Paper short abstract:

Chinese environmental footprint in Africa is multidimensional but non-state actors are emerging as important elements in many contexts. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper interrogates Stonebwoy's song - ie. "Greedy Men" - as a response to Chinese environmental footprint in Ghana.

Paper long abstract:

Non-state actors are critical elements in Africa-China environmental relations. While their diversity (in terms of focus, target, approach, etc.) is not in doubt, this paper focus on the artistic expression of a Ghanaian musician, Livingstone Etse Satekla popularly know by his stage name Stonebwoy. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this intervention specifically unpacks the context, timing, and response to Stonebwoy's "Greedy Men" that expresses arguably the strongest criticism against Chinese involvement in illegal gold mining (or galamsey) in Ghana. Beyond drawing attention to his rendition of Chinese involvement in galamsey, this paper builds on an earlier argument that non-state actors offer "points of engagements" in Africa-China relations - sometimes within a context where the African State has failed (or where it is failing or slow). In the case of "Greedy Men," while this paper highlights the song's core arguments it also strongly illustrates important questions about the limits of music as a tool for social change. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that artistic expressions, like the one by Stonebwoy, could at least dent (if not limit) China's soft power in Africa and negatively impact people-to-people relations.