IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ctwqxx/v44y2023i1p211-229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘The Key to solving all problems’? Unpacking China’s development-as-security approach in Mali

Author

Listed:
  • Lina Benabdallah
  • Daniel Large

Abstract

There is a robust scholarship examining the security–development nexus in international development and international security studies. However, this scholarship has thus far mainly offered perspectives from Western actors and traditional development agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This article makes a theoretical and an empirical contribution to the literature by rethinking the security–development nexus from the perspective of Chinese foreign assistance practices. Theoretically, we submit that the nexus rests on different assumptions when studied from a non-OECD perspective. That is, instead of the increasingly militarised development industry arising from the US-led global War on Terror, security has been understood by China in terms of economic growth and development opportunities. Consequently, we argue that development-as-security better captures Chinese foreign policy approaches to the nexus. Empirically, the article offers an evaluation of the application of China’s development-as-security nexus. It examines this nexus in the context of the ongoing crisis in Mali. Additionally, in light of Xi Jinping’s recently announced Global Security Initiative, this article offers an empirical assessment of the potentials and challenges of China’s development-centred approach to peace.

Suggested Citation

  • Lina Benabdallah & Daniel Large, 2023. "‘The Key to solving all problems’? Unpacking China’s development-as-security approach in Mali," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 211-229, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:44:y:2023:i:1:p:211-229
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2022.2141707
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01436597.2022.2141707
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01436597.2022.2141707?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:44:y:2023:i:1:p:211-229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/ctwq .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.