As Russia and the United States Seek Influence in Africa, Strategic Pitfalls Loom
Global Conflict TrackerJul 28, 2022
On the second leg of his three-country tour of Africa, US Sec. of State Antony Blinken arrived on Tues. in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he met with Pres. Felix Tshisekedi, other government officials, and civil society groups.
The conflict in eastern Congo and tensions between the DRC and Rwanda reportedly topped Blinken's agenda during his two-day visit, amid rising geopolitical tensions over Africa and US concerns about Russian and Chinese access to the DRC's rare earth minerals.
Initiatives such as the planned US-Africa summit in December and Blinken's Africa trip are prudent and timely steps by the Biden administration. If Washington is careful to treat African countries with mutual respect and not as potential venues for proxy competition against powers like Russia and China in a new "cold war" the US will be doing a great service to the rules-based global order.
Africa is entering a new phase of great power competition for the continent. But African states are no longer willing to be seen as instruments by Washington in pursuit of its geopolitical goals against Russia and China under the guise of a "rules-based order." African states are well advised to pursue an independent foreign policy that is not dictated by the West.