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Pooja JAIN-GRÉGOIRE

Racism against Africans in India: Analysing power play and national hierarchies in South-South Co-operation

Literature on race in development (Kothari 2006, White 2002, McCarthy 2009) points to the hierarchies between the North and the South. Development is contested as a postcolonial project that divides the world into donors and beneficiaries perpetuating inequalities that were symptomatic of the colonial times. In certain contexts these underlying hierarchies can beget racism and ‘othering’. This paper examines if there are patterns of racial hierarchies implicit in the development co-operation between countries belonging to the Global South. Drawing from the recent attacks against Africans in India, I argue that the geographical and ideological homogeneity of the Global South and the horizontal relationships of South-South Co-operation are subject to contestation. The Global South is not immune to its own internal dynamics that involve power and influence. Taking India’s co-operation with Africa as the case study, I draw attention to the inequalities engendered by the discourse and practice of South-South Co-operation.

 

Pooja Jain-Grégoire is a Visiting Researcher at CEIAS, EHESS and is a Research Associate at IGD, South Africa. She obtained her PhD from Sciences Po Paris where she pursued her thesis on New Partnerships for Development : A Case Study on India and Senegal. Her current research interests include the new agenda for developement aid, South-South Co-operation, private sector’s role in development, international governance and the sociological and ethical implications of international relations.

 

Martina BASSAN

Anti-Black Racism in Contemporary China: Cultural and Political Roots of Chinese Prejudice Towards Africans

As Sino-Africa connections have increased in the last years, a number of episodes of Chinese racial discrimination towards Africans have also been reported and denounced. These accusations have been paralleled by popular media representations of Africa-China relations which shed light on still-much diffused racial and physical stereotypes about Africans in China. Starting from recent example of Anti-black racism in China (such as advertising, movies, or exhibitions), this presentation examines how China’s history, cultural influences and politics have contributed to shape the country’s outlook on racial identities. Indeed, racial views and intolerance in China are deeply grounded in a historically-grounded form of ethnocentrism and cultural nationalism, as well as in the global circulation of racial knowledge. Finally, we will see how racial discourse both intersects and challenges the official discourse promoted by the party-state.

 

Martina Bassan received a BA and a MA in Chinese Studies at Ca' Foscari University in Italy and she is now pursuing a PhD in International Relations at Sciences Po Paris. Her work focuses on China's African Studies and China’s Africa watchers' narratives on Africa. She has researched for almost a year in China as a visiting scholar (Peking University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University) and conducted several interviews with Chinese scholars, experts and diplomats.