Growing Security and Governance Complexity: China-Africa Relations

Myths, mysteries and misinformation are growing around the cooperation between African states and China. Some believe that China is on a predatory ride and that African nations have yet to find their voices and strategic moves to advance their interests in this cooperation.

While the question of who is really winning still has to be fully answered, this class will focus on emerging security and governance dynamics that could enable, sustain or break this cooperation. More specifically, the conversation will be on China’s economic approach in Africa that targets strategic minerals, commercial roads and governance and how African nations develop their political positioning in this era of great power competition while dealing with China. 

Yvan Yenda Ilunga, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of political science and international relations and serves as associate director of the Masters of International Relations program at Salve Regina University, where he teaches undergraduate, master’s and doctoral courses. Yvan also serves as deputy director of the Joint Civil-Military Interaction Research and Education Network, coordinating strategic partnerships, research and training on policies and operations related to civil-military interactions in fragile countries. He has over 15 years of experience working, advising, and conducting policy-relevant research and studies on Africa’s security, development and governance issues. Yvan also consults for international organizations, government agencies, think tanks and business consulting firms.