“What can Africa make of this new interest by China and India on African affairs,
political and economic? This paper lays out a framework for the study of one dimension of these issues, the interplay between politics at the international and the domestic arenas, focusing on the interaction between politics and economics (or the relationship between security interests and trade alliance). Of interest with regards to political economy are those that address the role of the state in promoting economic growth. In the phraseology of Bates (1997), open-economy politics is premised on exchange and bargaining whereas international affairs or security studies is premised on threat and conflict. However, by premising international politics on peace and
prosperity, we seek to render inseparable, security studies and political economy. In this, we emphasize the joint consideration of the political origins of domestic economic policy and the international determinants of domestic policy; a matter that should be of interest in exploring the present and future impact of Asian Drivers on the Africa region. “
