China’s Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s Alternative World Order

As China and the United States increasingly compete for power in key areas of U.S. influence, great power conflict looms. China’s Rise in the Global South examines China’s behavior as a rising power in two key global south regions: the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Dawn Murphy compares and analyzes thirty years of China’s interactions with these regions in several areas: politics, economics, foreign aid, and military. From the Belt and Road Initiative to the founding of new cooperation forums and special envoys, Dr. Murphy’s book offers an in-depth look at China’s foreign policy approach to the countries it considers its partners in South-South cooperation.

In a conversation with Lina Benabdallah held on August 19, 2022, Dawn C. Murphy argues that China is constructing an alternative international order.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this interview are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Speaker

Dawn Murphy

Dawn Murphy, associate professor of national security strategy at the U.S. National War College, specializes in Chinese foreign policy and domestic politics, U.S.-China relations, and international relations. Her research analyzes China’s interests and behavior as a rising global power towards the existing international order. Her fieldwork and research have taken her to China, Egypt, South Africa, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

Dr. Murphy holds a B.S. in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University, a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a doctorate in political science from George Washington University. Before joining the National War College, she was an assistant professor at the U.S. Air War College. She is a fellow in the National Committee’s Public Intellectuals Program.

Moderator

Lina Benabdallah

Lina Benabdallah is an assistant professor at Wake Forest University. She is the author of Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations (2020). Her work has appeared in scholarly journals including International Studies Quarterly, The Journal of International Relations and Development, Third World Quarterly, African Studies Quarterly, Project on Middle East Political Science, as well as in outlets such as the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage and Foreign Policy. Dr. Benabdallah is a Johns Hopkins University China Africa Research Initiative research associate, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program, a contributing editor for Africa is a Country, and a fellow in the National Committee Public Intellectuals Program.