It has been reported that Chinese Embassy officials in Botswana have been “scrambling to stop Botswana from opening its doors to the Dalai Lama.” Beijing has indicated that allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Botswana would set back relations between the two countries. This has raised concerns that Botswana will suffer economic repercussion at the hands of China, and raises questions of whether the Dalai Lama is worth all the trouble we will encounter with China. The other question is what is Botswana’s interest in hosting Dalai Lama, over the possible economic repercussions.
To answer, I will address the issue from a national interest perspective. I will also highlight some cases of countries that have been ‘punished’ by China over Dalai Lama, and conclude that Beijing may be forced to restrain any attempt of an iron-hand on Gaborone. The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d’État (“reason of State”), is a country’s goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. National interests are the vital interests of a state of which survival is the first and foremost interest.
