China and African Parliaments shortlisted for L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize
Congratulations to SSE's Senior Lecturer in African Politics, Ib Innocent Batsani-Ncube for making the shortlist in the L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First book Prize 2026.
Ib’s book, China and African Parliaments, examines China's expanding influence in African legislatures, using parliament buildings as a novel lens through which to understand China–Africa relations.
The L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize, awarded by the British International Studies Association (BISA), recognises original and innovative first books published in any field of International Studies by an early-career scholar.
China and African Parliaments is the first book to systematically examine China's expanding influence in African legislatures.
The book draws on eight months of mixed-method fieldwork in Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, including direct access to all three Chinese-financed buildings, interviews with political and civil society elites, and focus groups with ordinary citizens.
In the book, Ib makes the case that China's donation of parliament buildings represents a strategic effort to cultivate long-term institutional influence.