Rising China and Africa's development: oil

China has emerged as a global economic superpower over the past few decades. This has sparked intense academic and popular debate about the long-term implications of its continued growth. The expansion of China into African countries in pursuit of natural resources has incited particular controversy - does it spell increased cooperation between developing countries for mutual benefit or are Chinese practices largely exploitative, signalling a new phase of neo-colonialism? This free course, Rising China and Africa's development: oil, considers the impact of the rise of China on Africa's development through the lens of oil production.The following animation gives a flavour of the course.

• About this course
• About this course
• Acknowledgements
• Session1Session 1: The rise of China and resource demand
• Introduction
• 1 A brief introduction to China’s relationship with Africa
• 2 An increasing need for greater levels of resources
• 2.1 Business-minded China
• 3 Chinese economic reforms and energy security
• 4 The ‘Going Out’ period
• 5 Chinese oil companies in Africa
• 6 Summary of Session 1
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session2Session 2: The politics of resource governance
• Introduction
• 1 Rich in resources, but low in growth
• 2 The resource curse thesis
• 2.1 Less economic growth
• 2.2 Weaker democracy
• 2.3 Worse development indicators
• 3 The resource curse in Nigeria
• 4 More than an institutional fix: politics matter
• 4.1 African agency
• 5 Political settlement theory
• 6 China–Nigeria relations and oil
• 7 Summary of Session 2
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session3Session 3: Local content and linkages
• Introduction
• 1 Oil sector localisation and African development
• 2 A ‘model’ of linkage development
• 2.1 What are linkages?
• 2.2 Types of linkages
• 2.3 Determinants of linkage development
• 3 Linkage development: Ghana case study
• 4 Linkage development: are the Chinese different?
• 5 Summary of Session 3
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session4Session 4: Global oil markets, geopolitics and diversification
• Introduction
• 1 Risk perception and management
• 2 How the Chinese deal with risk
• 3 The history of Sudan and the role of CNOCs
• 4 Oil, war and the economy
• 4.1 Reaching out to new investors
• 4.2 Chinese oil companies and Sudanese politics
• 5 Understanding the history of Sudan’s oil governance
• 6 Political risk and the ‘Genocide Olympics’
• 7 What is the future for Chinese oil investment in Sudan and South Sudan?
• 8 Summary of Session 4
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Session5Session 5: Leveraging better development from natural resources: beyond the resource curse
• Introduction
• 1 Taking stock of the evidence
• 2 Policy options
• 3 Interactive game
• 4 Test your learning
• 5 Summary of Session 5
• Where next?
• Acknowledgements