21st CENTURY SCRAMBLE & PARTITION FOR AFRICA.

 MODERN DAY SCRAMBLE & PARTITION FOR AFRICA.

 

A new scramble and partition for Africa has been going on for close to 2 decades, with major powers such as the European Union (EU), United States of America, China & Russia all playing their hand in this new race for Africa. With resources playing a vital role in the new Industrial Revolution, Africa’s vast deposits of different minerals make it an appealing partner in this new era revolution. In short, whoever forms strategic partnerships in the trade and exchange of resources with Africa, will have the upper hand in creating new and better technologies hence taking control of most of the Global economy. In this “new era economy,” resources are important in the Tech race and Africa offers a lot of these. 

The scramble for Africa has been strategically taking place. Not armed but rather more political with heavy influence from different states and international institutions. Africa’s international relations are deeply influenced by international trends and bilateral relations in various fields of Security, Energy, , Communication, Health, Infrastructure development and Economic investment, together with the G20 and other economic organisations. The rise of China as a global economic powerhouse and a stable global superpower has destabilised America’s influence in Africa. According to statistics from the Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) platform from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Centre, from the year 2000-2022, Chinese loans to Africa are estimated to be around $170.8 billion. These loans are divided among 49 out of 54 African nations.    

Source: Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) Database, 2023. Boston University Global Development Policy Center. 

https://www.bu.edu/gdp/chinese-loans-to-africa-database/

The ongoing industrial revolution focuses mainly on creating a global green economy where rare minerals and metals will be the most important elements to drive this technological change forward. This has put the world powers in an ongoing political and economic conflict for decades over the control of Africa's natural resources as every major power want to lead this new economy. 

By striking strategic partnerships in various economic sectors which fulfil African needs,

China’s approach has been appealing to many African Countries.

Through various African financial institutions such as the AFRIEXIM(African Export Import) Bank and

the AfDB(African Development Bank) Chinese Loans have provided better access to Import - Export financing but

much of this money ends up back in Chinese markets. America’s approach, the provision

of aid and the use of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF(International Monetary Fund)

to fund African development quickly became unfamiliar as they offered little to no long term effectiveness and

higher interest rates.

With a new promise of joint economic prosperity, China’s influence in Africa has grown exponentially,

having disruptive effects in International and African politics. 

As manufacturing moved east from America to China, with many multinational corporations opting for China's

cheap, skilled and effective labour, Chinese goods became accessible at affordable prices.

The affordability of these products quickly made them dominant in the African markets between the years 1999- present,

with much improvement in quality and efficiency , though stages and sometimes years behind American products. 

photo courtesy of BBC

However, there is much controversy surrounding the dealings of China and African nations,

as these relations are viewed as an obligation tied to them by Chinese loans and also as an assurance to

access future loans and financing.  

America and Europe still influence African politics but recently, that’s changing with the rise of China and Russia.

With America’s vital role in providing military and security intelligence as well as firepower and manpower to help

combat the rising guerrillas and insurgents in Africa, they still have a foothold in the region and they use it to their

advantage to express their foreign policy and hegemonic influence. Strategically, America’s approach has been

changing over the decade, adopting a more geopolitical approach to interfere in Chinese and Russian presence in Africa.

In the field of security, Russia and Russian technology are slowly replacing western technology and soldiers on

the ground. A recent example being the shift in West Africa where American and European troops are being replaced by

Russian forces and weapons technology. In East Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia have all allied and aligned

themselves bilaterally to Russia, isolating Kenya in the process as the sole standing American strategic partner in

the Eastern Africa region. 

As America’s main economic and political partner, Kenya maintains a balance in its relations between the East and

the West. However, deepened relations with China offer a more detailed approach to the development of Kenya through

a strong bilateral relationship begging the question of America’s importance in its partnership with Kenya. As part of the

Silk road and the China Belt & Road initiative, China seeks to connect to the African market through the Eastern Coast

of Africa, with Tanzania appearing as new favourables as its a country experiencing economic growth and enjoying a

long standing period of peace and stability. 

In Central Africa, China’s access to this mineral rich region is growing and together with their strongest ally Russia,

are taking over the region’s security situation slowly replacing American military influence and presence in the area.

In Southern Africa, China is advancing at a faster rate than the U.S securing important partnerships in trade

and finance. America seems to be making a change in its African foreign policy, adopting a more economic

and development based approach.