Our very own PI Dr John Njenga Karugia (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) will give the next Silk Road Talk on 22 November from 4.15 to 5.45 p.m. The lecture will take place in the Department of Asian and African Studies at Invalidenstraße 118, Room 410.
China and the European Union’s interests and competition across Africa are perceptible through various historical and contemporary infrastructure projects across the continent’s 55 countries. Infrastructure initiatives funded by China and the European Union are currently underway as both political actors strive to achieve their geopolitical interests. I shall argue that these infrastructure projects are ‘infrastructures of memory’ or what I call ‘legacy projects.’ The lecture will delve into motivations of both actors and I will compare and contrast concrete infrastructure projects taken from my current research on these actors’ transregional infrastructure initiatives across Africa, Asia and Europe. The lecture will analyze local politics of various geographies where implementation of infrastructure projects is taking place. Focus will also be placed on local memory politics discourses and how these discourses shape the competition between China and the European Union. Finally, the effects of this competition shall be discussed.
Date: 22 November 2023
Time: 4.15–5.45 p.m. (CET)
Location: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Asian and African Studies (IAAW), Invalidenstr. 118, Room 410.
Organized in cooperation with the IAAW’s Africa colloquium for the winter semester 2023/24