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Human Security in a Transboundary Context: A Case Study of the Chinese-Built Road Project in Kenya

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Abstract

This article measures human security in a China-Kenya project under UNDP’s framework through questionnaires. We compare the perceived human security of Chinese employees with that of their Kenyan counterparts and reveal an imbalance in human security. Both groups perceive most insecure about community and politics and the Kenyan group exhibits a greater overall sense of insecurity. The company provides a highly-imbalanced level of support to each group. Payment, working time, and working environment threaten both groups, and the Kenyan group remains particularly concerned about job security. Irrespective of nationality, individuals in managerial roles perceive more security and supports compared to regular workers. These trans-hierarchical disparities in human security intersect with transboundary differences during globalization.

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Notes

  1. The topic of camps has long been of interest in African studies. Scholars such as Rubbers (2019) and Fei (2020) have examined camps as tangible manifestations of the interplay between global capitalism and local contexts, where provision of camps is contingent upon the involvement of either foreigners or locals. In this case, project only offers accommodations for Chinese employees.

  2. There were only 627 local workers and 23 Chinese employees working in the project when distributing the questionnaire. The number of employees often changes due to job transfer, vacation, resignation, informal jobs, and other factors.

  3. The low percentage might be attributed to that some Kenyan respondents worried about the confidentiality of the data. During the survey, although we guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality, many Kenyan respondents still kept asking whether the company would obtain the data or not.

  4. The average youth unemployment rate is 38%, and that of Nairobi city and Kiambu is 42.8% and 37.1% respectively (KNBS, 2020).

  5. We partly ascribe this illusion to anxious environment. As Glück (2017) points out, checkpoints and security searches, forming anxious subjects, newly appear at where the daily activities of elite and middle-class happen such as malls, fine restaurants, office buildings, housing complexes, and hotels. These places are also where Chinese people, including our Chinese interviewees, frequently visit.

  6. The vast number of victims and targets of terrorism are native Kenyans. The major terrorist events in last 25 years include 1998 US Embassy bombing, 2002 Kikambala Hotel attack, 2012 al-Shabaab attacks, 2013 Westgate Mall shootings, the 2014 Mpeketoni attacks, 2014 Mpeketoni attacks, the 2015 Garissa University massacre, the 2019 attack on the DusitD2 hotel complex and the 2020 Camp Simba attack. None of them targeted Chinese and very few foreigners died, and the last 10 years of attacks were all targeting Kenyans.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the contribution from all respondents in this Kenya Road Construction Project. We also thank Ms. Bo Meng and Ms. Qin qin from China-Africa Leadership Development Institute, Tsinghua University. We appreciate Prof. Gituro Wainaina from University of Nairobi, and Dr. Jeremiah O. Asaka from Sam Houston State University for their advice on the early edition.

Funding

Major Special Project of National Social Science Fund [grant numbers 18VDL015] and Research Project of China International Communications Group [grant numbers 23GCNLJS-23].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Urban Governance and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Shuangqing Building 4#, Haidian District, Beijing, China

    Aobo Ran

  2. Think Tank Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Aobo Ran

  3. Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Chenggang Zhang

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  1. Aobo Ran
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Correspondence to Aobo Ran.

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Ran, A., Zhang, C. Human Security in a Transboundary Context: A Case Study of the Chinese-Built Road Project in Kenya. Soc Indic Res 170, 427–446 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03205-7

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