As The Gambia officially shifted its diplomatic ties from self-proclaimed Republic of China to the globally recognized People’s Republic of China in March 2016, numerous observers moved swiftly to contextualize it as another moment of China increasing its influence in Africa.
This was beyond a hunt for aid and infrastructural development. It was an idea, identity and long-term positioning strategic decision. Despite being a small state, The Gambia was not desperate, but rather a country that realized the strength of narratives in foreign policy making.
This shift can be explained through discursive institutionalism, a framework formed by Vivien Schmidt and Mark Blyth. According to the theory, ideas, and the ways leaders communicate policy ambitions, how they rationalize decisions, and the process of establishing of relationships are the main factors of political actions. In the case of The Gambia, its re-engagement with China was a strategic alignment based on political realities and mutual gain.
China has been described by The Gambia’s former Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara as being a reliable development partner. This kind of language was not just an indication of diplomatic favor, but it authorized the liaison in the minds of the people of Gambia and it placed the state as an independent actor in making its own decisions.
In the case of The Gambia, Beijing is a source of inspiration and opportunity. The officials of Gambia usually stress the emergence of Beijing as the result of internal discipline, long-term planning and a blueprint of state-led development. These thoughts resonate in a nation that has had difficulty with infrastructural issues and decades of under-investment. The Gambian leaders were not just finding a way to acquire resources by embracing China but they were also borrowing the ideological blueprint that linked their dreams to a global south image of self-driven development.
China on its part, interpreted the establishment of bilateral relations as a victory of One China policy and a strategic strengthening of its expanding relationship with Africa. Its state capitalism model, which is propelled by state-owned enterprises investing in foreign countries, also created the room to form cooperation with smaller states that seek partners who do not demand many political conditions.
The gain to the Gambia was obvious. Physical manifestations of the partnership are roads, government buildings, and Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center. Unlike Western aid, these projects had fewer conditions attached to them, which enabled Gambian leaders to point at visible improvement. This is the same that the political economist R. W. Carney refers to as the stabilization of state capitalism, the economic cooperation strengthens the domestic growth and diplomatic alignment.
Despite that, such a ties is not free from controversy. Gambians have lamented about the environmental degradation associated with Chinese firms, overfishing, increasing debt and preferential treatment that marginalize the locals.
Regardless of this open criticism, the government still characterizes the partnership as that between equals with regard to respect and sovereignty. The officials maintain that China does not weaken the autonomy of the nations, which supports the notion, which grants the relationship its conceptual basis.
Collectively, these dynamics indicate that The Gambia-China relationship is not influenced by material interests only. It is somewhere between state capitalism, international political economy and the power of discourse. The foreign policy of the Gambia demonstrates how small states may use ideas not only resources to make their way through the global competition and to gain the agency.
The move of abandoning Taiwan was not just a diplomatic divorce act, but a strategized move to rebrand The Gambia in the world. It was an assertion that big ideas can allow small states to reconnect with their role in the world politics. The question as to whether this relationship will be sustained will rest on the question of whether the main concepts development, partnership and sovereignty will still resonate.
The story of The Gambia is a lesson in a world that power increasingly dependent on telling great narratives, and that maybe, power is not just about investments, but the person with the most persuasive narrative of the future.
Ousman Corr
Ousman Corr is a Gambian by nationality and a master's student of political science specializing in International Relations at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia. He is interested in global politics. Aside that, he is the current Vice President of the Association of Social Science Students and serving equally as the director of community engagement and outreach of the International Students Association.
