About this course

This course is all about how Africa can get the most out of the natural resources that it produces. In this case, we're really looking at oil and what linkages you can develop from that oil that can benefit Africa's growth. So when people think about China coming to Africa, there's a lot of debate about whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. It's quite polarised, I guess, in terms of whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. So on the kind of positive side, people say, well, what the Chinese bring is new sources of investment. They bring new money for Africa. They create the demand for African goods. So one of the things we've seen, for example, in those countries which do export raw materials is that the prices of those materials have gone up because of the demand from China. So this means theoretically more revenue for those countries. So that's kind of a good thing. Other people say, well, it's not such a good thing. What the Chinese are doing is essentially coming in. They're taking those resources and not putting a lot back. They bring some of their own labour with them. They repatriate the profits, et cetera, et cetera. So it's either- some people see it as a good thing. It's different from what the West has done for 200 years in Africa. Some people will say, well, it's just the same as you know, Just because they're Chinese doesn't mean they're any different from what the West has done. So it's a kind of polarised position, and what we want to do with our own research and this course is going to ask that question, is to what extent is this delivering benefits for Africa?