The project identifies three main epochs that demonstrate Zambia’s shifting perceptions of China the state, Chinese individuals and Zambia-China relations – from an era of intersecting solidarity to economic and political necessity.
The epochs are:
[i] ideological kinship (1964-1991)
[ii] economic interest (1991-2005)
[iii] increasing subnational influence (2005-present)
The epochs blend and intersect thus revealing consistent and changing political and economic identities and interests. During the first epoch, China’s Mao Zedong and Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda highlighted Third World solidarity for independence during which the relationship was stable. The demise of the Kaunda regime in 1991 ushered in a second epoch during which solidarity was replaced by China’s economic interests, and unabated authoritarianism, while Zambia returned to multiparty democracy amid continued economic difficulty. The current epoch encompasses economic interests and the emerging influence of non-state actors. With increasing frequency, ordinary Zambians are interacting with Chinese individuals plying their trade in Zambia, not under state auspices. The project will use constructivism as a theoretical framework, and will draw on secondary material, archival data and online interviews in Zambia, China, the United States and South Africa to put together an authoritative book on Zambia’s compelling relationship with China.
