PRC’s Influence on Authoritarian Regimes in Africa and the Implications for China/Taiwan-Africa Relations

PRC’s Influence on Authoritarian Regimes in Africa and the Implications for China/Taiwan-Africa Relations

Among the great contestations on the global stage, in contemporary periods, is that between the forces of authoritarianism and the forces of democracy. In Africa, the contestation between authoritarianism and democracy is linked to the engagement with authoritarian regimes by the PRC as tyrannical politicians and brutal dictators in many countries in Africa rely on the PRC for their perpetuation in power, thereby remaining under a sort of captive hold of the PRC and engendering the abuse of fundamental human rights as they invert the lethal assistance they derive from the PRC on their citizens. This article examines the trajectory of the PRC’s influence operations that target especially authoritarian and hybrid regimes in Africa to determine the implications for China/Taiwan-Africa relations. The article thus examines these modalities while applying a postcolonial theoretical lens to understanding these phenomena. As the Cross-Strait tensions continue and the ideological tussle between authoritarianism and democracy intensifies, the article determines that the racist pedigree and predilection of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is reciprocally observed among everyday Chinese people would constitute the Achilles Heel of the CCP in Africa with implications for China/Taiwan-Africa relationship into the future.