Laughing about Corruption in Ethiopian-Chinese Encounters

In Ethiopia, the growing Chinese presence has inspired lively debate, often with an edge of humor. Corruption is one of the recurring topics in amusing narratives that circulate on and off the Chinese-run building sites that have emerged across the Ethiopian landscape over the past two decades. While humorous corruption stories hint at the possibility of corruption and introduce the audience to the cultural codes of conduct, corrupt practices, equally aided by laughter, create instances of collaboration and complicity. Corruption in cross-cultural encounters serves as a lens through which to imagine the Other and evaluate their behavior, and by drawing those complicit in corrupt transactions into shared (im)moral worlds, it generates opportunities for rapprochement. [corruption, humor, encounter, Ethiopia, China]