Managing asymmetry: reexamining China-South Sudan relations

In: China: CIJ ; an international journal, Band 17, Heft 3, S. 149-168

Abstract

Based on discussions of small country agency in international relations, this article reexamines China–South Sudan relations from the perspective of asymmetric relationships. Detailing how the asymmetric relationship between China and South Sudan exacerbated misperceptions and conflict, the article also tests the feasibility of applying Brantly Womack's theory of asymmetry in relationships in a non-security context. As asymmetry is an underlying structural factor in China–South Sudan relations, managing the asymmetry will continue to be challenging for both China and South Sudan in the years to come. (China/GIGA)