Since the 1950s, U.S. and Western European-dominated institutions like the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund have imposed unfavorable trade agreements and structural adjustment programs on African countries that increase profits for Western multinational corporations but spiral African people into poverty. This has contributed to the neo-colonial nature of modern African states, where the state is independent in theory, but its economic system and political policy is directed from outside.
In 2009, China overtook the U.S. as the African continent’s largest trading partner, destroying the West’s monopoly over export markets and investment finance. China’s $208 billion in trade with the African continent in 2019 dwarfed the United States’ $39 billion in 2017. This rise in Chinese economic influence signals a shift in the new scramble for Africa, which is like when, in the late 1800s, European colonial powers fought over their conflicting claims to African territory and resources. Though Chinese investment comes with strings attached, like an increasing trade deficit, African countries now have a choice and no longer must accept any terms that the IMF or World Bank offer.
The response from the West to this development has been a military one. Economic dependence on the West has been replaced by a new military dependence. If African countries are no longer reliant on Western loans, export markets, and investment finance, they are now reliant on Western military aid. The U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, provides military aid and has put most African states under the effective military control of the United States.
The United States fosters militarism around the world, not just on the African continent. The Indo-Pacific Command is the counterpart to AFRICOM in the Asia Pacific. In response to the increasing challenge that China poses to U.S. hegemony, the Indo-Pacific Command has directed military aggression towards China.
On Thursday, September 24th, the Black Alliance for Peace’s U.S. Out of Africa Network is hosting “Full Spectrum Dominance: From AFRICOM to the Indo-Pacific Command,” an online symposium about the connection between the expansion of AFRICOM and the growing U.S. military presence in the Asia Pacific. Look out for more information regarding this event, including the Zoom link and the list of speakers.
US military conducts 46 airstrikes in Somalia in 2020
SomaliAffairs – August 29, 2020
The U.S. has conducted 46 airstrikes in Somalia since the beginning of 2020, according to the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which disclosed the figure in a statement released August 28.
Revealed: The CIA and MI6’s secret war in Kenya
By Namir Shabibi – August 28, 2020
A covert Kenyan paramilitary team armed and trained by the US and supported by UK intelligence is behind renditions and controversial killings of terror suspects in night-time raids.
U.S. Militarism toward China is Part and Parcel of American Hegemony Syndrome
By Danny Haiphong – August 26, 2020
The expansion of AFRICOM possesses the same goal as the Indo-Pacific Command of maintaining American hegemony in a period of fledging crisis.
China releases report on US military presence in Asia-Pacific, warns of increased conflict risk
By Liu Xuanzun – June 26, 2020
China released its 2020 research report on the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region amid recent increased military activities near China by the U.S.
China’s trade with Africa grows 2.2 per cent in 2019 to US$208 billion
By Jevans Nyabiage – January 18, 2020
Trade between China and the African continent grew by 2.2% in 2019 to $208.7 billion, and the widening trade deficit is a concern.
US-African Trade Lagging Despite Free Access, Forum Hears
Agence France-Presse – August 6, 2019
Trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa has declined in recent years. According to USAID, trade reached $100 billion in 2008 and has since declined to $39 billion in 2017.
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Photo credit: U.S. Army Africa