Comments point to the apparent decline in the reputation of the West in Africa and the rise in Chinese and Russian stocks in some countries, a change that some observers believe is due to broader changes in the international system. It is pointed out that this is caused.
01:25
China-funded infrastructure across Africa forces leaders to make difficult decisions
China-funded infrastructure across Africa forces leaders to make difficult decisions
The Ugandan and Congolese president’s comments came days after US research firm Gallup released a study last year suggesting the US had lost its position as the most influential world power in Africa. .
The survey found that Washington’s median approval rating, a measure of a country’s soft power, fell from 59% in 2022 to 56% in 2023. Meanwhile, China’s approval rating in the region rose by 6 percentage points from 52% in 2022. In 2023, it will reach 58%, putting the US ahead of her by 2 points.
According to Gallup, the median approval rating for Russia’s leadership rose to 42% from 34% a year ago.
The drop in the US was particularly dramatic in Uganda, where approval ratings fell by 29 points from 63% in 2022.
It’s a substantial project, but John Calabrese, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, says the United States is “catching up” with China and Russia.
He said that assuming at least some of the administration’s promises are kept and projects are implemented, it may take time for the benefits to “trickle down” and manifest as an increase in favorability ratings.
Calabrese said that until recently, U.S. policy in Africa has been heavily biased toward counterterrorism and security, which may make some African leaders, influencers and some ordinary citizens wary. Ta. Moreover, such efforts could be seen as failures, he said.
Additionally, the White House is “constrained by U.S. law that prohibits funding governments that have seized power through coups. Of course, Moscow and China have no such qualms or constraints,” Calabrese said. Told.
01:51
Zambia opens memorial to Chinese railway workers killed in construction of Tazara line in Africa
Zambia opens memorial to Chinese railway workers killed in construction of Tazara line in Africa
He said China and Russia have taken advantage of the deficiencies and dilemmas faced by the United States in dealing with the Israel-Gaza conflict. “They have aligned themselves with other key members of the so-called Global South, such as Africa, in condemning American and Western policies,” Calabrese said.
He said the United States came to be seen as an accomplice in its unconditional support to Israel, widely considered an “occupying” power, in contrast to Russia and China, neither of which colonized Africa. Therefore, he said, he has a certain degree of influence. “Popular appeal.”
The challenge to the United States was particularly evident in West Africa, said Gustavo de Carvalho, a senior researcher on Africa’s relations with world powers, BRICS and multilateralism at the South African Institute of International Affairs.
“In the case of West Africa, I think this is more a case of the West losing influence and Russia filling the gap in certain security needs. Relations between the West and the Sahel governments have become very fractured recently. Therefore, Russia took advantage of the vacuum left,” de Carvalho said, referring to North and Central Africa.
02:48
Chinese President Xi Jinping unveils eight-point vision for the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative at forum
Chinese President Xi Jinping unveils eight-point vision for the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative at forum
“It is important to note that China’s presence does not necessarily mean superiority. Rather than use its influence as a direct means of containing the West, China They tend to be concerned with securing profits and market access,” said De Carvalho.
China’s presence does not necessarily mean dominance
Seifdein Adem, a researcher at the JICA Ogata Peace and Development Institute in Tokyo, Japan, said the challenge to US foreign policy in Africa is systemic.
“The various achievements of external powers’ diplomacy in Africa have less to do with the essential and distinctive features of their approaches. More fundamentally, they reflect what is happening before our eyes in the international system. It is rooted in the structural changes that are occurring,” Adem said.
China and Russia were doing some things right and expanding their influence, but larger factors favored counter-hegemonic powers, a coalition of emerging and disaffected powers that included China and Russia. The international political environment was
“These forces oppose several aspects of the current liberal international order, which was created, managed, and mismanaged by the United States after World War II. China, Russia, etc. We are trying to replace this command with another command,” said Adem, who is also a professor at Doshisha University in Japan.
“The new order is the opposite of the old order and has an advantage. The existing order is on the defensive and has inherent disadvantages from a geopolitical perspective.
“This general trend is likely to continue regardless of what China and Russia do or do not do in Africa, or what the United States does or does not do in response.”
But Michael Chege, a professor of political economy at the University of Nairobi, said U.S. influence in Africa is waning, with the exception of the Sahel region, where frustration with the U.S. and France is linked to a failure to stamp out jihadist violence. He said he did not think so. .
“It will be Russia that will benefit, not China,” Chege said.
Mr Chege said Africa is a young continent with 60 per cent of the population under the age of 35. [public attitude researchers] A while ago, we asked Afrobarometer where they would like to move, and the majority said America and European countries. I don’t think this has changed,” Chege said.
