The Rise of Asian Lions

Abstract

In the post-WWII era, industrialized global aid powers defined and codified development initiatives through the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, the late 20th and early 21st centuries witnessed a shift in the global balance of power toward the Indo-Pacific region with the rise of Asian powers. In 1989, Japan emerged as a leader among established OECD-DAC nations and asserted a unique development philosophy in addressing African development issues. In the 21st century, the growth in foreign development diplomacy by South-South partners, most notably the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China) and India, has challenged the material and ontological foundations of “aid” and development. This thesis leverages a realist-constructivist framework to analyze the characteristics of Japan, China, and India’s strategic engagement in Africa as a new form of development power. The analysis reveals how the development narratives of Asian powers have disrupted the established norms and principles of OECD-DAC donorrecipient relationships, development archetypes, and core values. The three Asian donors cultivate unique portfolios of ontological, material, and soft power paradigms that are reshaping established 20th century OECD-DAC aid constructs. Distinct from 20th century constructs, this new mode of development cooperation is bolstered by the cultivation of a shared historical context and social values that bind African states and peoples with Asian brands. In an era of shifting global power, Japan, China, and India have forged an alternative mechanism to engage with and shape the international order via development cooperation. Engagement with Africa’s 54 diverse nations, regional blocs, and the African Union offers established and emerging Asian donor powers a mechanism to define the international order on their own terms. An in-depth analysis of Japanese, Chinese, and Indian development fora in Africa, reveals how each Asian donor cultivates a unique development brand engineered for a highly interconnected 21st century development landscape. Through the application of disruptive development ontologies in African engagement, Japan, China, and India have defined new modes of cooperation built around their distinctive worldviews, values, and norms.