ABSTRACT
Setting out the conceptual framework for studying domestic sub-Saharan constructions of China, this chapter builds upon conventional constructivism by developing a domestic agency-focussed framework to analyse a state’s (intra)constructions of others. It begins by critiquing rationalist approaches for the state-, unitary- and Sino-centric lenses with which the Africa-China relationship has been explored. Such approaches relegate African states to the background and marginalise the role of its non-state actors in China-related policymaking, thereby falsifying Africa’s policymaking environment in the China relationship. As an approach that makes it possible to theorise identities and interests, the chapter emphasises constructivism as addressing the shortfalls of rationalist approaches and thus providing a clearer and more complete picture of Africa’s relations with China. By focussing on the domestic arena as the starting point of analysis, the chapter outlines the book’s novel constructivist approach as critical to explaining Africa’s relationship with China as not only informed by inter-state interactions with China as a unitary entity but also by intra-African perspectives on Chinese activities in particular African states. To ascertain the domestic China-related narratives theorised as crucial to explaining Africa’s China relationship, the chapter designs a tri-relational methodology that holds promise for future constructivist and IR studies more broadly.
