African Security and the United States: Letters from Africa to President Donald J. Trump

• Published in: African security Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 73 - 79
• Main Authors: Obasanjo, Iyabo, Solomon, Hussein, Aning Afua Lamptey, Emmanuel Kwesi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pretoria Routledge 03.04.2017; Taylor & Francis, Ltd; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: International relations; Militarization; Presidents; Regional security; Trump, Donald J; United States > US; Africa
• ISSN: 1939-2206; 1939-2214
• DOI: 10.1080/19392206.2017.1305862

Eight years ago we printed three letters to President Obama at the cusp of the new administration (Volume 2, Issue 1, 2009). Two prominent themes infused those letters: First, the traditional approach to security that focuses on the state is a poor fit for Africa. Rarely do African states threaten their neighbors. Interstate war is rare. Intrastate conflict is less rare. The second theme was the importance of dialogue. This was a reflection, in part, to the awkward rollout of AFRICOM. As Mark Twain once said, "History does not repeat itself, it just rhymes." The issue of engagement takes on a new meaning in the early days of the Trump administration. Africa's importance to the United States has already been questioned. Yet President Trump does have a strong interest in economic competition with China, and Africa is an important playing field. Possibly more concerning is that the new president apparently privileges the Department of Defense over the Department of State. This echoes the charge that AFRICOM signaled the militarization of the U.S. Africa policy. Ironically, AFRICOM was structured to include the State Department. The possibility of defunding the State Department and USAID is not reassuring for Arica.