Russia and China in Africa: Interests, In uence, and Instruments of Power
Russian and Chinese Use of the Instruments of Power in Africa
Having surveyed Russian and Chinese interests and in uence in Africa, this paper now examines how the two advance those interests and build that in uence. Like all states, they do so by using what are commonly known as the instruments of power or instruments of statecraft. Although there are di ering de nitions of what these instruments are, one common framework lists them as diplomatic, informational, military, and economic tools. Analyzing how Moscow and Beijing deploy and use these instruments in Africa can reveal several things. First, it can help us understand the intensity of Russian and Chinese interests in Africa. For example, if a state deploys all four instruments in signi cant quantities in a certain region, we can infer that this state sees its interests in that region as important or even vital. Examining the instruments of power can also tell us which interests a state considers most important in a region. For example, if a state’s security presence in a given region is far higher than the presence of other instruments, we can infer that the state sees this region primarily in terms of its importance to the state’s security interests. Finally, examining how two di erent states use the instruments of power in a region can reveal clues about which state sees the region as more important.
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