First, it needs to be said that I am a strong supporter of Winston Churchill’s statement: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. I fully believe in the value of democracy and I would not want to have it any other way. But, recent events in democratic countries have allowed for doubt that the intelligence of the masses will guide humanity safely and peacefully through time: the rise of right wing parties in Europe and a general disenchantment with politics.

The Sino-African investment discourse in the broader topic of African development has two major narratives: Firstly, China as the savior of Africa’s development after decades of failed Western development aid, and secondly, China as the devil, who exploits poor weak African states. For a bachelor thesis, I went to explore the perceptions involved in this issue in the Zambian construction sector.