Rising China and Africa’s development: oil

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.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Understand the rise of China and its impact on the geopolitics of resource management
• Show knowledge of different dimensions of the political economy of oil production
• Describe the dynamics of China-Africa oil relations in three African countries: Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan
• Understand and critically engage with the key debates around African development
• Provide definitions of the main theories influencing these debates, such as international relations, political settlements and African agency.