Download: Concept Note

Global competition for spheres of influence, technological supremacy, and raw materials is heating up. States increasingly use their economic power to shape the global order according to their national interests without due diligence to how these actions impact others. Increasing tensions between USA and China, the Russian war in Ukraine, and regional instability in the Sahel are but a few examples. With their abundant natural resources and markets, emerging space for innovation and creativity, African countries are rapidly gaining strategic importance. Due to their limited hard-power profiles, they so far could hardly challenge the ambitions of global powers. Simultaneously, institutions and norms of the liberal world order continue to reflect the views of those who wield the most power. The renewed global competition offers a unique opportunity to redefine African states’ global partnerships. It evokes and reinforces the need to seek avenues that engender democratic norms and values even in a context of diverse interests.