USA’s Sub-Saharan-Africa Policy
Martin Pabst
The USA having massively reduced their engagement in Africa after the end of the Cold War, a change in trend has been detected again recently. Reasons for this after the 11th September 2001 are the realization that failing nations with an Islamic population represent terror risks, that in the Guinea Golf rich oil and gas deposits wait for exploitation, and that the activities of the political-economical rival China in Africa take on ever-increasing dimensions.
The various proxy wars in Africa grinded to a halt soon after the end of the Cold War and the lacking support from abroad. After the Somalia disaster, however, Washington had to recognize that it never had a suitable Africa strategy. The American indifference towards Sub-Saharan-Africa lasted until 1998, when the number of armed conflicts had increased dramatically and a destabilization on a large scale had become imminent. In addition to that, terrorist attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania finally called Washington into action.
The true shift in thinking started off in 2001, when the National Energy Policy Development Group identified the Guinea Golf as a strategic supply region for American oil imports. In the following year the national security policy emphasized the increased importance of Sub-Saharan-Africa, which was followed by top-level visits. These lead to agreements concerning cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and economical affairs. So, for instance, energy sector investments of the next ten years planned by US enterprises have been estimated to amount to 50 Billions USD.
During the last decade China has become the most important rival in Sub-Saharan-Africa. Besides, Peking is in the position to refer to an Africa-policy going back to 1960ies, which makes it the third biggest trading partner after the USA and France. The Chinese armaments supplies as well as the energy sector investments must not be underestimated, neither.
Washington attempts to steer against this development by taking various political, economical, and civilian measures, such as development-political, social-political, and military initiatives. The USA have never aimed at permanent bases in Sub-Saharan-Africa, but they have agreed upon so-called access points with a number nations. In case of crises or conflicts these are supposed to give the US forces access for military measures.
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