Russia and China in Africa

As both China and Russia seek to extend their global influence and challenge the liberal world order, Africa is becoming increasingly critical to contemporary geopolitics. This book argues that it is within Africa that we can best understand the synergies and conflicts between Russian and Chinese approaches. The book demonstrates that while Chinese and Russian approaches tend to be more complementary when facing a substantial presence of Western actors, in general, their policies towards African states are far from united. This is evident in events such as the disruption of Chinese economic deals in the Sahel under the oversight of Russian paramilitary forces, or the takeover of Russian oil production projects in Uganda by Chinese state-owned companies. Rooted in a comparative study of six African regions (North Africa; the “Golden Triangle” of Libya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic; the Horn of Africa; the Western Sahel; the Great Lakes region; and Southern Africa), the book uncovers the drivers behind cooperation and conflict between the two revisionist powers. In doing so, the book develops a nuanced picture of the complexities in the relations between Moscow and Beijing, reflected in their dealings with African counterparts, across diverse political, security, and economic settings. Problematising over-simplifications of a contest between the West and a Sino-Russian bloc, this book argues that the future of the global order is to be determined by a more nuanced set of political and economic interactions. It will be of interest to researchers across the fields of political science, international relations, and geopolitics.