Africa quarterly special on emerging powers.pdf - SAFPI

P A R A D I G M S H I F T17 percent. Since 2001, funding for IMET and FMF hasincreased approximately 35.6 percent and 27.8 percent,respectively [Williams, 2006].This marks a shift away from issues of humanitarian aid,peacekeeping and democracy to security and law and orderissues. Countries seen as central to the War on Terror —Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya — received the bulkof IMET assistance between 2001 and 2005. Angola, whichit needs to keep satisfied because of its oil resources, andRwanda, in which it is developing a strategic interest, havealso received such funding. The biggest loser in this periodwas South <strong>Africa</strong>, its strategic ally through the better part ofthe 20th century, where there was a 95 percent decline insuch funds.At the same time, the U.S. signed a memorandum ofunderstanding in April 2010 with South <strong>Africa</strong> to lay theframework for a ‘Strategic Dialogue’ focusing on issuesinvolving health, trade, energy and non-proliferation, amongothers [U.S. Department of State, 2010]. While militaryprogrammes and aid have declined, South <strong>Africa</strong>’s stabilisingpotential and its latent importance as a partner is recognised,particularly under the Obama administration, which has beenfurthering an ongoing Non-proliferation and DisarmamentDialogue, and has also signed an agreement on Cooperationon Nuclear Energy Research and Dialogue in April 2010[U.S. Department of State, 2010].In fact, apart from trade, particularly in hydrocarbons,security issues appear to be uppermost in U.S. foreignpolicy considerations. Such security considerations may belinked to securing its oil interests particularly since it appearsto be keen on shifting out of its dependence on MiddleEastern oil after the Iraq War and the highly volatile natureof its current politics. Even President Obama, despite hisrhetoric of viewing <strong>Africa</strong> as a “partner” and being “ready tocontribute to <strong>Africa</strong>’s growth and stabilisation”, strengthening<strong>Africa</strong>n governments so that ultimately “<strong>Africa</strong>n leaderstake control”, is, in essence, continuing and expandingformer president George W. Bush’s unilateralist securitypolicy in the continent.The Obama administration asked for $38 million for aforeign military financing programme to pay for U.S. arms salesto <strong>Africa</strong>, $21 million for IMET and $24.4 million forAnti-Terror Financing Programmes in 2010 [News & Trends:<strong>Africa</strong>, 2010]. Overarching all these is the new <strong>Africa</strong>nCommand or AFRICOM, which transited to an independentUnified Command Status in 2008 [Dickinson, 2009]. Therewas no separate defence Command for <strong>Africa</strong> prior to the settingup of AFRICOM, which is now responsible for U.S.military relations with all <strong>Africa</strong>n countries, given the fact,according to its website, that <strong>Africa</strong> is “growing in military andeconomic importance in global affairs” [U.S. AFRICOMPublic Affairs Office, 2010]. Obama also appointed a SpecialEnvoy to Sudan, Gen. Scott Gration, as well as a Special Adviserfor the Great Lakes, former Congressman Howard Wolpe.While the new U.S. relationship with <strong>Africa</strong>n statesreflects a kind of aggressive diplomacy that may not beovertly attractive to <strong>Africa</strong>n states, the fact remains that theU.S. is still the world’s sole superpower and has the world’slargest GDP. As such, it is attractive as a trading partner andit is in <strong>Africa</strong>n countries’ interest to trade with it if the termsare suitable.eU and africaThe EU, on the other hand, follows a different policy andits diplomacy is much more subtle but perhaps moreeffective. The EU appears to have taken lessons in diplomaticstrategy from the emerging powers and is pursuing itsagenda in <strong>Africa</strong> on similar lines. Although the Eurozonecrisis has affected its investment and purchasing power andshifted priorities for the time being, the EU has a long-termagenda for <strong>Africa</strong>. Europe has had trade links with<strong>Africa</strong> going back a long time. These links were in morecontemporary times enhanced by privileged agreements likethe Yaoundé and Lome Conventions and the more recentCotonou agreement (2001) [Douaud, Caprile, 2008].In view of the fact that the EU is the biggest market for<strong>Africa</strong>n products, taking in around 85 percent of its cotton,fruits and vegetables, it is no wonder that Europe hasenduring interests in <strong>Africa</strong>. Faced with the World TradeOrganisation’s (WTO) regime institutionalisation, it has beenforced to move away from privileged bilateral to WTOcompatiblemultilateral trade deals. As such, the EU alsolaunched negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements(EPAs) with all <strong>Africa</strong>n, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)countries in 2002 [Nolte, 2002].It is interesting that the EU now focuses on <strong>Africa</strong>’sdevelopment as part of its agenda in that continent much asIndia and China speak of cooperation for mutual benefitinvolving infrastructural and other kinds of development in<strong>Africa</strong>. The difference, however, is that the EU emphasisesgood governance and human rights along with economicgrowth. The security-development nexus, changes withinboth the AU and the EU, new international developmentcommitments under the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), increasing competition with the emerging powers(Asia is now <strong>Africa</strong>’s third-largest trading partner after theU.S. and the EU) and depleting energy and natural resources,are all factors behind the EU’s increasing interest in <strong>Africa</strong>ndevelopment. One of the objectives of the EU Strategy for<strong>Africa</strong>’s Development of 2005 was to “give people in lessadvanced countries control over their own development”,focusing on four main pillars: peace and security, humanrights and good governance, health and education, andeconomic growth [Europa, 2005].Accordingly, the <strong>Africa</strong>-EU summit of 2007 in Lisboncreated a new <strong>Africa</strong>-EU Strategic Partnership providing anaction plan for 2008-10 on eight points of cooperation thatinclude peace and security, MDGs, trade, democraticgovernance, science and space, energy, and climate change[<strong>Africa</strong>-EU Ministerial Troika, First Action Plan, 2007].32August 2011-January 2012