China and the World Seminar Series Hosted by the LSE-Fudan Global Public Policy Hub

Date & time: Tuesday 22 October 2024, 12.30PM – 2.00PM GMT, (19.30 - 21.00 In China)

Venue: OLD 2.21 (2nd floor, Old Building, LSE)

Weblink will be provided on the Event page

https://www.lse.ac.uk/social-policy/research/LSE-Fudan/China-and-the-World-Seminar-Series

Speaker: Dr Yuan Wang (Duke Kunshan University).

Chair: Professor Bingchun Meng (Director of the LSE-Fudan Global Policy Hub)

Abstract：

The talk will present the speaker’s new book, The Railpolitik: Leadership and Agency in Sino-African Infrastructure Development (Oxford University Press), on the interactions between Chinese state actors and African politics. How do African politics affect foreign infrastructure projects? And what explains the variation of African state effectiveness in foreign engagement and public goods delivery? The book argues that the agency of African leaders is the central factor that determines Chinese-sponsored railway delivery. And such leadership can be generated not only from centralized developmental states, but also from leaders’ perceived threats of competitive elections in democratic states. Empirical data is collected from multi-year fieldwork in Angola, China, Ethiopia and Kenya with over 250 interviews.