The Financial Statecraft of Borrowers
African Governments and External Finance

Examines how developing countries, especially in Africa, use diverse external finance to enhance leverage in aid negotiations.

Alexandra O. Zeitz (Author)

9781009475068, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 December 2024

356 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.5 cm, 0.66 kg

'[A]n impressive account of how the proliferation of nontraditional development finance has impacted the political economy of aid, and of what has happened in many Sub-Saharan African countries following the influx of Chinese government and private capital over the past two decades. The book will be a valuable reference for scholars of international political economy and international development.' Austin Strange, The Review of International Organizations

As China rises to prominence as a global lender, what impact does this have on borrowing countries? In a context of deepening global financial integration and rising powers, this book examines how developing countries, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa, can use borrowing relationship to their advantage. Alexandra O. Zeitz reveals how these countries, once reliant on traditional donors, may now leverage Chinese loans and international sovereign bonds to enhance their bargaining power in aid negotiations – a strategy she terms the “financial statecraft of borrowers.” Grounded in extensive interviews with senior officials from recipient countries and donor agencies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya, and complemented by statistical analysis of aid agreements, The Financial Statecraft of Borrowers offers a comprehensive understanding of how aid relationships are changing along with the shifting landscape of international finance.

1. Introduction
2. Theory: the financial statecraft of borrowers
3. The big picture: large-n evidence
4. Probing the financial statecraft of borrowers through comparative cases
5. Ethiopia: successful financial statecraft
6. Kenya: uneven financial statecraft
7. Ghana: limited financial statecraft
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]