The Specter of Global China
Politics, Labor, and Foreign Investment in Africa
The Specter of Global China
Politics, Labor, and Foreign Investment in Africa
Offering the clearest look yet at China’s state-driven investment in Africa, this book is rooted in six years of extensive fieldwork in copper mines and construction sites in Zambia, Africa’s copper giant. Lee shadowed Chinese, Indian, and South African managers in underground mines, interviewed Zambian miners and construction workers, and worked with Zambian officials. Distinguishing carefully between Chinese state capital and global private capital in terms of their business objectives, labor practices, managerial ethos, and political engagement with the Zambian state and society, she concludes that Chinese state investment presents unique potential and perils for African development. The Specter of Global China will be a must-read for anyone interested in the future of China, Africa, and capitalism worldwide.
256 pages | 20 color plates, 1 halftone, 2 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2017
Asian Studies: General Asian Studies
Economics and Business: Economics--International and Comparative
Sociology: Formal and Complex Organizations, Social Change, Social Movements, Political Sociology
Reviews
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
Preface
1 Unnatural Capital: Chinese State Investment and Its Travails in Africa
2 Varieties of Accumulation: Profit Maximization and Beyond
3 Labor Bargains: Regimes of Exploitation and Exclusion
4 Managerial Ethos: Collective Asceticism versus Individual Careerism
5 Contesting Capital: Aspiration and Capacity from Below
6 Eventful Global China
Appendix: An Ethnographer’s Odyssey: The Mundane and the Sublime of Researching China in Zambia
Notes
Index
Awards
Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics: Alice Amsden Book Award
Won
Asia and Asian America section, American Sociological Association: Asia/Transnational Book Award
Won
ASA Global and Transnational Sociology Section: Best Scholarly Book Award
Honorable Mention
Labor and Labor Movements section, American Sociological Association: Distinguished Scholarly Book Award
Won
International Convention of Asia Scholars: ICAS Africa-Asia Book Prize
Won
Association for Asian Studies: Joseph Levenson Prize (Post-1900)
Won
ASA Political Economy of World Systems Section: PEWS Distinguished Book Award
Honorable Mention
Society for the Study of Social Problems: SSSP Global Division Book Award
Won
ASA Sociology of Development Section: Sociology of Development Book Award
Won
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