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In many African states, decolonisation brought neither prosperity nor meaningful independence. The discontent with weak political and economic sovereignty led African revolutionaries to seek support from Asia, a proximity that continues to endure long after 1989. This paper focuses on decades of diverse forms of political interaction – ideational inspiration, policy emulation, party-to-party cooperation – between several Asian states, such as China, Korea and Viet Nam, and African (neo)liberation movements turned governments, from Eritrea and Ethiopia to Mozambique and Tanzania. Socialist imaginaries, institutions and, above all, technologies of rule have been central in these processes and far more prominent – substantively and rhetorically – than any alternative ideology: the development of the vanguard Party, operated through democratic centralism; the popular defence force, an army loyal to the Party; and state capitalism to control the economy's commanding heights. These enduring ties between African and Asian comrade state-builders, and the quest for heterodox political modernities they represent, have been largely overlooked, especially in the post-Cold War period. They not only shed light on alternative political geographies and transnational histories of Africa and Asia, but also alert us to present-day ideological projects that differ starkly from Western liberal hegemony and its emphasis on Washington Consensus-style economics and representational democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the geopolitical consequences of the imminent energy transition from oil to non-carbon and renewable sources of energy for Africa's largest oil producer and exporter Nigeria. It mentions growing use of non-carbon and renewable forms of energy will impact African oil producers negatively, particularly in relation to economic growth; and implications of the geopolitics of oil in Africa. It also mentions about a decrease in prices of oil.

Before the Lomé Convention (1975) was signed between the European Economic Community (EEC) and 46 African Caribbean and Pacific States, the EEC member states had to deal with the African members of the Commonwealth. Among the Six France was in a peculiar position, wishing to maintain a special relationship between the EEC and the French-speaking African states and to enlarge its relations with other regions of the Third World. This article, based on an examination of the French Foreign Ministry Archives and the Papiers Foccart, aims to investigate the prehistory of the relations between the EEC and the English-speaking African states. It analyses the French role in the debate, outcomes and consequences of the first agreements signed by the European Community with Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. To this aim it will focus on the negotiations between the EEC and the African states, but also on the debate which took place in some international organisations on the Yaoundé Convention, in order to understand to what extent these discussions paved the way for the evolution of the EEC Development Policy during the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Israel's international relations with Africa from a thematic point of view. It first provides a historical background of the relations from the 1950s onwards and focuses on how they developed and the keenness by Israeli leaders to forge such relations, develop them and nurture them to use them in international forums as stated by Golda Meir in her autobiography. The article then focuses on the last visit of Israeli Netanyahu to east Africa in July 2016 when he toured four countries - Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda - in a bid to “culture” the already existing relations between Israel and these states. The article highlights the view given by Netanyahu towards Africa as a policy theme and the fact the trip had much Israeli businessmen who accompanied him in a bid to generate business and economic relations with each of the countries and the domestic criticism it generated in Israel, most notably from the leader of the Labor Party Issac Herzog who was scathing in his attack on the Likud leader. The visit is then contextualized within Israel's international relations which includes her bid to pressure through such countries as Ethiopia, to be granted an “observer status” in the African Union and the continuing unwillingness against that from South Africa. The final section of the article is on how Israel is having more influence in the United Nations and how also using its relations, through some African countries, to gain influence in the UN and presently lobbying for a non-permanent seat at the Security Council in the coming years and which it is surely going to get because of the continuing support its getting from many states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stronger government-to-government relations between Africa and China in the first two decades of the twenty-first century have led to an increasing presence of African travellers at Chinese border check points. This is a novel situation involving cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication dynamics that we need to understand from different research perspectives: linguistic, socio-economic, and legal, among others. Academic studies are already detailing some misunderstandings between Chinese customs, immigration and public security officials and African travellers and immigrants, who are clearly a visible minority group, both at border check points and in the wider Chinese communities (; ; ). A number of questions may be asked towards understanding the cross-cultural dynamics involved in this novel situation. What are Chinese immigration and customs officials' experiences with African travellers and how do they see and handle this visible minority ethnic group? What are, in turn, African experiences with Chinese immigration, customs, and public security, officials both at border check points and in the wider Chinese communities in places like mainland China and Hong Kong? To answer these questions, a profile of the most frequent African visitors to Hong Kong and China is constructed, based on research among Africans in China, particularly Guangzhou. An outline is then made of what Africans think of Chinese customs and immigration officials as a whole, what kind of treatment they expect on arrival in China and how they prepare for it. It is then claimed that the most fundamental issue that causes friction, unhappiness and sometimes lack of cooperation from African travellers at immigration and customs check points in Hong Kong and other places in China is not so much due to linguistic and cultural misunderstanding as it is due to stereotyping and, in extreme cases, (un)conscious racial profiling. Finally, it is proposed that the best way for Hong Kong and other Chinese customs personnel to serve African immigrants is to apply immigration rules using systematically fair, just and colour-blind strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa has traditionally been marginal to the Australian foreign policy agenda, aside from British colonial and Commonwealth ties and later efforts to end minority rule in southern Africa. Yet a resources boom, strong economic growth, increasing democratisation and reformed governance institutions have created new international interests in engaging with Africa and made it difficult for aspiring global players like Australia to ignore the continent's opportunities and challenges. Under Labor (2007-13), Canberra pursued substantial 'new engagement' with this 'new Africa', enhancing political and diplomatic relations, supporting major Australian commercial interests and quadrupling the Africa aid budget. Following the election of the Abbott Coalition government in September 2013, the article argues that while commercial opportunities and some specific security and humanitarian concerns will keep the Coalition interested in Africa, the enhanced level of engagement with the continent pursued under Labor is unlikely to be sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the new scramble for Africa as governments announced an Africa+1 summit meeting. It compares the contemporary narrative around a new scramble with lines of competition and geopolitical rivalry among great powers in the continent. The involvement of foreign armed forces in the fight against terrorism is discussed, as well as the competition among African countries to attract foreign investment.

The article explores the policies of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the dominant regional powers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Topics discussed include the evolution of foreign relations in the region, the power struggles among Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, and the implications of the rapid deepening of transregional relations for Africa.

How much agency do African states have to shape global orders? This study puts the global nuclear order under scrutiny to answer this question. It amounts to a demanding case. Arms control is something that global great powers take very seriously, and there is no weapons category that they take more seriously than nuclear weapons. My findings provide a nuanced picture. Although often outflanked and frustrated by nuclear weapon states, the nuclear order would look different without African actors exerting their agency. They successfully shaped background and foreground institutions constituting the global nuclear order by building advocacies for new institutions upon already existing ones, reaching out to state and non-state actors outside of Africa, and channelling communication through African states with authority in global fora. This study makes three contributions: First, it underlines the key finding of recent literature on African agency that African actors are more to be reckoned with than often assumed. Second, it provides novel evidence about the diplomatic mechanisms through which they come to make a difference. Third, it adds to our grasp of the constitution of global orders as well as the processes through which they come to be made, re-made and unmade more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of French Africa policy have traditionally focused on its neo-colonial basis and the often corrupt nature of the relations it engendered because of the connivances of semi-official and unofficial networks and covert practices that characterised it. These are often referred to in the literature as la Françafrique. In seeking to understand François Hollande's Africa policy this article moves away from a neo-colonial, Françafrique analytical framework and instead seeks to engage with the continuity versus change debate in French Africa policy through the lens of geopolitics. The three central themes of Hollande's Africa policy—security, partnership and trade—are analysed, focusing firstly on the French interventions in Africa, notably in Mali, since 2012, before discussing French engagement with African regional organisations, such as the Economic Community of West African States, and the increasing importance attached to economic and trade links. The article ends with a brief survey of some of the challenges facing French Africa policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey's foreign policy in Africa has achieved more than what initially has been planned as Opening to Africa in the last decade. A new post-2014 vision for Africa is necessity for variety of reasons including the tiredness among some segments of society and some state institutions. his article outlines the challenges fort his vision and put forward some ideas for the future of Turkey-Africa relations. he underlying point is that time has come for partnership with other actor in Africa to deepen further the relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the state of relations between Brazil and Africa during the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2003 to 2010. Topics discussed include a description of power configurations during the post-Cold War period and a background of race, culture and diplomacy before da Silva won the presidency in 2002. Also discussed are the reaons for the successful overtures of da Silva to Africa.

The article examines the role and impact of foreign policy and diplomacy in India–East Africa relations. The main argument of the article is that underlying the ‘soft’ diplomatic strategy employed by both parties are the ‘hard’ core security, economic and power interests that are the driving force for East Africa–India engagement in this rapidly globalising and competitive world of the twenty-first century. The article thus underscores that underneath the veneer of an assorted mix of inter-related diplomatic approaches employed to advance respective national interests, the engagement has been pragmatic; business-led rather than ideological; driven mainly by security, economic and power imperatives and less by official rhetoric of South–South political solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This publication presents political, social and cultural news and developments on African countries for March 1 to 31, 2014. Topics discussed include Cameroon's re-imposition of security in an area where the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram operates, the agreement of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) leaders to deploy troops to South Sudan to enforce a ceasefire between government and rebels and diplomatic friction between South Africa and Rwanda.

Turkey had certain attempts to develop its relationship with African countries in the past. The idea of Turkey's making a general plan encompassing its relations with Africa in all its parts started to develop in late 1990's. In recent years, on the other hand, Turkey has shown more interest in the African Continent, and within this framework there has been more efforts to develop the relations with African countries in every field. This study deals with the factors which makes Turkey's opening to Africa possible and necessary. Besides, the concrete steps taken to develop relations with Africa within the scope of the African Action Plan are assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Renaissance being a call for a re-birth of the African continent, advocates social cohesion, growth, development, promotion of values and ethics, and the establishment of Africa as a significant player in global affairs. The idea of a renaissance is an acknowledgement of a failure, in part or in whole, to realize Pan-Africanism aspirations of total liberation and unity of people of African descent. The Philosophy and movement of Pan- Africanism evoked a consciousness that questioned oppression and colonial domination. Decades after the actualization of self-determination by many African states, a united and advanced Africa remains farfetched. The re-birth of Africa is certainly long overdue. Multiple regional and sub-regional integration initiatives are reflections of attempts to achieve African renaissance and pan-Africanism. The obstacle however lies precisely in the leadership character and steps which undermines transformation. This paper argues from a political systems position that at the core of policy conceptualization, formulation and implementation, lies the human element; political actors and bureaucrats. The character and orientation of leaders, being ethical or unethical, invariable influences or gives colouration to policy outcomes. Therefore, the question of leadership in relation to ethics, character, critical thinking and constructive will sufficiently come to the fore in conversations about African renaissance and pan-Africanism. Ethical leadership invariably constitutes the nexus between Africa's current reality and the actualization of lofty aspirations of African renaissance and pan- Africanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 1963, some three months before sports administrators from around the world were to descend on Nairobi for the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) annual session, the meeting was in jeopardy. Government officials in Kenya announced that in protest against white minority rule on the African continent, delegates from Portugal and South Africa were to be denied entry visas. Their decision culminated in the eleventh-hour transfer of the IOC session from Nairobi, Kenya, to Baden-Baden, West Germany. Kenyan politicians, on the cusp of ousting British colonial control, were using the Nairobi IOC gathering of 1963 to advance the anti-colonial resolutions of the newly established Organization of African Unity (OAU) in solidarity with Africa's independent states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British reactions to China's increasing engagement with Africa in recent years have been manifested in particularly negative and reductive ways tending to depict China's presence in Africa as destructive and self-serving, in contrast to Britain's more enlightened, supportive approach. However, more recently official discourse has begun to stress the shared outlook between British and Chinese objectives, emphasising Chinese moves towards a more constructive, development-focused approach in Africa. This article discusses the ways in which China in Africa is viewed in British political circles and assesses the degree to which such views resonate with the British sense of its own idealised identity. It suggests that the two narratives represent two sides of a dual ‘liberal’ approach to the problem of ‘non-liberal’ actors in international politics: first the tendency to reject and see them as outside the international order; and second the attempt to rehabilitate them and bring them within it. The article concludes by exploring a number of reasons for the particular ways in which Britain, China and Africa are configured, arguing that this dual conception represents a sense of ambiguity about the potential universality of liberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the implications of the Chinese government's increasing engagement in Africa on the European Union's (EU) position as an established actor in the continent. It recalls the importance of the creation of the European Community (EC) since it enables EU to extend its geopolitical reach in the continent. However, it also mentions the Chinese government's effort to increase its activities in Africa, prompting EU to redefine the nature of its partnership with the continent.

This article will analyse Israel's past involvement (1956-1973) in Africa, in the context of a wider theoretical conceptualisation of the role of spatial development in the construction of moral geopolitics. Re-thinking the relevance of postcolonial critiques, the paper examines the political and institutional setup underlying Israeli involvement in development in Africa, documenting the scope of this phenomenon by looking at policy makers, professionals and institutions, studying the role of spatial development and planning in the design of Israel's policies, and analysing the actual results of such projects. Despite considerable Israeli involvement and investment in spatial development projects in postcolonial Africa, the existing literature on the subject is narrow, dealing mainly with pragmatic political interests, and there is hardly any structured documentation of Israel's exported spatial development to Africa - its scope, qualities, successes or failures. Moreover, in the wider literature the analysis of spatial development as “exported” knowledge is perceived as a by-product of the polity between Empires and the Margins - an assumption that this paper aims to question. This article is dedicated to the memory of Sara Khinski, with whom my journey to Africa began. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, in its quest for a closer strategic partnership with Africa, has increasingly dynamic economic, political and diplomatic activities on the continent. Chinese leaders and strategists believe that China's historical experience and vision of economic development resonates powerfully with African counterparts and that the long-standing history of friendly political linkages and development co-operation offers a durable foundation for future partnership. Both in China and amongst some Western commentators a form of exceptionalism and generalisation regarding both China and Africa has been emerging. In this article instead we seek to develop theoretical tools for examining China as a geopolitical and geoeconomic actor that is both different and similar to other industrial powers intervening in Africa. This is premised on a political economy approach that ties together material interests with a deconstruction of the discursive or 'extra-economic' ways by which Chinese capitalism internationalises. From there we use this framework to analyse contemporary Chinese engagement in Africa. We examine the changing historical position of Africa within Beijing's foreign policy strategy and China's vision of the evolving international political system, looking in particular at China's bilateral and state-centric approach to working with African 'partners'. Chinese practice is uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the notion of 'development' as an independent policy field of the kind that emerged among Western nations in the course of the 1950s and increasingly China has come to be viewed as a 'rogue creditor' and a threat to the international aid industry. Rather than highlighting one strand of Chinese relations with African states (such as aid or governance) we propose here that it is necessary to critically reflect on the wider geopolitics of China-Africa relations (past and present) in order to understand how China is opening up new 'choices' and altering the playing field for African development for the first time since the neo-liberal turn of the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government and its companies have dramatically increased their presence in Africa in the last decade. There has been much media interest and commentary on the impacts of this engagement on governance in Africa, as it is often seen to be strengthening authoritarian states, such Sudan and Zimbabwe.1 However, Chinese actors are also engaging with more democratic states and spaces, such as Zambia. This article seeks to explore the impacts of increased Chinese engagement with Africa on governance through a comparative case study of two contrasting cases: Sudan and Zambia, using the concept of flexigemony. Contrary to popular perception, behaviour by Chinese actors has sometimes been a moderating force in Sudan, while provoking violence in Zambia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors examine relations between the Russian Federation and African nations. The article was written to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples which declared an end to colonial rule throughout Africa. A number of issues are addressed including Africa as a source of minerals and other raw materials, infectious diseases in Africa, and a visit to Africa undertaken by Dmitry Medvedev, the president of Russia.

China's expansion into Africa has attracted a great deal of criticism, particularly regarding its implications for human rights on the continent. However, the nub of the problem is found within Africa itself, within the neo-patrimonial regimes that dominate the continent. Obviously, there is justifiable disquiet that Beijing's Africa policies may undermine political and economic reform on the continent. Nevertheless, the reasons for Africa's current predicament are complex and erecting a potential scapegoat to blame for Africa's woes makes little sense. Before critiquing China's role in Africa vis-à-vis governance and human rights, analysts need to understand both China's particular human rights discourse and the nature of most African states, for it is here that the real problem lies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reason for why it should be the policy of the United States to support pan-African sub-regional organizations that seek to have Africans help themselves. The author argues that it is in the United States' interest to support sub-regional organizations as a viable way to promote a self sufficient Africa. A stable and flourishing Africa provides the conditions for political and economic growth and counters the incidence of failed states which can serve as terrorist breeding grounds such as in the Sudan. Countries with a major influence on their neighborhood including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia require focused attention.

China's growing presence in Africa introduces a new dynamic in the continent's relations with the outside world. Motivated by vital resources and new markets to fuel its economy, coupled to a commitment to multilateralism, Beijing has embarked on a comprehensive trade and diplomatic offensive that is challenging Western pre-eminence in the region. African governments have responded enthusiastically to this new source of investment and aid as well as China's professed willingness to ignore political conditionalities. Chinese-African cooperation, however, remains constrained by the asymmetric nature of relations and Africa's changing attitude towards issues such as humanitarian intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the policy of Europe towards Africa since the early 1990s. Components of the European policy; Europe's African policy as a topic of European foreign policy analysis.

This article examines an apparent contradiction in the normative order and security culture of the African Union (AU). Many scholars and policy-makers alike have recognized a disjuncture between the norm of anti-imperialism, as expressed through the principle of 'African solutions to African problems', and the dependence of the AU on extraregional actors. This article shows that material constraints alone do not explain the AU's behaviour in this regard. Rather, I argue that what appears to be a contradiction in the normative order of the AU is actually a particular practice—a pragmatic and rather automatic cognitive and behavioural trait of AU officials and one that unfolds in the daily operation of the AU. It is a practice wherein AU officials uphold both the anti-imperialist norm and their pragmatic dependence as mutually congruent. This article explores this apparent contradiction, documenting its origins and illustrating its operation in practice. To do so, it provides an account of AU practices from within the AU itself, conceptualizing the AU as a community of practice, and draws on 21 interviews with member state officials from the AU and its wider African Peace and Security Architecture, as well as with European and North American diplomatic officials working alongside the AU in Addis Ababa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to assess the civilian character of Turkey's political economy in sub-Saharan Africa with a special focus on its trade policy towards African countries. It also seeks to explore the degree to which its trade policies towards the continent contribute to the construction of a civilian foreign policy. Additionally, this study delves into the linkages between "power and trade" and between "civilian power and trade". Assuming that Turkey is not usually conceived as a traditional civilian power in the IR literature and political debates, this paper aims to fill the lacuna in the existing literature focusing on the impact of trade on the making of civilian power. Applying Maull's threefaceted framework of civilian power characteristics (cooperation, use of economic means, development of supranational structures), this study concludes that in Turkey's emerging "civilian power" objectives, trade's role is larger in the use of economic means for securing national goals and cooperation in the pursuit of international objectives than in the development of supranational structures for international management level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the proposed Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), which refers to a collaborative vision shared by India and Japan to create a growth corridor and industrial network connecting Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa across the Indo-Pacific region. Topics discussed include the policy motivation for AACG, the possibility of the AAGC's final materialization, and the impact of AACG on China's Belt and Road Initiative.

This article considers the economic effects of corporatization processes in Africa through an analysis of the intervention of French media companies in the economy of Nigerian video film distribution in Frenchspeaking West Africa, and particularly in Côte d'Ivoire. In a global context that is marked by the price volatility of raw materials such as oil and copper, screen media have been described as the new 'African black gold', attracting the interest of a large number of both African and non-African players and setting in motion a process of the 'corporate takeover' of African screen media industries. Analysing this process can help us to understand wider economic transformations in Africa. This article examines what we might call the 'technopolitics' of Nigerian video films' circulation and their historical transformations by examining the microdimension of the experiences of a number of West African video film producers and distributors, and the macro-dimension of the activities of a French corporation, CanalPlus, which is investing in Nollywood's distribution. It argues that Nollywood has acquired a strategic function for French enterprises that are investing in Africa, as evidenced by the transformation of Côte d'Ivoire's role in the economy of Nigerian video films' transnational circulation. This suggests a new and transformed dimension to France's economic and political relationships with sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a more nuanced assessment of the politics of African neoliberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article offers information on the research collaborations between Africa and China involving science and technology projects. It mentions the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) initiative launch by China in November 2009 funding 100 joint demonstration projects concerning technological and scientific research in 49 African countries. It adds that the trade between the Africa and China had increased by ten-fold since 2000.

The issue of bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy is not often substantially addressed. The country's relations with the world appear to exhibit strong continuity regardless of the political party in government. And yet, when it comes to engagement with African states and issues, the last two decades have seen highly prominent partisan differences in Australian foreign policy. This article utilises the example of Australia's foreign policy engagement with Africa to argue that there may be two levels of understanding bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy. On the one hand, aimed at relationships and issues perceived to be of primal and significant security and economic well-being for the country, Australian foreign policy does indeed appear to be bipartisan. However, aimed at relationships and issues that have traditionally been perceived as holding minimal security and economic interest and importance for the country, Australian foreign policy does exhibit partisanship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violent conflict escalated in Africa in 2014, with five sub-Saharan states – the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – accounting for an estimated 75% of all conflict-related deaths on the continent. This paper provides an overview of the five major sub-Saharan African conflicts in 2014 and considers the underlying causes and dynamics in the Seleka/anti-Balaka conflict in the CAR, the Islamist threats of Boko Haram and al-Shabaab in Nigeria and Somalia, the civil war in South Sudan, and the long-running conflict between Sudan's government and southern and Darfuri rebels. The paper unpacks the general trends evident in these conflicts and the implications for the settlement thereof, including the targeting of civilians, ethnic and religious mobilisation and the state as epicentre of violence. The paper concludes with a brief look ahead to 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]