The Withdrawal of Europe and the Rise of China in Africa: Evaluating the Relevance of Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism

Both China and the European Union and its Member States are economic and security actors in Africa. China’s trade with Africa gained importance in the early 2000s. In the security field, China started taking part in United Nations peacekeeping missions in the region in the late 1980s. For their part, European states have a history of presence on the African continent, and the EU began to deploy troops there in 2003. Despite similar interests, there is hardly any cooperation between European actors and China in Africa. This paper shows that although European and Chinese actors differ in their policies when addressing security and political issues in Africa, they have increasingly similar economic policies. Realist and liberal approaches seem more appropriate than the constructivist approach if we are to understand European and Chinese foreign policies toward the African continent.