Abstract

Extant literature has explored the effects of foreign aid on armed conflicts and state repression, but not public demonstrations. This article compares distribution patterns of Chinese and World Bank-funded projects and public demonstrations in Cameroon receiving predominantly Chinese official finance and Uganda receiving predominantly traditional, Western aid. Distributive patterns suggest negative and positive associations between Chinese and traditional official finance on the one hand and public demonstrations on the other. However, with respect to anti-project demonstrations specifically, I find through fieldwork interviews in Cameroon that, Chinese-funded projects are more prone to antiproject demonstrations owing to less stringent risk management standards.