assessing the Role of ‘Local Patrons’ and Chinese Enterprises in the Construction Sector in Ghana

Author:

Alden Chris,Ocquaye Nathaniel

Abstract

Contrary to the conventional notion that African agency outside of the state is marginal if not irrelevant, this paper argues that it is ‘local patrons’ in Africa who are actually the most powerful determinants of the success of Chinese enterprises in Africa. These ‘local patrons’ exact financial resources from the Chinese in exchange for their services as brokers between state officials. Specifically, their ‘informal connections’ to local state authorities enables them to insure the Chinese firms against official state prosecution/demands as well as facilitate related bureaucratic procedures. Using the case of the Chinese construction firms operating in Ghana, we will investigate the challenges experienced by Chinese firms entering into new markets and the strategies utilised by them to address and mitigate risk in their search for profit, chief amongst them the employment of ‘local patrons’ to serve as brokers with state officials. This relocation of agency, drawing from scholarship by Mohan, Lampert and Soule-Kohndou as well as the empirical materials based on substantive fieldwork, provides new insights into terms of engagement with local actors that form a bonded relationship facilitating integration of Chinese enterprises into the African political economy.

Publisher

African Leadership Centre

Subject

General Medicine

Cited by 2 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Introduction : décentrer l’analyse des relations afro-chinoises. Quelle agencéité africaine ?;Revue internationale des études du développement;2023-06-29

2. Le rôle des cadres (nord-)africains dans des filiales chinoises de construction en Algérie;Revue internationale des études du développement;2023-06-29

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3