Africa’s Railway Renaissance

Tim Zajontz is a Lecturer in International Relations at the Technische Universität Dresden, a Research Fellow in the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University and a Research Associate in the Second Cold War Observatory. His research is concerned with Africa’s international relations and political economy, with a current focus on Africa-China and Africa-EU relations as well as on contemporary regionalisms. Pádraig Carmody is Professor in Geography at Trinity College Dublin and a Senior Research Associate at the School of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Johannesburg. He has published several books including, with Peter Kragelund and Ricardo Reboredo, Africa’s Shadow Rise. Mandira Bagwandeen is a Senior Research Fellow at The Nelson Mandela School, University of Cape Town. She focuses on Africa’s regional integration and industrialisation and China-Africa relations. Mandira has provided commentary for news outlets and written several opinion and academic articles on China-Africa issues. Anthony Leysens is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Stellenbosch University and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. His work has focused on the political economy of South and Southern Africa, and on critical theory in global political economy. He is the author of The Critical Theory of Robert W Cox: Fugitive or Guru?.

1.Introduction: China’s Role in Africa’s Railway Renaissance 2.The Political Economy of China’s Globalising Railways – and their Arrival in Africa 3.Powering African Transport or Transporting Chinese Power? The Spatial Political Economy of Chinese Railways in Africa 4.The Freedom Railway Now and Then: The Enduring Relevance of the ‘TAZARA Spirit’ for South-South Cooperation 5.Chinese Railways and African Development: Developing Railways or Railing Development? 6.Chinese Globalism, African Regionalisms and State Spatial Strategies: The Intricacies of Regionalising Africa’s Railway Renaissance 7.West Africa’s ‘Railway Patchwork’ and the Challenges of its Integration 8.China’s Infrastructure Projects in Africa: Nigeria’s Unfinished Lagos-Kano Railway 9.Kenya’s New Lunatic Express: The Standard Gauge Railway 10.The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway and the National Question in Ethiopia: A Bottom-up View 11.The Rehabilitation of the Benguela Railway and the Reactivation of the Lobito Corridor 12.Inside Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway: Passenger Narratives on Large-scale Transport Infrastructure, Connectivity, and Political Controversy