SESSION 19

THE GLOBAL IN AFRICA: SHAPING TERRITORY AT THE INTERSECTION OF SOVEREIGN, NATIONAL AND LOCAL AGENCY

The motivations, interests, and activities, of foreign (that is, non-African) governments are at play in territorialisation processes across all scales in Africa. However, while formidable, these foreign sovereign actors must channel their intentions and activities through multiple national and local network in a complex process of bargaining, accommodation and mutual adjustment. Rather than serving as a simple imposition, sovereign engagement in Africa is potentially generative of new relationships and territorial possibilities, although still holding considerable risks for actors in Africa. This session will explore the ways in which multiple actors from the global to the local come together in the production of territory, using the case of sovereign actors from East Asia – China, Japan and Korea – investing in the cities of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Lilongwe (Malawi), and Accra (Ghana). The session will explore the motivations of the different sovereign actors, their varying modes of engagement, their intersections with national and local actors in Africa, the processes of negotiation and mutual adjustment, the impact of context (including the varying regulatory regimes in Africa), and material and governmental outcomes. Specifically, the session will explore the role of sovereign actors, especially the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in shaping territorial vision through a master planning approach; the creation of territory through infrastructure project financing; and the extensive role of China’s state-owned companies in civil works contracting across Africa. The session will reveal the complex mix of motivations, the fluid combinations, and the often-unexpected outcomes. By understanding these processes better, actors in Africa may be better able to influence them to a local and national advantage.