The ‘voracious dragon’, the ‘scramble’ and the ‘honey pot’: Conceptions of conflict over Africa's natural resources

Abstract

Western reactions to China's increasing investment in a number of countries in Africa, as well as Chinese counter-reactions, are often conceptualised as symptoms of a ‘honey pot’ conflict. Such an impression stems from viewing contemporary African development as a ‘new scramble’ for the continent's natural resources. However, the study critically unpacks these claims in various fundamental ways, demonstrating how it is untenable. Objections are based on a brief survey of Chinese discourses regarding Western criticism as well empirical objections based on the supposedly ‘conflictual’ cases of Angola and Sudan, where one in fact finds mutual toleration between the West and China. These realities contradict the assumptions of a honey pot conflict. The study concludes with the alternative proposition that any Sino-Western conflict can be more aptly described as partly self-interest driven, but at the same time normative, and is related to Western concerns about a ‘spoiler’ role played by China in Africa.

Keywords:

• honey pot hypothesis
• conflict
• China
• Africa
• natural resources