China in Africa: Affirming Dependency Theory, Matthew Junker
As China's investment in Africa has grown to an immense degree, a thorough examination of investment patterns and their effect on African peoples and economies has become increasingly important. In order to test whether China's Africa policy truly is supporting African states' “self-development capacity,” or rather reinforcing traditional inequalities and underdevelopment, the following examines case studies of three of China's largest African trading partners, Angola, South Africa, and Sudan. As the most advanced and influential theory of underdevelopment, each case study will be viewed through the lens of dependency theory. After considering what dependency theory brings in helping to create a theoretical understanding of China's Africa policy, the conclusions will be used discuss possible solutions and the long-term challenges ahead.
