America’s current Africa policy is being overtaken by events and is ill suited to adequately address the coup pandemic. In this article, we outline what we see as the main challenge for U.S. Africa policy today – which we call the Africa policy trilemma, or the difficulty of simultaneously promoting democracy, combatting violent extremism, and engaging in great-power competition. Prioritizing more diplomacy and development could help to prevent the growing militarization of U.S. Africa policy seen in recent years. The second section examines the history of U.S. Africa policy and engagement related to democracy promotion, counter-terrorism, and great-power competition. We conclude with a number of policy recommendations the United States could adopt to reinvigorate Africa policy to better enable democratization in the future.

Source: New York Times May 21, 2024 15:06 UTC