AFRICA'S GEOPOLITICAL SHIFT IN THE 21st CENTURY
Part I: THE GEOPOLITICS OF AFRICA IN A FAST PACED CHANGING WORLD.
Africa has risen to become the main go-to place for the global economic powerhouses yet again. This time, in this new race to dominate the next industrial revolution. A technological driven revolution that experts say has a potential of increasing global GDP by more than 15% in the coming 2 decades. From a realist point of view, everyone wants to be a part of this lucrative economy and to enjoy a share of this multi-trillion predicted economy and this brings about conflicts. Most of which are driven by either state driven or individual interests. For the past two decades, from 2002-2022, the number of African nations aligning themselves to Russia and the BRICS, from the United States and the G7 has surged up ten fold. In order to understand this, one needs to read a little bit on African history during the scramble and partition of Africa, to colonisation and finally to the African resistance and fight for independence in which Russia played a crucial role for Africa in all these stages. In simple terms, one side has done its job on marketing while the other isn't showing signs of playing catch up.
Now to the new shifts we are witnessing in real time. In west Africa, things have taken a twist as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, all under military rule, have united to form the first confederate alliance on the continent named as Confederation of Sahel States, a larger part of the Alliance of Sahel States. The Alliance of Sahel States was created as a defence coalition in 2023 after ECOWAS(West Africa's economic body), hinted at a French and NATO backed military intervention to overthrow the new military juntas and restore civilian leadership. A move which made the Sahel states, being led by the juntas at the time gather together to form a defence coalition, mainly with the backing of Russia. Many experts downplayed the formation of such an alliance, terming it as impossible to the least. Shock wreaked the air when the 3 leaders came together to actualise it into signature and action. Shortly after, the arrival of Russian mercenaries and weapons became the pictures embedded on frontline outlets. An embarrassment to Europe and the West as Russia became the new superpower to set their foot in West Africa, creating massive disruptions to the geopolitical setup and stability in West Africa.
In the horn of Africa, Ethiopia is the most recent member from the East African community to openly continue its pro-Russian stance by gaining full admission into the BRICS setup. A showdown, which was a much silent one between Russia and allies versus the United States and allies has been ongoing in this region for the longest time, setting it up as one of the longest and fiercest geopolitical displays in Africa. Countries shifting back and forth the two superpowers has been the norm in this region. Recently, in the past decade however, most countries in this region except for Kenya and South Sudan, have adopted a more pro Russian stance. Increased cooperation between SADC member states, in which Tanzania is a part of and BRICS is being witnessed in real time. BRICS has done its homework right when it comes to marketing in Africa unlike the G7 and G20. A huge factor to consider is the rise of China's dominance in Africa which has almost completely displaced America's influence.
The question many are asking is, why the shift from the west to the east en mass by African states and why does the geopolitical setup of Africa matter to the world? You see, the world is in the middle of the 21st century industrial revolution. A technological revolution which is driven by access to and availability of resources, majorly rare earth minerals and metals. Since the late 20th century, Africa has been a reliable source of minerals which helped shape the global economic set up to what it is. Despite minimal exploration, more and more deposits of these vital minerals are being discovered in Africa making it a lucrative partner in the eyes of globalist and global superpowers. Whoever accesses these vital resources first may as well have control over the supply and markets around the world. In previous decades, American and European companies enjoyed these rights. However, that hasn't been the case recently. Chinese and Russian firms seem to be the new players in this market. They control a majority of new mines and evidence of this can be seen in the growth of their manufacturers back at home.
This is a part one of a 3-4 part series.
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