Chinese debt trap diplomacy : exploring the political narratives by opposition parties in Nigeria and Zambia

Abstract

This research explores how Nigerian and Zambian opposition political parties frame and strategically use the Chinese Debt Trap Diplomacy (DTD) narrative to challenge the legitimacy of incumbent governments. Although the DTD narrative has become popular globally and is widely explained as a geopolitical strategy employed by China to expand its influence using unsustainable lending, this work redirects analytical attention to the actions of African political elites. The critique contends that opposition parties reinterpret the DTD script under domestic political circumstances to suit party political agendas, applying it to depict governing parties as corrupt, fiscally irresponsible, and guilty of compromising national sovereignty.The research uses qualitative methodology grounded in critical discourse analysis, sampling from political speeches, parliamentary reports, media releases, and policy documents between 2015 and 2023. The analytical model borrows from DeBoom's Geopolitical Narrative Theory and Walter Fisher's Narrative Paradigm, which advances the argument that a narrative succeeds only to the extent that it is internally coherent and consistent with the values of the audience (fidelity). The study addresses the following three main questions: how do opposition parties construct the DTD narrative, whom do they address, and how and when do they disseminate it? Evidence supports that opposition forces in both countries react to construct the DTD narrative, not to blame the Chinese intention, but to portray the ruling elites as public trust violators. In Nigeria, opposition communication is future-oriented and symbolic, emphasizing potential dangers to national sovereignty; in Zambia, it is crisis-oriented and rooted in an acquired economic experience. Target audiences vary: in Nigeria, opposition communication targets urban, professional, and youth segments of the electorate, whereas in Zambia it appeals more strongly to economically hard-pressed and rural segments. They are used intentionally during election cycles, periods of economic distress, and controversial policy battles, periods when there is heightened political agitation and more public criticism. The findings of the study are twofold. Theoretically, it demonstrates the malleability of global scripts in local political contexts and affirms the precedence of narratives in democratic contention. Practically, it illustrates the political risk of secret loan agreements and the requirement for openness in development finance. The research recommends that incumbent governments establish parliamentary oversight of foreign borrowings, that opposition parties focus their criticisms on evidence-based arguments, and that Chinese lenders adopt more transparent and inclusive engagement cultures in Africa. This research ultimately enriches knowledge concerning the localization, politicization, and deployment of global economic narratives within African democracies, thus showcasing narrative processes engaged in elite contestation during globalization.