The Myth of Chinas No Strings Attached Development Assistance: A Caribbean Case Study

(Hardback)

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Using a Caribbean case study and a Constructivist theoretical approach, The Myth of Chinas No Strings Attached Development Assistance shows that the frequently mentioned no strings attached nature of Chinas development assistance to its partners in the Global South is nothing more than a myth. This claim is supported by empirical data from Trinidad and Tobago and by comparisons with similar situations in Africa and Latin America. On their basis, the authors propose a critical re-reading of a reality that many scholars are accustomed to watch through the reassuring but distorting lens of academic routine. Despite contrary claims in the literature, Beijings development assistance to the Commonwealth Caribbean states is accompanied by clear political, economic, and social conditionalities. Through them, China is constructing a cognitive and normative space conducive to a new regional order that should be politically friendly, economically profitable, and socially open to its government, companies, and citizens.

Reviews

"This timely book informatively takes on an often-quoted, yet elusive, cornerstone of China's foreign policy discourse toward the Global South. It will surely intrigue and educate scholars, researchers, and students of China's ever-expanding engagements across the developing world."--Richard Aidoo, Coastal Carolina University

Author Bio

Theodor Tudoroiu is senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Amanda Ramlogan-Gangabissoon is doctoral student at the Institute of International Relations of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.