Latest Articles about Africa
Why Mozambique Is Outsourcing Counter-Insurgency to Russia: Hidden Loans and Naval Bases
*To read the companion piece to this article, please click here. At the heart of Mozambique’s reinvigorated relationship with Moscow (see EDM, October 29) is a financial scandal that almost ruined the country. Specifically, corrupt elements in the southeast African state’s Frente de Libertação de... MORE
Why Mozambique Is Outsourcing Counter-Insurgency to Russia: The Historical Relationship
A new government offensive in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province is the latest attempt to eliminate shadowy Islamist insurgents in a region whose untapped energy reserves could reverse the country’s economic misfortunes and the damage inflicted by decades of civil war and on-again, off-again insurgencies... MORE
The Russia-Africa Summit: Soviet Mistakes and Fresh Challenges
The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, held in Sochi on October 23–24, is the first regional event of such magnitude ever hosted by the Russian Federation. While the main goals set forth by the Kremlin were political and economic (e.g., to double the current volume... MORE
Putin Sees Africa as a Battleground Against the West
President Vladimir Putin views Africa not as an end in itself, even when he and Russia obviously benefit directly (Rosbalt, January 19; see EDM, October 15), but rather as a battlefield in his renewed cold war against the West. This Soviet-style approach contains within it... MORE
The Kremlin’s Two-Pronged Approach in Africa Ahead of the Russia-Africa Summit
The Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum (Interaffairs.ru, October 17), to be held in Sochi, on October 23–24, is expected to become a regular event of huge importance for Moscow (Summitafrica.ru, accessed October 21). In many ways, this Summit is viewed by the Russian side as... MORE
Russia Prepares a Foothold in Mozambique: Risks and Opportunities
Portuguese military journalist Nuno Felix tweeted, on September 8, that a group of Russian military personnel—not private military company (PMC) employees—had landed at the Nacala Airport, in Mozambique. The journalist claimed this information came “from a credible local military source” (Twitter.com/Felix_Nuno, September 8). A month... MORE
Sweep of Putin’s African Ambitions Coming into Sharp Focus
Last January, Rosbalt commentator Aleksandr Zhelenin suggested it was a mistake to try to find some “grand political design” in Russia’s deepening involvement in Africa. The explanation for what has been occurring, he said, is “both simpler and more disturbing”: it is a reflection of... MORE
Hot Issue – The Race for Bases, Ports, and Resources in the Horn of Africa Heats Up
Executive summary: The battle for access and influence in the Horn of Africa is intensifying as the Gulf States, Turkey, and China race to secure footholds. At the same time, rivalries between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Turkey are shaping how... MORE
Falling off the Fence: Russian Mercenaries Join the Battle for Tripoli
Russia’s so-far ambiguous approach to Libya’s internal conflict, one of reassuring both sides of its continued support, has begun to shift with the deployment of Russian mercenaries backing “Field Marshal” Khalifa Haftar on the front lines of the battle for Tripoli. Despite Moscow’s search for... MORE