Vliv čínských investic na hlasování států v OSN: komparativní studie Keni a Ghany

This thesis examines whether and how the volume of Chinese state investment affects the voting behavior of Ghana and Kenya at the UN General Assembly between 2006 and 2022. Drawing on a comparative case study based on the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD), the thesis combines a quantitative analysis of Lijphart's Index of Agreement with a theoretical framework grounded in world-systems theory and dependency theory. The empirical analysis found no statistically significant correlation between the annual volume of Chinese financial commitments and the degree of voting alignment (Spearman's ρ = 0.034 for Ghana, ρ = −0.389 for Kenya). Both countries nevertheless display a persistently high level of voting alignment with China regardless of year-to-year investment fluctuations, suggesting that diplomatic convergence is not the result of instrumental vote-buying but reflects a deeper structural dependency of peripheral economies on the China. The qualitative analysis further confirms that, even in the immediate aftermath of historically peak investment inflows, both countries retain diplomatic autonomy on sensitive normative issues. The thesis thus contributes to the debate on the mechanisms of Chinese influence in Africa and nuances simplified narratives about a direct link between investment and political loyalty.