China’s Weapons Transfer in the Western Hemisphere

Speaker: Dr Carlos Solar, University of Oxford

 

What characterises China’s weapons diplomacy and how does it unfold in the current security scenario in the Western Hemisphere? This presentation argues that Chinese arms deliveries have arrived in the region together with the expansion of commerce and trade routes as evidenced in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In Latin America and the Caribbean, states seek to buy weapons in light of contentious border hot spots and intrastate rampant violence. China is a wilful seller and, to accomplish this, it has developed a weapons transfer policy taking advantage of the post-hegemony of the United States. Beijing’s successes could reverse due to the lack of interstate armed conflict, and the less belligerent military missions adopted by the armed forces. Yet, Chinese arms transfers in the Western Hemisphere and other parts of the developing world reveal a complex security governance regime where the military, industry, and diplomatic policy communities interact. The author surveys China’s weapons transfer governance as part of its foreign policy and considers how such policies reflect on global norms of peace and cooperation. By studying the impact on Sino arms sales, scholars can further understand China’s policy of reform and opening up to the world and what role diplomacy military policy has in these developments.

 

Dr Carlos Solar is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Latin American Centre in the University of Oxford. Carlos’ research agenda focuses on the theoretical intersection of security governance and the fields of public policy and international relations. His intellectual curiosity is driven by questioning how multiple policy actors come together to create different inter-institutional governance networks across periods of time. He was awarded in May 2016 with the prize for the Best Article published by a member of the Defence, Public Security and Democracy section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). Prior to joining Oxford, Carlos was Research Fellow in Public Policy and Associate Lecturer at the Department of Politics in the University of York from 2015 to 2017.

 

 

20 oct seminar

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credit: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro (CC BY 2.0)