New African Research on China-Africa Engagement and Impacts on Peace & Security: Part II

This event took place on September 26th, 2025 and was hosted online via Zoom webinar.

China is now an important peace and security actor on the African continent; for example, it is the largest contributor of UN Peacekeeping troops among the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and has played an active role in conflict mediation in several countries to date. However, Chinese actors have also been accused of exacerbating conflicts and undermining human security in many parts of the continent. Research and analysis on these interactions is often dominated by non-African voices. To help fill this gap, the panelists participated in a year-long program with the (former) United States Institute for Peace (USIP), designed to support and strengthen research and writing skills of African early-career scholars. The researchers identified and carried out research on locally-relevant and cutting edge themes in Chinese engagements with impacts on peace and security. The two presenters on this panel presented their new research based in Cameroon and ECOWAS.

This event was co-sponsored by the Africa-China Initiative and the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

Featuring

Welcome Remarks:

Yoon Jung Park, Program Director, Africa-China Initiative

Participants:

Devante Duncan, Conflict, Peace and Security Researcher | Regional Security Analyst: “Navigating Influence: Unpacking China’s Expanding Economic Footprint and its Implications for Peace, Security and Governance in the ECOWAS Region”

Ibrahim Magara, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Peace and Security (CPS), Coventry University: “Governing Peace in a Multipolar Era: China, IGAD, and Hybrid Orders in the Horn of Africa”

Discussants:

Obert Hodzi, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Liverpool

Henry Tugendhat, Washington Institute for Near East Policy