Liminally positioned in the South : Reinterpreting Brazilian and Chinese relations with Africa

Title data

Hönke, Jana ; Cezne, Eric ; Yang, Yifan Mia:
Liminally positioned in the South : Reinterpreting Brazilian and Chinese relations with Africa.
In: Global Society. Vol. 37 (2023) Issue 2 . - pp. 197-224.
ISSN 1469-798X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2022.2094222

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

This article brings to fore long-standing intricacies and dilemmas in Brazilian and Chinese diplomatic and corporate narratives. It reveals the complex discursive repertoires shaping these countries’ sense of Self in the world, in the Global South, and, more particularly, in relation to Africa. It observes how constructing South–South relationships and invoking Southern identities have been ambiguous, indeterminate—thus liminal—endeavors in Brazil and China’s international positioning. The article also demonstrates, notwithstanding inherent tensions and contradictions, how Brazilian and Chinese actors have creatively acted upon this liminality to achieve foreign policy goals and frame economic projects in their African relations. The article engages the literature on Brazilian and Chinese relations with Africa, particularly in the post-2000s, to then introduce liminality as a concept to productively nuance and broaden available interpretations of their positioning vis-à-vis the Global South. This is followed by an analysis of how Brazil and China occupy ambiguous—and hence liminal—positions with(in) the “Global South”, based on dissecting Brazilian and Chinese diplomatic and corporate narratives towards Africa. We conclude by discussing the purchase of a liminality lens for understanding variegated positionalities in a changing international order and critically engaging them.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies > Chair Sociology of Africa Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies > Chair Sociology of Africa > Chair Sociology of Africa - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	300 Social sciences > 300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology 300 Social sciences > 320 Political science
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2022 07:18
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2024 10:19
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/70318