Great Powers and US Foreign Policy towards Africa by Stephen M. Magu

Author:Stephen M. Magu
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9783319940960
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

So Big It Had to Fail?

Compared to Europe, there remain questions of whether Africa is too ungainly, expansive, too economically underdeveloped, culturally and religiously heterogeneous, historically disunited (divided between Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries—in addition to the African members of MENA), thus too divided to form an effective European Union-type of organization. The argument can be made thereof; it is not easy to see what an African in South Africa might share with a Moroccan other than geographical territory encompassed in the land-mass called Africa, or how a united Africa might benefit them, save for visa-free travel. On the other hand, regional trading blocs, such as the East African Community (EAC), the South African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Economic Community for the West African States (ECOWAS) seem to have much more gravitas; perhaps Africa’s eventual union ought to institute EU-like RTAs that would then unite into a federated continent-wide body.

It bears reflecting briefly on the different purposes for which the two continental bodies were inaugurated, the trajectories that they took to the present, and the philosophy undergirding their actions. For Africa, at the outset—after independence—the overwhelming perception of the European–Africa relationships was one that is described as “againstism”, against European intervention, meddling and influence, even as the African countries remained beholden to their former colonizers. The goals for Pan-Africanism and a United States of Africa fell quickly by the wayside, driven by despots who would not dream of giving up power, by conflicts stoked with the support or complicity of the rulers and the Cold War rivals, and progressively becoming more autocratic.

For Europe, it was most important, in the ashes of World War II and a new world order, to maintain influence (partly explains France/Algeria/Vietnam and Portugal’s inability to let go of her African colonies. European integration was more of a peace project meant to contain Germany, rather than a template for common action, including foreign policy. Indeed, Bindi and Angelescu suggest that “the EU approach toward Africa has been driven by its neoliberal interests with emphasis put more on protecting its own issues (security and migration) to the detriment of those African countries (better aid and improved trade deals).” 47 Thus, while the EU and its member states have been inextricably interwoven with Africa, nothing in their past (colonialism) suggested that the goal was to be equal partners with their former puppets, a proposition that is clear even today.

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