Within the context of Sino-African relations, the issue of connectivity has become a core element of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since its inception in 2013. Railway and road architectures, harbour and airport developments all are part of the Chinese cobweb that will facilitate the growingly more dominant position of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the international arena.
Africa's Railway Renaissance is a timely academic piece looking at the multifaceted nature of Chinese railway projects across the African continent, offering a cross-disciplinary investigation of China-built railways in Africa in a historical perspective. Six case studies from Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia enrich the empirically strong account that is finely sewn through the entire volume. The book is dedicated to Professor Ian Taylor who untimely passed away in 2021 and with whom the editors cherished a close scholarly and friendly relationship and whose ‘critical voice’ they miss (and this feeling is shared by many others of us).
Following the Introduction by the editors, which puts forward a profound analytical framework and the structure of the book, there is a fundamental question about railway politics across the continent: whether or not this contemporary renaissance is leading towards connectivity or derailment, which ‘calls for context-sensitive analyses of specific railway projects […] to improve our understanding of the multi-dimensional and multi-scalar repercussion’ (p. 11) of the Sino-African collaborative context. A ‘key determinant for the future’ will include the question of ‘railway debt […] and the wider issue of access to infrastructure finance for African governments’ (p. 13). All these need to be dealt with in a global scene of geopolitical–geoeconomic contest among the U.S., the European Union and the emerging economies of a changing world order.
In chapter 2, Tim Zajontz sets the context of China's changing political economy for a better understanding of Africa's railway renaissance. Along the ‘Railway Economic Belt’ of the BRI he highlights the question of ownership (p. 33), the contradictions of the ‘debt trap’ narrative (p. 38), and arrives at the conclusion that ‘localization strategies’ (p. 43) are of utmost importance for the African side to create and maintain their own capacities for the future.
Otiso and Carmody continue in chapter 3 with the dynamics of rail transportation in African spaces drawing attention to the continent's ‘path-dependent spatial urban development patterns’, which they say, ‘Chinese railways do not seem to be meaningfully changing’ (p. 51). The authors spend sufficient time on the AIHSRN and several interconnecting issues such as corruption, local production capacities and Chinese strategic interests. Their arguments are supported by tables of crucial data and neatly illustrated by maps – this latter tool would have been badly needed also in several of the forthcoming chapters.
Chapter 4 written by Liu Haifang is a fine analysis of the continent's emblematic railway, the TAZARA, connecting Zambia and Tanzania in East Africa with its ‘enduring relevance for South-South cooperation’ (p. 68). Probably this paper could have followed the more general analytical pieces, which are presented in chapters 5 and 6. First, Bagwandeen writes about regional integration and the African rail sector, also touching upon African Integrated High Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN), adding the dimension of Chinese technology and its challenges for Africa (pp. 95–99). Here, even more than previously, several map illustrations would have helped the reader to navigate through the regions. Then, Zajontz discusses ‘the intricacies of regionalizing Africa's railway renaissance’ in light of China's global efforts for connectivity. Taking the case of the East African Community, Zajontz points out that there is rather a ‘railway patchwork instead of seamless connectivity’ (p. 128) and adds the dimension of ‘road-rail competition’ (p. 129) to be included in any of the state's spatial strategic plans.
Talking more about ‘railway patchwork’, in chapter 7, Mouhamed Bayane Bouraima and Qiu Yanjun analyse railway constructions in the West African region (p. 137) opening their work with a great map followed by highly detailed tables about the historical developments. For the sake of successful regional implementation of integrative projects, they also underline the need for more enhanced political and bureaucratic cooperation, as well as more thorough design of financial sustainability, in sum, better planning (pp. 154–156).
Chapters 8–12 are dedicated to important case studies: first, Lechini, Dussort and Marchetti write about ‘Nigeria's unfinished Lagos-Kano railway project’ (p. 162), which is followed by Taylor's critical paper about the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) of Kenya, which was first published in African Studies Quarterly (ASQ). In the closing twelfth chapter, the SGR returns with an engaging text by Lamarque who concentrates on ‘how the railway influences everyday lives and how it is perceived by those who make use of it’, based on ‘over 50 hours of interaction with passengers inside the SGR's carriages and terminals’ (p. 241). This chapter is preceded by Bar-David and Schler's discussion of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway (chapter 10) and Duarte and Santos’ work on the Benguela Railway and the Lobito Corridor (chapter 11). In this latter piece, some captivating field photos demonstrate again the more internal perspectives.
In sum, Africa's Railway Renaissance is a truly insightful book grounded in nuanced empirical settings, presenting the balanced and well-argumented scholarly work of seventeen well-versed authors. I recommend it not only to the members of the worldwide China–Africa research community, but also to a general public, who want to understand the present and potential future of Africa's transportation connectivity.
