US Influence Over Africa: Same Game, New Faces
As African Union leaders gather, mainstream reports fixate on Donald Trump as the 'elephant in the room,' fretting over how his potential return might impact foreign aid, trade, and diplomatic engagement. The supposed dread, we are told, stems from his past 'America First' rhetoric and transactional diplomacy, contrasting with the current administration's perceived softer approach. Yet, this
hand-wringing conveniently sidesteps the deeper dependency US policy cultivates. Washington’s Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), established in 2000, for instance, has long tied African trade access to criteria ostensibly about governance and human rights, but often enforced selectively to protect US corporate interests. In 2022 alone, US foreign aid to Sub-Saharan Africa exceeded $7.5
billion, a figure that buys considerable leverage, irrespective of which American president signs the checks. One might wonder why the AU's concerns constantly circle back to personalities in Washington rather than fostering genuine economic sovereignty. The pattern here echoes the 1960s, when newly independent African states found their development paths frequently undermined by Washington's Cold
War machinations, swapping direct colonialism for neocolonial economic and political dictates. It's less about Trump's temperament and more about a systemic imbalance where African priorities remain secondary to US strategic calculations. Ultimately, the performance of African leaders fearing a Trump return serves a dual purpose: it frames the current US administration as the benevolent