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Ed Webb

Africa in the age of a new "Cold" War - by W. Gyude Moore - 0 views

gyudemoore.substack.com/...a-in-the-age-of-a-new-cold-war

Africa politics US USA analysis China development aid infrastructure

shared by Ed Webb on 21 Oct 23 - No Cached
  • In much of Africa, at least going by their leaders’ statements, there is a revulsion toward anything that forces a choice “for” or “against”. For many of these African countries, there was no “cold” war. Largely protected from the civil wars, murders, coups d’etat and breakdown of social order that wreaked havoc across the then “third world”, westerners are comfortable with referring to the period as a “cold” war, not because they do not acknowledge the proxy wars in former colonies, but because Western countries were not kinetic theaters. Having suffered no direct deaths and destruction, it’s not unreasonable to look favorably upon that period – a luxury many Africans cannot afford.
  • On current trends, over 80 percent of the world’s extreme poor will live in Africa by 2030. Intra-Africa trade has declined from 17 percent in the 1990s to 12.1 percent today. Foreign policy is a function of the domestic demands and the immediate environment. There is thus no incentive for African states to pursue a foreign policy of exclusion. China surpassed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner 14 years ago. Two-way trade between China and Africa reached $282 billion last year, an 11% increase YoY. At about $40 billion, two-way trade between the US and Africa is about a fifth of China-Africa trade. It is difficult to imagine a material reduction in that economic relationship even under threat of US “punishment”.
  • The rise in China’s influence across lower- and middle-income countries did not come on the strength of Chinese ideology or the compelling logic of Chinese governance model – it has come on China’s ability to meet pressing needs in those economies, mainly infrastructure
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  • The US is still the world leader in supporting human capital development across the world. As we celebrate 20 years of PEPFAR history, it is important to recognize what an unrivaled achievement it has been. A world without PEPFAR is one of total carnage across the African continent. Over $100 billion in the fight against aids over those twenty years is the largest ever disbursement by any nation for the eradication of a single disease. US support through bilateral and multilateral channels for health, education and other social programs are crucial to the provision of those services across the developing world. It is the assumption that these acts are an argument for themselves that has left the US struggling for a narrative to “counter” its rivals. An estimated  $20  of the $55 billion commitment to Africa over the next three years will go toward health care – including pandemic preparedness and vaccine manufacturing. Without that scale of investment, we will measure the cost in lives and livelihoods across the continent. US human capital investment is thus complementary to China’s  hard infrastructure expertise. The insistence that one is better than the other or that China should reap no benefit (influence or otherwise) is ridiculous.
Ed Webb

President Biden thanks Kenya for coming to Haiti's aid | Miami Herald - 0 views

www.miamiherald.com/...article280080154.html

Kenya Haiti US USA UN peacekeeping policing rights violence

shared by Ed Webb on 06 Oct 23 - No Cached
  • President Joe Biden thanked his Kenyan counterpart in a phone call on Tuesday for agreeing to lead a multinational mission to intervene in Haiti, a day after the United Nations Security Council voted to endorse the effort.
  • Kenya has been active in peacekeeping missions in Africa, he said, and “they’re known as a major part of the system and the international community. “Due to problems in the Horn of Africa involving Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, Kenya has also emerged as a major security and diplomatic partner of the United States in the region, Cheatham added. “I think the chaos has made the U.S. and Kenya grow closer. The deal to support this Multinational Security Support mission includes broader security cooperation between the U.S. and Kenya,”
  • people have been surprised by Ruto’s willingness to send his forces into Haiti and she believes it’s become “a pet project” of the president.Washington, she said, “seized on the idea when it struggled to persuade other countries like Brazil and Canada to lead.”“It’s much more personal idiosyncratic rather than any kind of great deal for something that’s strategically important,” she said. “It was surprising to his own government officials.”
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  • believes that despite the challenges, the U.S. agreed to the risk “partially because no one else was stepping up.”
  • there are human-rights worries about Kenya’s forces, especially in light of how they police slums like Kibera, in the capital of Nairobi, and in neighboring Somalia
  • “The secretary-general did not choose Kenya. The secretary-general and the Haitian government put out an appeal and Kenya stepped forward.”
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