The Normative Values Behind the Energy Strategies of the EU and China in Africa

The article compares the foreign energy strategies of the EU and the PRC on the African continent within the context of the e!orts of ensuring the diversifiction of the supply of fossil fuels. Both actors are connecting some sets of values to their strategies, and these values are integral to their...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jiří Suchánek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of International Relations Prague 2013-03-01
Series:Czech Journal of International Relations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cjir/article/view/334
Description
Summary:The article compares the foreign energy strategies of the EU and the PRC on the African continent within the context of the e!orts of ensuring the diversifiction of the supply of fossil fuels. Both actors are connecting some sets of values to their strategies, and these values are integral to their perception of the international environment. The main purpose of the article is to compare these strategies, especially in the context of the values that are connected with them – e.g. state sovereignty, human rights, and social responsibility – and the impact of these values on the form of the energetic strategies. While the EU urges normative values such as democratic government, human rights and quality public domain management, the PRC adheres to the values of non-interference, state sovereignty and, last but not least, the principle of “One China”. Despite the fact that, rhetorically, the two actors share some of the same principles, they are applied di!erently by each actor due to the actors’ diametrically di!erent understandings of these principles. In addition to that, it is necessary to lay emphasis on the di!erence between the o"cial and the actual strategies of both actors.
ISSN:0323-1844
2570-9429