All eyes are on the presidential election, but the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that took place in Beijing this month demands our attention as foreign adversaries aim to take a greater foothold in Africa to counter American leadership.
The diminished U.S. presence in Africa has led former international partners to seek cooperation elsewhere.
Wagner, Russia’s private military company, has swiftly taken over West Africa by exploiting the dire civilian needs for protection. Despite a recent setback in Mali, Wagner continues to profit from controlling lucrative resource industries in the region in return for security services.
China continues to woo the continent for cultural and economic dominance by investing in critical mineral industries and green energy infrastructure as the continent’s “biggest bilateral trading partner.”
In July, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paid a visit to Niger, indicating an unfortunate shift for our last West African counterterrorism partner. Since the withdrawal of U.S. troops following the 2023 coup, Niger has been prone to instability and exploitation.
Iran has also capitalized on the destabilization of Niger by seeking access to the rich uranium reserves in West Africa to supplement its nuclear arsenal.
Despite these concerning partnerships, Africa is chronically overlooked in the national security sphere. Even the well-known terrorism proliferation in the Sahel region is brushed aside since African terrorist groups are deemed to lack the ambition and capacity to be a true threat.
While U.S. national security concerns along the southern border are merited, for example, the complexities of U.S.-Africa relations also play a prominent role in border security, counterterrorism efforts, and combating foreign competition. Just last year, more than 58,462 African migrants were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, a huge jump from 13,406 in 2022.
The surge of African migrants in recent years has exacerbated the border crisis as Europe has cracked down on immigration while the U.S. border has become more porous. The lack of economic opportunities in the Sahel drives the emigration from the region, and it has primed a ready population of young men for recruitment from vast transnational terrorist and criminal organizations such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, and Islamic State affiliates.
In 2023, the Sahel accounted for 43% of the world’s terrorism deaths, and this number is rising as more West African countries fall to coups and governance crises. This political turmoil is an invitation for exploitation by terrorists and foreign adversaries. With the ease of access to our homeland through the southern border, Americans are increasingly vulnerable to these terrorist organizations.
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Unfortunately, the ideological capture of the U.S. foreign policy is further undermining the United States’s standing in Africa. The emphasis by the Biden administration on shallow identity politics and “woke” culture is out of touch with the concerns of everyday people seeking economic opportunities in the developing world. African nations are disillusioned with U.S. hypocrisy and virtue signaling and are increasingly looking to more ideologically aligned partners.
Despite the diminishing U.S. presence in Africa, where our independence was first recognized in 1777, it is important to remember that the U.S. can still be the “shining city on a hill” by refocusing on our values. We must protect our legacy of global leadership as Americans and pivot from out-of-touch identity politics that hinder international partnerships. We must realign ourselves to a focus on military and economic strength, values that protect our reputation and give us legitimacy with our international partners.
Mallory Sailer is a media relations intern at Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org).