Without Dreams in Sihanoukville: Chinese and Cambodian Construction Labor Struggles

Labor is a lightning rod for judgments of the benefits of the Belt and Road: Will Chinese projects generate work opportunities for the host country? Do Chinese employers follow different labor standards than others? When and how do workers speak out against poor labor conditions?

Ivan Franceschini brings a few new angles to the labor question. He knows the domestic labor situation in China well, and draws connections between the domestic context and what is happening in Cambodia today. In his Cambodia research, he looks not only at Cambodian workers but also Chinese workers in the country, and finds more similarities between their precarity than often understood.

Read a few of his new articles, "As far apart as earth and sky," "Outsourcing Exploitation," and "At the Roots of Labour Activism."

And check out our recommendations:

Ivan:

1) Briefing Paper: Reassessing China's Investment Footprint in Cambodia by Mark Grimsditch, Inclusive Development International

Juliet:

1) Afterlives of Chinese Communism (ed. Ivan Franceschini, Nicholas Loubere, Christian Sorace)

2) Dreamwork China (Documentary)

3) Boramey: Ghosts in the Factory (Documentary - coming soon!)

Erik:

1) Belt and Road Decision-Making in China and Recipient Countries: How and To What Extent Does Sustainability Matter? by Thomas hale, Chuyu Liu, Johannes Urpelainen

2) Michael Clayton (film) :)