PhD defence - T. Kasandra Behrndt-Eriksen

Title: Chinese Energy Companies’ Acquisitions Abroad. Implications for the Foreign Policy of an Authoritarian State

The thesis can be purchased for DKK 150 at the 'Academic Books', Øster Farimagsgade 5 A, Building 7, DK-1353 Copenhagen K.

Time and venue

Monday 2 May, 2016 at 14:00 at the University of Copenhagen, Centre for Health and Society, Department of Political Science, Øster Farimagsgade 5, DK-1353 Copenhagen K., room 4.2.26 (Lunchroom). Kindly note that the defence will start precisely at 14:00.

Assessment committee

  • Professor Ben Rosamond, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen (chair)
     
  • Professor Zha Daojiong, Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, Peking University, China
     
  • Professor Barry Naughton, University of California, San Diego, USA

Abstract

This study examines China’s foreign policy in response to the increased need for resources resulting from the increased growth of the Chinese economy. It casts light on the relationship between Chinese National Oil Companies (NOCs) and the government and examines the role of the NOCs in Chinese foreign policy.

The study examines the activities of Chinese oil and gas companies in four African countries: Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and Tunisia. It also includes a number of mini-cases that vary maximally from the universe of countries. In this manner, the results can be generalized and say something about Chinese foreign policy in the world as such.

This study provides a rigorous test showing that domestic interest groups have an important and growing role in foreign policy, with the Chinese NOCs providing an example of a domestic interest group. It presents two general claims, first, that Chinese foreign policy is marked by a growing role for NOCs. Second, that this growing role is a particular characteristic of the foreign policy of the authoritarian state.

This project contributes with a first step towards a theoretical model for analyzing the foreign policy of the authoritarian state—a characteristic of which is the role played by NOCs. It also provides insights into how concerns for domestic stability have an impact on the foreign policy of the authoritarian state. Overall, the study contributes to the literatures on energy security, the debate on the rise of China, the literature on the role of NOCs in foreign policy as well as the literature on authoritarian foreign policy.