Tag: American’s African Policy

Opinion

Dear Black America: You Should Be Paying Attention to Africa

By Patrick Washington | San Diego Voices and Viewpoints

In the last month of 2022, The United States hosted the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The goal of this summit was to expand relations between the U.S. and the continent of Africa.

Well, really, it’s because China is kicking ass in diplomatic, economic, and virtually every other major area in Africa’s ascension, and the U.S. is woefully underprepared for a world where the world’s largest resources center and the world’s largest manufacturer get along — and the world’s most powerful nation isn’t invited to the cookout.

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Policy

African-American Diaspora Engagement at the Core of U.S.-African Relations in Multipolar World

By Kester Kenn Klomegah | Modern Diplomacy

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held in Washington has placed African-American diaspora at the core for strengthening multifaceted  relations with Africa. The White House and African leaders have also stressed the importance of Africa’s voices, advocated for incorporating professional Africans distinctively within the institutional structures to deal with various bilateral issues and for making further inroads into Africa.

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Uncategorized

Biden to meet South Africa leader amid differences on Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this month, the White House announced Thursday, as the administration looks to draw African nations closer to the U.S. at a time when South Africa and many of its neighbors have staked out neutral ground on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Announcement of the Sept. 16 visit comes on the heels of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Africa last month, in which he said the Biden administration sees Africa’s 54 nations as “equal partners” in tackling global problems.

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Policy

The Good and Bad Continuity of Biden’s New Africa Strategy

The Biden strategy document fails to take a “whole of Africa” approach that Africans themselves embrace and instead reverts to the Obama-era billing of a “Sub-Saharan Africa” focus.

by J. Peter Pham Samuel B. Millner

The Biden administration’s new U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, unveiled during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent swing through the continent, reflects little more than a commitment to the status quo. Despite the White House’s attempt to spin it as a “new vision for a 21st Century U.S.-African Partnership,” Africa watchers on and off the continent will note that much remains unchanged, both for good and for ill.

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Opinion

How the United States Can Shape Africa’s Future

by Dramane Chabi Bouko | NATIONAL INTEREST

The Department of State’s Bureau of Africa Affairs provides three core objectives for U.S. foreign policy towards Africa: “1) Advancing trade and commercial ties with key African states to increase the U.S. and African prosperity; 2) Protecting the United States from cross-border health and security threats; and 3) Supporting key African states’ progress toward stability, citizen-responsive governance, and self-reliance.”

Examining these objectives and their on-the-ground impacts, separating health and security threats, creates four unique strategic priorities.

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Military

Why 40 African armies met at a Fort Benning summit — and why some didn’t

By Davis Winkie | Army Times

COLUMBUS, Ga. — It was a rare sight, especially on American soil. Seated around nested U-shaped tables in the heart of the city’s renovated ironworks were senior military officials representing nearly three-quarters of Africa’s 54 UN-recognized countries.

They were there last week for the African Land Forces Summit, a week-long, U.S.-brokered annual conference that brings together army officials from across the continent and other countries that maintain a presence in Africa.

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Appointments

Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile | Nigerian-American elected as lifetime member of U.S. Council on Foreign Relations

By BusinessDay

Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile, the E.J. Ball Professor of Law, has been elected a lifetime member of the prestigious United States Council on Foreign Relations, one of the leading foreign policy organizations in the world. Her election was announced by the University of Arkansas School of Law in a press statement. Ofodile becomes one of the few Arkansans and Africans to be elected a member of the esteemed organization.

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Opinion

African immigrants in the US poised to influence domestic policy

By Yaw Okyere Thompson | Quartz Africa

Before a crowded room of election-night supporters—many of whom looked like her—newly elected congresswoman Ilhan Omar described the historic occasion of her victory. “I stand here before you with many firsts behind my name: The first woman of color to represent our state in Congress; the first woman to wear a Hijab to represent us in Congress; the first refugee elected to Congress; and one of the first Muslims elected to Congress.” The Somali American politician paved the way to victory with the support of the Somali community in Minnesota.

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Uncategorized

Georgia State University to Virtually Host 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

By Ebimo Amungo

ATLANTA—The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS) at Georgia State University (GSU) has announced that it has been selected as an Institute Partner for the 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

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Uncategorized

Paschal Mbawuike | A Washington Lobbyist Building Powerful Global Relationships

By Tony Ailemen | Thisday Newspaper

Paschal Okechukwu Mbawuike a Nigerian-American fondly known as Mr. Wonderful by friends, has for several years attained global heights while having a strong presence in his home country. He could rightly be described as a key stakeholder among Nigerians in the Diaspora and a Washington power broker. Mbawuike sits on the crest of a leading corporate entity, Cohen and Woods International, a Washington-based Africa focused consulting firm,

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Opinion

Does Africa Matter to the United States?

By Charles Ray | Foreign Policy Research Institute

Most Americans generally have one of two images of Africa: a primitive home of famine, disease, and civil war, or an idyllic motherland. Neither image is entirely correct. While Africa does have more than its fair share of problems and is the homeland of many Americans, it is a diverse continent of more than 50 nations and hundreds of ethnicities and languages.

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Appointments

Ambassador Rama Yade named director of Atlantic Council’s Africa Center

Press Release | Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council announced today that Ambassador Rama Yade has been named director of the Africa Center. Ambassador Yade has served as a senior fellow with the center since 2019 and was previously France’s deputy minister for foreign affairs and human rights—an appointment at the age of 30 that made her the first woman of African descent to become a member of the French cabinet.

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Opinion

Does Africa Matter to the United States?

By Charles A. Ray | Foreign Policy Research Institute

Most Americans generally have one of two images of Africa: a primitive home of famine, disease, and civil war, or an idyllic motherland. Neither image is entirely correct. While Africa does have more than its fair share of problems and is the homeland of many Americans, it is a diverse continent of more than 50 nations and hundreds of ethnicities and languages; Africa is also the youngest continent in the world with a host of possibilities for the future. Other than those Americans of African ancestry, does this matter to the people of the United States? Should it matter? Why do we even need to ask this question? We rarely ever see articles about whether or not Europe or Asia matters to the United States. For a whole host of reasons, the answer to these questions is yes.

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Opinion

What Joe Biden’s Africa strategy might look like

BY MICHAEL SHURKIN | TheHill

The election of Joe Biden as the next president may present the United States with a welcome opportunity to reset its relationship with sub-Saharan Africa. Two of the priorities of the Trump administration in the region had merit, namely a focus on competition with China and a reduced emphasis on counter-terrorism.

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Diplomacy

The US needs to update its Nigeria engagement says ex-ambassador, John Campbell

By John Campbell | Quartz Africa

These are excerpts from the book “Nigeria and the Nation-State: Rethinking diplomacy with the postcolonial world“, by John Campbell, former US ambassador to Nigeria (2004-2007).

A purpose of this book is to warn Americans and their partners against making the same conceptual mistakes in Africa that they did during wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam. Africa is complex and its politics are highly local. It does not lend itself to the good-versus-evil analysis that distorted policy in those three wars.

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Policy

Why Biden Should Upgrade U.S. Africa Policy

BY AUBREY HRUBY | Foreign Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy toward Africa will be remembered by its tone of disrespect, from his calling African nations “shithole countries” to canceled cabinet-level trips to the region. But while he needs to restore civility to U.S. foreign policy, President-elect Joe Biden shouldn’t fully reject Trump-era Africa policy when he takes office. In part, that’s because Africa policy is unique. It has historically been uncontroversially bipartisan, and U.S. presidents from Bill Clinton to Trump have continued their predecessors’ Africa programs.

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Opinion

Obama didn’t deliver for Africa. Can Biden show black lives matter everywhere?


By Vava Tampa | The Guardian

How different is the Biden-Harris administration’s Africa policy going to be from Donald Trump’s, or even Barack Obama’s? Many African people, as well as the continent’s strongman leaders, are now gingerly asking – is Biden going to be Obama 2.0, or Trump-lite? For the sake of black lives mattering everywhere in these turbulent times, I hope Biden will chart a bold new course, diametrically away from not only Trump but also Obama’s Africa policy.

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Opinion

What the Biden Presidency Could Mean for Africa


By Leah Feiger and  Zecharias Zelalem

In the summer of 2010, then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Africa. He stopped in Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa, where he met with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh, spoke with Sudanese and Kenyan presidents and prime ministers in Nairobi, and celebrated the World Cup while linking up with leaders in South Africa. 

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Opinion

Americans find their inner Mugabe

By Tim Cohen | Daily Maverick

One of the funniest and poignant portrayals of soon-to-be former US president Donald Trump came, somewhat inevitably, from comedian Trevor Noah. Noah made the point in jest, but there are often few truths that hit home harder than when they are spoken with a smile.

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Opinion

Mr. President-Elect, Please Don’t Forget Us Billion Africans

By Ivor Ichikowitz | US News

DEAR MR. President-elect: Africa is watching in amazement as America faces what many perceive to be an existential crisis. Never before has the world’s most powerful country been so divided. From continued social injustice and the storming of streets across the country in protest, to lockdowns and mass unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic, to present-day controversies over vote-counting, the only thing that is seemingly certain in the United States is uncertainty.

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Opinion

The Biden Administration’s Approach to Africa

 by John Campbell | Council on Foreign Relations

Though still not certain, Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris will likely be elected president and vice president of the United States. A Biden administration’s approach to Africa will depend on policy but also on who the president appoints to his cabinet and senior positions.

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Opinion

Stakes are high for Africa in US presidential election

By Patrick Smith | The Africa Report.

In a week’s time, Americans will see their votes counted in an election seen universally as the most consequential for half a century. Consequential for the direction and stability of the country for decades, and for the international system it has dominated.

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Policy

US foreign policy toward Africa: An African citizen perspective

E. Gyimah-Boadi, Landry Signé, and Josephine Appiah-Nyamekye Sanny | Brookings Institution

Despite the Trump administration’s announced December 2018 Africa strategy, a significant gap between the lofty blueprint and the concrete actions needed to turn it into reality remains. U.S. interests in the region are being increasingly undermined as China, Russia, and other powers move to fill the policy spaces left vacant by the United States and other Western nations.

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Diplomacy

US sanctions on Africa need overhaul: experts

By Uta Steinwehr | DW

Washington plans to lift sanctions on Sudan in return for compensation for terror victims, making the African country a pawn in the US election campaign. Experts say this approach to sanctions in Africa needs to change.

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Policy

There’s a lot riding on the outcome of the US presidential election in terms of Africa’s relations with China

A Trump victory in the 3 November US elections is likely to see the US intensify its attempts to roll back China’s successful Africa policy. A Biden administration will find areas in which its US-Africa policy will converge with that of China. The US and China will be more likely to cooperate within multilateral forums and will actively seek a multilateral approach to global challenges, such as peacekeeping and health matters.

By David Monyae | Daily Maverick

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Uncategorized

Trump tweets that US will Remove Sudan from Terror List

By VOA News

U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States will remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the country follows through on an agreement to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to U.S. terror victims and families.      

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Opinion

We the People: Lessons from Africa for Defeating Authoritarianism in 2020 U.S. Election

by Kyle Murphy | Just Security

U.S. democracy is facing its greatest challenge in a generation, simultaneously confronting an authoritarian leader, a global pandemic, and the consequences of centuries of systemic racism and inequality. Americans tend to think of our country as democracy’s exemplar, and the United States has a long history of pointing out governance problems abroad, suggesting steps to solve them, and often devoting resources to various forms of intervention.

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Opinion

If America Were in Africa, U.S. Diplomats Would Be Ringing the Alarm Bells

By Reuben E. Brigety II | Foreign Affairs

In April 2013, when I was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, I accompanied former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young to a meeting with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Then Secretary of State John Kerry had dispatched us to Harare to convince Mugabe to allow free and fair elections later that summer.

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Opinion

Trump Student Visa Plan Will Hurt Africa — and the U.S.

By Judd Devermont and Aubrey Hruby | Bloomberg

Against a backdrop of rising tensions with the Soviets in 1959, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in New York that presented a new strategic approach toward African nations and U.S. global leadership in a world defined by great-power competition.

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Policy

The US government makes its big push for investment in Africa

by David A. Wemer | Atlantic Council

Buoyed by bipartisan commitment and a new government agency, the United States has taken new and significant steps to help drive investment in Africa, strengthen the region’s dynamic economies, create lucrative opportunities for US and African businesses, and advance US foreign-policy goals in the region.

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