Bjørnar Sverdrup-Thygeson

The Chinese story: Historical narratives as a tool in China’s Africa policy

The rise of China as a key actor on the African continent not only challenges the Western dominance in economic and political terms, Beijing is increasingly also offering a challenge on a different level, by contesting the Eurocentric history that has underpinned the West’s policies towards African countries throughout the modern era. In order to bolster the Sino-African relationship, this article argues that Beijing is propagating towards African publics a range of historical narratives about African history and the Sino-African relationship. Developing and testing a theoretical framework for analysing these historical narratives, the research finds that this Chinese history of Africa represents China’s recent actions on the African continent as incarnations of a long historical tradition of friendship and anti-colonial support, thus serving the role of legitimizing Chinese policies as well as delegitimizing Western powers’ economic and political strategies.

Norway and China: Crime and Punishment

Fokus: Norden og Kina - En ukoordinert kvintett? De Nordiske landenes forhold til Kina

Norden og Kina - «Forbrytelse og straff» Forholdet mellom Norge og Kina

Introduction: Quintet Out of Tune? China's Bilateral Relations with the Nordic States

Dragon in the North: The Nordic Countries’ Relations with China

This report is temporarily embargoed due to a publication process. In this focus report we present to a Nordic public an overview of each Nordic country’s bilateral relations with China, and how each has handled the challenges and opportunities arising in relations with Beijing. Gathering a team of Nordic researchers, each writing on one Nordic country, this report also asks whether there is a common ‘Nordic dimension’ to the policies undertaken towards Beijing. The Nordic countries share a common geography and history, as well as a set of common traits based upon political traditions and cultural affinities. Yet, they also differ from one another in many respects, including foreign policy outlook and international institutional affiliations. To some extent this can also be traced in the Nordic countries’ current relations with Beijing. As the contributions presented here show, the five Sino Nordic relationships have followed markedly different trajectories.