China, Oil, and Political Crises in South Sudan and the Middle EastFriday, 21 February 2014, 14.00-16.30Danish Institute for International StudiesMain AuditoriumGammel Kalkbrænderi Vej 51A, Reception, 2100 Copenhagen

Background

This event is a book launch forThe New Kings of Crude: China, India, and the Global Struggle forOil in Sudan and South Sudan(C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd., 2014) written by DIIS SeniorResearcher Luke Patey.China is Africa’s largest trading partner and a major investor in oil and mining industries. TheMiddle East is a vital source of oil for China’s burgeoning domestic economy. But unfoldingpolitical turmoil and conflicts in South Sudan and the Middle East have challenged China’s oilinvestments and economic interests. The upheaval has forced Chinese national oil companies toadapt their investment approaches and pushed the Chinese government to the limits of itslongstanding foreign policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of foreign countries.This event will explore China’s evolving approach to political instability in Africa and the MiddleEast (Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Iran). China’s renewed engagement in both regions offers bothopportunities and challenges to development and stability.

The Book

The need for oil in Asia’s new industrial powers, China and India, has grown dramatically.The NewKings of Crudetakes the reader from the dusty streets of an African capital to Asia’s glisteningcorporate towers to provide a first look at how the world’s rising economies established newinternational oil empires in Sudan, amid one of Africa’s longest-running and deadliest civil wars.For over a decade, Sudan fuelled the international rise of Chinese and Indian national oilcompanies. But the political turmoil surrounding the historic division of Africa’s largest country,with the birth of South Sudan, challenged Asia’s oil giants to chart a new course.Luke Patey weaves together the stories of hardened oilmen, powerful politicians, rebel fighters, andhuman rights activists to show how the lure of oil brought China and India into Sudan - only laterto ensnare both in the messy politics of a divided country. His book also introduces the reader tothe Chinese and Indian oilmen and politicians who were willing to become entangled in an Africancivil war in the pursuit of the world’s most coveted resource. It offers a portrait of the challengesChina and India are increasingly facing as emerging powers in the world.

Speakers

Luke Pateyis a senior researcher at DIIS. He has written for The Guardian, the Hindu, and is co-editor ofSudan Looks East: China, India, and the Politics of Asian Alternatives(James Currey,2011).Wang Suolaois an associate professor and director of the Center for Middle East Studies in theSchool of International Studies at Peking University. He is one of China’s leading scholars onChina’s foreign relations with the Middle East and North Africa.

Programme

More details about the seminar are available on ourwebsite.

Practical Information

A limited number of copies ofThe New Kings of Crudewill be available for purchase at a reducedprice of 150 kr. Please remember to bring cash as sales cannot be made with credit card or Dankort.The book launch will beheld in English.Participation isfree of charge,butregistration is required.Please use ouronline registration formno later than

Thursday, 20 February 2014 at 12.00 noon.

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.Sincerely,

Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)

The Conference SectionØstbanegade 117DK-2100 Copenhagen ØDenmarkPh. (+45) 32 69 86 60E-mail:[email protected]Web:www.diis.dkFeel free to forward this invitation to others with a potential interest in the seminar.For other public DIIS meetings, please visit our website onwww.diis.dk.If you did not receive this invitation directly from DIIS and wish to receive invitations to futureevents at DIIS, please use the following link:www.diis.dk/sw7899.aspIf you no longer wish to receive invitations directly from DIIS, please send an e-mail about this to[email protected](and please remember to state your name and organisation).Please note that DIIS is not responsible for invitations forwarded to you by others.