Chinese Peacebuilding and Local Perceptions : A Field Study in Mozambique

Abstract: The liberal peace has been the predominant understanding of what peace is and how it can be achieved. The liberal peacebuilding consensus has encountered new approaches where democratization and institution-building are not as important as capacity-building and infrastructure projects. The purpose with this study is to analyze local perceptions of Chinese activities in Mozambique to promote stability and development, especially against the backdrop of the emphasis on democracy in liberal peacebuilding. Interviews have been conducted with 20 Mozambicans, focusing on their perceptions on Chinese activities in Mozambique, and how they contribute to peace and development. The results from the interviews showed that the respondents favored China’s non-interference policy over conditionalities, while at the same time emphasizing that conditionalities are important for the promotion of institution-building and transparency. The respondents, however, would not like to choose one approach over the other, and argue that both approaches are necessary in the sense that they complement each other where the other one fails.