Investment for Bases: China’s Military Experiment in Africa

Abstract

This thesis analyzes Chinese power projection in sub-Saharan Africa through a comparison and contrast of China’s “Investment for Resources” and “Investment for Influence” models from 2000 to 2020. In contrast to these two models, this thesis argues that China has developed a third investment model - the “Investment for Bases” model - described in an analysis of China’s first overseas naval base in Djibouti.

By analyzing Chinese military investments in Angola, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, this thesis also develops a template for how these investment models are implemented, and suggests that China will likely use its newly developed “Investment for Bases” model to continue to expand its overseas military presence in the next decade. In doing so, this thesis intervenes in contemporary debates in international relations scholarship as to the logic of China’s overseas expansions and the theoretical mechanisms that drive military- led outbound investment for rising powers.