The London School of Economics and Political Science Negotiating
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The London School of Economics and Political Science Negotiating Governance: Kenyan contestation, cooperation, passivity toward the Chinese. Maddalena Procopio A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, January 2016. Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 97,903 words. 2 Abstract The scholarship on Sino-African relations has been too pre-occupied with China’s behaviour and impact on Africa and paid little attention to the role played by African actors, contexts and processes of governance. This thesis addresses this deficiency through an examination of the interaction between Kenyan state and non-state actors in the relationship with China. In doing so, it focuses on how such interactive relation is mobilised and negotiated through Kenyan ‘agency’, and how it constitutes a means of building national capacity in domestic as well as foreign policy, paving the way for a less dependent and more sustainable developmental nation. The thesis adopts a state-society approach which combines macro (national)-, meso (sectoral)- and micro-(issue-specific) level dynamics within a single country case study. Such complex and differentiated design helps to reach a nuanced understanding of actor agendas and mobilisation strategies within specific systems of governance. The cases are grouped into three main sectors, i.e. trade, healthcare and education, cutting across trade and aid type of engagements between a variety of Chinese and Kenyan actors. Negotiations are mainly characterised by strategies of contestation and cooperation domestically and with the Chinese. Passivity, contrary to the mainstream literature, is more rarely observed. The thesis demonstrates that the factors that contribute to Kenya’s control of the relations with China should not be identified in the state’s aggregate power, or the sum of state’s resources, but rather are situated within the context and the structure of the specific negotiations. The ability to safeguard interests is then determined by the ability of Kenyan actors to guarantee conformity of specific negotiation processes to the prevailing system of norms and practices as understood and legitimised by Kenyans. 3 Selected List of Acronyms ACA – Anti-Counterfeits Agency ACFTU - All-China Federation of Trade Unions ADB – African Development Bank API - Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients CBA - Contract Bargaining Agreement CBD - Central Business District CCCMHPIE - China Chamber of Commerce for Medicines and Health Products’ Imports and Exports CCK - Communications Commission of Kenya CCP – Chinese Communist Party CKRC - Constitution of Kenya Review Commission CMT - Chinese Medical Teams CNOOC - China National Offshore Oil Company COFEK - Consumers Federation of Kenya COMESA - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COTU – Central Organisation of Trade Unions CRBC - China Road and Bridge Corporation CSO – Civil Society Organisation CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility DFID – (UK) Department For International Development EAC - East Africa Community FKE - Federation of Kenya Employers FOCAC – Forum on China-Africa Cooperation GFATM - Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria HAC - Harmonization, Alignment and Coordination Group HRH - Human Resources for Health ICC – International Criminal Court IISS - International Institute for Strategic Studies ILO - International Labour Organisation IP – Intellectual Property IRT – International Relations Theory ITUC-Africa - International Trade Unions Confederation-Africa JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency KAM – Kenya Association of Manufacturers KANU – Kenya African National Union KEBS - Kenya Bureau of Standards KEMRI – Kenya Medical Research Institute KEMSA - Kenya Medical Supplies Agency KESSP - Kenya Education Sector Support Programme KFRTU - Kenya Federation of Registered Trade Unions KHF - Kenya Healthcare Federation KIPPRA – Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis KNCCI - Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry KU – Kenyatta University MDG - Millennium Development Goals MOU – Memorandum of Understanding NARC – National Rainbow Coalition NASCOP - National AIDS & STI Control Programme 4 NATHEPA - National Health Practitioners Association NCPD - National Council for Population and Development NPI - Natural Products Initiative ODA - Overseas Development Assistance ODI – Overseas Development Institute OECD-DAC - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Development Assistance Committee PCK - People’s Commission of Kenya PEPFAR - President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PRC – People’s Republic of China SoE – State-owned Enterprise SSA – Sub-Saharan Africa SSC – South-South Cooperation SWAp - Sector Wide Approach TU – Trade Union TUK – Technical University of Kenya TVET - Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP - United Nations Development Programme UON – University of Nairobi USAID – United States Agency for International Development WB – World Bank WHO - World Health Organisation WTO – World Trade Organisation 5 Acknowledgements Navigating through this PhD has been an extra-ordinary journey. So unusual that, as I submit this thesis I am yet to fully understand all the immense personal and professional discoveries that I put myself through in the past four years and a half. Many people have contributed to the realisation of this project. Prof. Chris Alden, in his role as supervisor, supported me in good and bad times. He was the person who encouraged me to take on a PhD and his presence was, since then, a constant source of constructive criticism, a source of opportunities, a source of moral support. I have learnt a lot through him and with him. I feel privileged and grateful to have had him on my side. I am grateful to Prof. Jude Howell and Dr. Daniel Large, my viva examiners, for having engaged with my thesis critically and constructively, and for having provided essential feedback for advancing my work. Special thanks go also to the colleagues I met in Nairobi. They welcomed me to the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi and provided me with a much-needed platform to exchange ideas with fellow PhD students and scholars. In particular, I want to thank Prof. Dorothy McCormick and Prof. Joseph Onjala. Engaging with them, experts as they are of Kenya, has proved to be a great intellectual exercise and a necessary step to confirm whether I was going in the right direction. My immense gratitude goes to the dozens of people who will remain anonymous that I interviewed for this thesis during my fieldwork in Kenya. I felt privileged to have access to so many different points of view, personalities and venues. I have encountered brilliant policy-makers, societal leaders, private sector representatives, Kenyan, Chinese, and else. Most of the times I stood very small in the middle of a relationship that did not really foresee my presence, like the dash between Kenya and China in these relations under study, but I stood there and learnt more than anything I could have found on books. My PhD studies and fieldwork in Kenya were generously supported by the LSE International Relations Department. Studentship awards, as well as numerous travel, conference and language grants were provided throughout the four years. Fieldwork was made possible thanks to the Dr Dominique Jacquin-Berdal grant for research on Africa and to the IR Department fieldwork grant. Trust in my research and financial support were key to finishing this PhD. The emotional roller-coaster that this PhD has been would not have been crossed through without the support of friends and family. Lu was the first friend I made on the PhD programme and since that day back in 2011 we have not stopped sharing sweat, tears, doubts and small victories. She has been the most amazing companion one could have, and a lot of my ideas would not have taken proper shape if it weren’t for all the bouncing back and forth with her. Mumbi and Tanya welcomed me at home, in Nairobi, on the second day of siege of the Westgate shopping Mall, when I first set foot in a capital under terrorist attack. They made Nairobi my home for nine months and kept me sane all through the good and the bad of my Nairobian time, and life events around it. My greatest debt of gratitude goes to my family, for being an inexhaustible source of strength. My sister Alessandra for being my best friend and my own personal 6 counsellor, for managing to avoid reading the thesis till the very last months, but then, spurred by sisterhood ties, engaging in serious editing support. Michael, for marrying her during my fourth year, thus making it a very busy one. Emanuele, thank you for putting up with all this! For always making things easier