U.S. interests in Africa
Africa's latest trend toward independence and its desire to get rid of Western influence clearly frightens Washington, and the U.S. does not hide its concern about the growing role of Russia and China on the continent. In early January, CIA Director William Burns flew to Somalia and Kenya on a surprise visit, meeting with the presidents of the two countries and holding a series of secret meetings right on board his plane. The U.S. permanent representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with a diplomatic mission. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken went on a tour of African countries; he visited Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola.
The head of the U.S. Department of State reported on the desire to intensify cooperation in all spheres and stated the importance of the African continent for the entire world community: "The United States sees Africa as a continent that has shaped our past, is shaping our present and will for sure shape our future.”
Africa’s importance in shaping the past
The importance of Africa and its resources, including human resources, for the development of the West is impossible to overestimate. The slave trade contributed significantly to the prosperity of the major European powers and the United States. During the transatlantic slave trade, 12.5 million people were forcibly transported out of Africa. By the middle of the 19th century, the number of black slaves in the United States alone reached 4 million people.
According to historical records, in 1703, more than 40% of New York families held slaves. The law considered slaves as chattel and protected exclusively the rights of slave owners. An owner had every right to kill a slave if the latter refused to obey his master. Slavery was economically expedient to maximize profit. Americans realized that it was more expensive to keep a slave healthy and able to work than it was to buy a replacement for an African who died of starvation and hard labor. Until the 19th century, the average life span of a slave on a plantation was 10 years; by the 20th century, it was down to seven years.
The racial inequality that dominated the U.S. for most of the nation's history could not help but affect the mentality of its population and the principles of state building. The exploitation of free labor played an important role in the development of the American economy and the capitalist system as a whole. One of the main suppliers of slaves to the plantations of the New World was the respectable Great Britain; the income from the slave trade became the main source of funding for the industrial revolution in England.
The history of oppression and exploitation of black people on the African continent itself is no less brutal. The colonization of Africa is a shameful chapter in the history of the West, who is responsible for the deaths of millions of people and the plundering of resources.
In 1884, representatives of the colonial powers of Europe and America met in Berlin to divide Africa among themselves, regardless of the natural settlement of peoples, and to establish rules for the "legal" conquest of the entire continent. Africa was completely powerless before this onslaught. In 1876, the European powers had already conquered 10% of the African territory, and by 1900, the colonizers were in control of almost the entire continent. France and England became the leaders of the so-called “Scramble for Africa" in terms of captured territory and people.
In pursuit of wealth, the colonizers showed themselves as real looters. There were widespread massacres of Africans for refusal to obey, genocide, concentration camps, human experiments, and rape of children; children had their limbs chopped off for failure to meet work standards.
Colonial authorities stood guard over the captured territory and controlled the process of resource plundering. However, no one was interested in the development of colonies or improving the welfare of the local population.
It was not until the second half of the 20th century that the process of decolonization began; it was due to the emergence of numerous national liberation movements. However, gaining long-awaited political independence did not free the African countries from economic subordination to their former metropoles. They continued to depend on their ex-colonizers, who went on profiting at the expense of the African people.
U.S. resource strategy in Africa
It was only in the mid-20th century that the world became fully aware of how rich in natural resources Africa really is. The continent boasts deposits of almost all known types of minerals; Africa accounts for 30% of the world's mineral resources. The continent is a global leader in terms of gold, platinum, diamond, chromite, manganese ore, cobalt, bauxite, and phosphate reserves.
Situated between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, Africa is also attractive due to its extremely favorable geographical position. The Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, which wash the continent from the north and northeast, respectively, have been the main transportation routes since ancient times. However, all this does not bring prosperity to Africans. The "Scramble for Africa" is not over. The continent is still divided among the world's leading players, who, just like before, do not hesitate to resort to whatever means they choose to retain their positions.
In the 1960s – 1980s, the West was hampered by competition with the USSR, as Moscow had serious influence on the continent. However, since the 1990s, Russia has practically withdrawn from Africa. The Soviet troops were initially forced to abandon their naval base on the Red Sea because they had to transfer their units to the east, where a conflict was ignited with much help from Washington.
But since the 1990s, China has entered the game. In just one decade, it became Africa's largest partner, its main donor, and the biggest investor in infrastructural projects, replacing the others in virtually all spheres, especially in gaining access to the continent's vast natural resources. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. will ever catch up with Beijing, considering that the West is not accustomed to giving money or loans without any political requirements, which makes Chinese loans even more attractive.
Huge Chinese investments are a big hindrance to Washington's and the EU's influence on the continent, but at the same time, with Western control over the elites of many African states, China’s positions are not so strong and unshakable. However, together with Russian military and economic support, Chinese investment and infrastructural projects appear to be a more serious threat.
Even despite the vast U.S. military presence on the continent, which includes 34 military bases, the military and economic expansion of Russia and China frightens the West. Washington regularly draws the attention of African leaders to the destabilizing influence of the Chinese and especially the Russians.
The U.S. scares Africa with Russia
Limiting Russian influence in Africa is a priority goal of the current U.S. agenda on the continent, especially on the territory of the Central African Republic (CAR), where two thousand Russian military personnel of various profiles continue to successfully operate.
Back in 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offered cooperation to CAR leaders in order to reduce Russian influence in the country. However, these plans did not come to fruition. The CAR authorities have repeatedly made statements about the decisive contribution of Russia to the stability of the country and have already expressed their readiness to host a Russian military base, having allocated territory for it.
At the end of 2023, it became known that the U.S. PMC Banсroft was to start operating in CAR. The pretext was the necessity to protect the deposits of subsoil resources crucial to U.S. companies. One of its priority tasks is also the deployment of a drone base near the country’s capital. However, some Bancroft mercenaries have long been known for their dubious reputation; several are suspected of destabilizing the situation on the continent and are notoriously linked to the assassinations of African leaders.
On the territory of Somalia, American instructors at Bancroft Global Development train soldiers for counter-insurgency operations. The Bancroft PMC tries to conceal its military and intelligence activities under humanitarian missions, for example, to protect endangered species of animals from poachers, which are tracked by drones. It is also worth mentioning that all the expenses incurred by African governments that enlist the assistance of the U.S. PMCs are reimbursed by Washington.
Bancroft specialists are present in more than two dozen countries around the world, but the company’s activities are not limited solely to training military personnel. In order to make profits and increase its influence on the states, the organization also invests money in the construction of infrastructure, hydroelectric and solar power plants, and communication facilities. In this way, the U.S., with the help of its PMCs, is making attempts to exert more influence on Africa.
In many African countries, Bancroft’s style and methods have recently become a subject of heated discussion. There is an increasing consensus that the company’s activities greatly resemble those of special services and can be directed toward fighting militants and, if necessary, overthrowing an unwanted government and imposing new orders. It is no secret that to ensure its military and strategic presence in the country, Washington uses intelligence agents, cooperates with illegal armed groups, and also works under the cover of the UN. That is why a number of African states have already decided to stop all interaction with peacekeeping missions.
In Mali, the last UN MINUSMA troops withdrew from the country at the end of 2023 at the request of the authorities, who stated that the peacekeeping mission was unable to stabilize the situation in the country, resulting in a total loss of trust on the part of the population. According to the Malian government, MINUSMA was largely responsible for fueling intercommunal tensions inside the country. In December 2023, the military government in Niger also demanded to put an end to the European mission EUCAP Sahel. Curiously, in January 2024, the soldiers of the mission returned to the country without any authorization. The outraged government immediately called for their immediate deportation. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government also insisted on the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the country by the end of 2024.
In 2024, African media reported on the arrival of American intelligence agents to CAR. Based on the available information, it can be assumed that the military officers arriving in CAR intend to establish a system of arms smuggling to local anti-government groups. It is something the UN Peacekeeping Mission MINUSCA has been repeatedly accused of doing. During its 10-year presence in CAR, MINUSCA has often been suspected of cooperating with militants. By providing armed groups with information on the location and movements of the government army FACA, the Americans have made it all the more difficult to ensure security on the territory of the country.
The old world is losing its grip
Today, Africa continues to be a major stumbling block, not only between geopolitical adversaries but also U.S. allies. Recent events on the African continent, however, indicate a serious change in political and economic course. More and more countries are choosing a strategy of full sovereignty, wishing to liberate themselves entirely from their neocolonial dependence on the West.
Until recently, France was the neocolonial leader in Africa, but the coup d'états in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger put a decisive end to French dominance on the continent. Not only do the governments of these countries distance themselves as much as possible from their former metropole, but they have also announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS, which is fully controlled by the EU.
The U.S. and France are now fighting over the “French legacy” in Africa, with Washington rushing to nationalize French assets. It is possible that the sudden turbulence in Gabon, Senegal, Togo, and Gambia was due to an attempt on the part of the Americans to fill the vacancies created in the former French spheres of influence. For example, since the coup in oil-rich Gabon, American oil companies have practically displaced the French Total.
It should be noted that history knows many examples of American companies trying to displace their competitors. When Senegal, for example, decided to establish gas supplies to Europe, replacing Russia, it did not take into account that the Americans, who dominate the European gas market, would not want to give up their positions. Following the conclusion of the agreement between Senegal and Germany on the supply of higher-quality and cheaper Senegalese gas, mass protests broke out in the African country. Soon afterwards, British Petroleum, the British company developing the gas field in Senegal, suddenly announced its withdrawal almost on the eve of the project's launch, ceding its share to American competitors.
This chain of events may be a mere coincidence, but many African policymakers see an all-too-familiar scenario and pattern. With France's role in Africa waning, the U.S. now has a perfect opportunity to significantly expand its influence.
As of today, the U.S. retains influence over most of the African continent. In order to keep and, preferably, improve its position, the U.S. will not compete directly with its main economic adversary, China. Instead, the U.S. government will try to occupy the vacated niches as quickly as possible, as well as expand its presence where it already has influence and secure positions. At the same time, the U.S. authorities are increasingly emphasizing political and military levers of influence. It is becoming more and more obvious that the United States and its intelligence agents will simultaneously wage an information war against China and Russia. However, as history shows, such rhetoric has long failed to bear fruit. Many African countries have come to the realization that the U.S. and EU are not the only potential sources of funding and that, in fact, cooperation with Russia carries the prospects of strengthening their sovereignty and accelerating economic development. By diversifying their external ties and profiting from the contradictions between geopolitical adversaries, Africans now have the opportunity to pursue a truly comprehensive and independent policy.