The Role of External Actors in Africa:Setting the Debate

The most important development in Africa’s international relations since the end of the Cold War is the rise of China. This has the potential to tear down pre-existing concepts and long-held friendships.

As Africans seek more voice at a global stage, struggle to develop mechanisms and build capacity to more effectively respond to their multidimensional development and security challenges; there is a growing awareness of the additional complexity introduced by new geopolitical issues. First is the rise of China and its growing involvement in Africa. The most important development in Africa’s international relations since the end of the Cold War is the rise of China. This has the potential to tear down pre-existing regional initiatives and long-held friendships. It is almost impossible to think about Africa and its future role in addressing its own development and security challenges without also thinking about China. Second is the increasing military engagement of the US and the potential impact of the war on terror exemplified by the establishment of a new unified command for Africa, known as AFRICOM.  The growing involvement of China in Africa feeds into the new military profile of the US. The increasing interest in the continent’s energy resources, manifested for example in the growing importance of the Gulf of Guinea further threatens to compound an already fragmented diplomatic terrain.

Third is the recent encroachment of NATO into the margins of Africa’s security terrain. A new and underreported phenemoenon.Fourth and largely unchartered territory is the continued infiltrations by private security actors into the African security terrain. Fifth is the increasing role of some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in conflicts in the continent, particularly the Horn of African region which has its own unique features. Not totally unrelated to the above is the increasing primacy of security threats (both in deeds and discourse) that matter less to Africa, in the West which relegate the real African security imperatives into a side show. Evidently, the emergence of new powers threatens to alter the very ideas on which Africa’s security and development strategies are based. The rise of China is both an opportunity and a challenge. In terms of values, principles and norms the continent may face a risky relationship with China. Until Africa is united and gets its house in order relations with new powers will remain fundamentally insecure. Meanwhile, old powers are reorienting and retooling themselves in order to respond to the new complexity in Africa’s international relations.

-    What particular challenges do these increased roles by old and new powers pose for the development of African home grown approaches to their security and development challenges? Is there a potential threat to the vision of African union?
-    Will the rise of China usher in a new set of political conditions for durable solutions to the security challenges in Africa? What does this mean on the progress achieved thus far in terms of citizens’ aspirations for peace, security and good governance and the institutional capacity for peace-related activities, which has been expanding for the last fifteen years?
-    Are the concerns expressed over these increased roles over-exaggerated? Will Africa be more secure and will it move toward sustainable growth and development as a result of more active engagement (and possible rivalry) by China and the US?
-    What particular opportunities and challenges does the increased role by the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), often BRICS (to include South Africa) pose for the development of African ‘home grown’ approaches to their security and development challenges.
-    Are we witnessing an emergence of a Cold War-like era in Africa characterized by global power competition over resources (rather than ideology)? Should Africa take a collective approach to dealing with such a competition? Is a common policy possible?
-    How can Africa engineer coherence and more focused engagement with external actors at both continental and regional levels?

One major focus of the currentanalyst.com is the role of external actors in Africa. The goal is to cultivate curiosity, encourage debate, canvass and recast contemporary voices so as to help identify strategies to ensure that Africa is able to clearly define its interests towards emerging powers in a way it is beneficial to the continent. Leading African experts are invited to share their views aimed at stimulating discussion and extracting policy recommendations.