Cameroon Innovation in a changing geopolitical context (original) (raw)
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june, 2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Globalization has substantially increased the movement of people, technology, capital goods and services among nations in the world. In in Marshall Mc Luchan words, the world has become a “global village”. A major instigator of globalization has been trade. Not only has trade made countries more connected, it has equally increased and boosted the economic growth of many countries and their standard of living. Sadly, the benefits of trade have not been parallel for all countries. While most developing countries used trade as a lift for economic development, many developing countries especially in sub-Sahara Africa have gained very little from trading. At the level of a country, trade is usually influenced by trade reforms and trade agreements countries initiate. Recently with the, with the UK leaving the EU and the US president Donald Trump condemning trade deals for the jobless of American workers, trade deal have once again gotten the attention of many politicians. In 2014, Cameroon recently signed an Economic partnership agreement with the EU. The aim of our research was to access if this trade deal has and will be beneficial to Cameroon, especially in terms of promoting importation of capital goods required for innovation and promoting exportation as a result of the learning effect generated by trading. Additionally, we also investigated which sectors of activities will be ideal. Government or private sector investment. If Cameroon wanted to diversify and increase its export to the EU and other nations in the world. The purpose is to help developing countries. Particularly, Cameroon access the impact of trade deal on their economy and invest in those sectors with the highest export potential. We mostly used secondary data on trade from the EU trade commission and the World Integrated Trade Solutions. We equally used the product space concept developed by Hausmann et al as the bases for analytical framework of sectors of activities. Our main findings were that despite trade openness (EPA) with the EU, Cameroon overall trade with the EU has been reducing, secondly, although for some sectors, export is on the rise suggesting a learning by exporting effect. The overall export of Cameroon to the EU is reducing, despite the fact that tariffs were lifted on the importation of capital goods of Cameroon, the value of imported good from the EU has been dropping. Therefore, the EPA has not been beneficial to Cameroon. We recommend that the Cameroon government shall take additional measure that will help Cameroon benefit more from the EPA deal for instance investing more in R&D for products sold in the EU or establishing institutions that support local firms to trade more with the EU. We equally found evidence that textile and clothing was the most suitable sector for government investment since it had a low complexity and large product community
The innovation imperative: technology and US–China rivalry in the twenty-first century
International Affairs, 2018
International Relations scholars have long recognized that technology plays a critical role in power transitions, but the field lacks a framework to understand how technology and innovation strategies generate rivalry between dominant and rising states. With an empirical focus on contemporary United States–China relations, this paper addresses that gap. We identify the ‘innovation imperative’ that drives rising states to pursue technological modernity, and highlight two ways in which this pursuit can challenge the strategic interests of the dominant state. First, the dominant state experiences a significant impairment of its security environment: negative security externalities. Second, the dominant state experiences a threat to its preferred international order: negative order externalities. We further explain how the dominant state responds to the negative externalities generated by the rising state’s pursuit of innovation. By theorizing the technological rivalry between rising and dominant states, we move beyond the traditional focus on military conflict in power transitions and offer new insight into the current dynamics in US–China relations.
African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2014
A new 'scramble for Africa' is presently underway. Unlike that of the late 19th century, this second scramble does not rely upon the capture of assets through extraterritorial force. This time around the capture is not overtly violent, being advanced in the person of multinational corporations, both private and state-owned. The new scramble is intimately linked to the emergence of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Inevitably, African states face difficult choices in their engagement with the state and non-state actors of the BRICS countries. Many African states have weak institutions-administrative, health, education and communications included. In the attempt to advance development, some states have adopted resource nationalism, which has emerged as a response to the new modes of exploitation. There is also evidence of a return to the promotion of the developmental state, an idea that was pushed aside during the triumphal phase of neo-liberalism of the last decades of the twentieth century. These dynamics hold the possibility that resource rents could be deployed generally to energise institutions, and particularly to grow country innovation systems. At present only two African countries, Tunisia and South Africa, display strongly diversified economies that host functioning and reasonably well-articulated innovation systems. Elsewhere, African economies are highly dependent on the primary sector and their innovation systems are emergent or disarticulated. Botswana stands out as an example of a state that has successfully played the resource nationalism card. This paper sets out to explore the politico-economic implications of the BRICS vis-á-vis Africa; the phenomenon of resource nationalism in the context of the developmental state; the nature of African innovation systems; and the possibilities of leveraging financial resources toward economic diversification and innovation system development and consolidation. There is a dearth of studies that locate innovation policy within larger social, political and economic structures. This paper seeks thereby to break this new ground.
A new 'scramble for Africa' is presently underway. Unlike that of the late 19th century, this second scramble does not rely upon the capture of assets through extra-territorial force. This time around the capture is not overtly violent, being advanced in the person of multinational corporations, both private and state-owned. The new scramble is intimately linked to the emergence of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Inevitably, African states face difficult choices in their engagement with the state and non-state actors of the BRICS countries. Many African states have weak institutions - administrative, health, education and communications included. In the attempt to advance development, some states have adopted resource nationalism, which has emerged as a response to the new modes of exploitation. There is also evidence of a return to the promotion of the developmental state, an idea that was pushed aside during the triumphal phase of neo-liberalism ...
The Review of International Affairs, 2023
The aim of this paper is to project the future dynamics of US-China relations and assess the associated risks of bifurcation of the global economy between the two blocs. The United States and China face a strategic paradox in their long-term competition to research, develop, and acquire new and emerging technologies. In the commercial sphere, the two nations’ research and development (R&D) of emerging technologies is now deeply integrated, potentially providing mutual benefits to each country’s markets. However, despite their commercial interconnectedness, national security planners in each country continue to view each other as potential adversaries. By using the methods of explanatory research and an inductive approach for analysing the management of technological innovation and economic development, the authors argue that China’s economic transformation towards the upper end of global industrial value chains and the seizure of entire product ranges or supply chains have put at risk the US’s hegemonic status. By imposing export sanctions, the United States is trying to force technological decoupling and disable the functioning of global supply chains in the domains critical for Chinese high-tech in order to slow down or contain China’s technological and economic rise. Consequently, the conclusion drawn is that the United States will continue its efforts to maintain primacy over China in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and nanotechnology, by mobilising investments in research and development as well as by using export bans and other kinds of sanctions. In this way, it is likely that a state of cohabitation between the two trading blocs will be developed, which would create the conditions for the evolution of the strained relations between the US and China.
Journal of African Union Studies, 2019
The Cameroon-China relationship is perceived as developing strong reliance on China to provide economic means for infrastructure development in bilateral cooperation. Divided views have been circulating in both academic and political sphere regarding China’s genuine intention and its presence in African countries. This paper investigates how the economic cooperation with China affectsthe socio-economic situation of Cameroon from a domestic point of view. Interviews of key stakeholders were conducted. A survey was also undertaken regarding the general perception of Chinese infrastructural projects among Cameroonians. Our findings indicate that Chinese companies are presenting good records on the realization of infrastructural projects in Cameroon. However, there are some limitations that need to be addressed in order to improve the efficiency of projects and lead to a mutual and sustainable China-Cameroon cooperation for years to come.
US-China Technological Rivalry and its Implications for the Three Seas Initiative (3SI
European Research Studies Journal, 2020
Purpose: The article aims to explore the motivations and balance of power in the US-China technological rivalry in the semiconductor and AI sectors. The secondary goal is to explain how changes in the distribution of power between China and the US affect the behaviors and security of the 3SI. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors adopt the neorealist approach, which focuses on the analysis of structural shifts in the distribution of material power among China and the US and their influence on states' behaviors. The paper focuses on the semiconductor and Artificial Intelligence (AI) sectors as they are considered to play a crucial role in the economic development in the first half of the 21st century. Findings: Microprocessors and AI are identified as the key technologies for successful internal and external threat balancing, ensuring state security in the medium-and long-term. It is also argued that systemic US-China rivalry imposes structural stresses on the international system, and this process also exerts influence on the security in the 3SI region. Governments of 3SI are prompted to reduce the scale of cooperation with China by adopting a more restrictive approach toward the 5G procurement rules, digital infrastructure, and Foreign Direct Investment. China's rising technological capabilities serve as the primary motivation behind the US efforts to create the block of democratic digital economies oriented toward balancing China's rising power. Practical implications: Given the increasingly competitive nature of the international economy, it becomes imperative for state actors to promote the innovation-driven development which guarantees the advancement in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and sustained high growth rates. Originality/Value: The analysis provides a concise assessment of the state of technological rivalry between the US and China as well as insights into how this process may influence regional initiatives and frameworks.
Technological Innovations and Africa's Quest for Development in the 21st Century
Technology is generally seen as a significant tool for development while technological innovations connote better ways of achieving results. This chapter assesses different areas countries can experience technological innovations and notes that most African countries are lagging below expectations in this regards using secondary data sourced from International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Statistical Divisions (UNSTAT), among others. From the analytical perspective, the chapter established that the low levels of technological innovations in Africa is one of the major reasons why the continent remains in the low developmental echelon compared to other regions of the world. Thus, this chapter submits that adequate efforts should be placed on functional education, health system and technology related innovation programs. Besides, Africa and indeed all developing world must revamp their infrastructures, especially transportation, power and communication towards development in the 21st century.