Undermining Western democracy promotion in Central Asia: China’s countervailing influences, powers and impact

ABSTRACT

This article examines whether and to what extent China’s involvement in Central Asian countries undermines the democracy promotion efforts of the European Union and the United States. Findings confirm that China does indeed challenge Western efforts, but in an indirect way. First, Chinese provision of substantial and unconditional financial assistance makes Western politically conditioned aid appear both ungenerous and an infringement of sovereignty. Second, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, inclusive of China’s leadership role, creates an institutional means through which the (semi-)authoritarianism of member states is legitimized and challenges Western emphasis on democracy and human rights. Finally, by the power of its own example, China demonstrates that democracy is not a prerequisite for prosperity, the rule of law and social well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• Central Asia
• democracy promotion
• autocracy promotion

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for very informed and helpful comments on an earlier draft, as well as the journal editor for her support and assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Aijan Sharshenova http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3008-0091

Gordon Crawford http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5705-9893

Notes

1. We also note the critique by Tansey of the work of Melnykovska, Plamper, and Schweickert (2012), who ask the question, ‘Do Russia and China promote autocracy in Central Asia?’ In Tansey’s (2016, 145) view, although they demonstrate that China and Russia’s economic engagement in Central Asia ‘has had the effect of reinforcing the region’s authoritarian regimes, it does not follow that it is appropriate to conceptualize this type of external influence as a form of regime promotion’. We are in general agreement with such reasoning and thus are not framing our enquiry in terms of autocracy promotion.