Andrea Peters
Africa is no longer a peripheral theater but the decisive arena where the United States will either reset a broken relationship and reclaim strategic relevance—or cede the future to China's entrenched, long-game presence on the continent. America's diplomatic engagements with Africa have historically been characterized as episodic and self-serving, although Africa is one of the world's last frontiers of critical development with significant strategic implications. This tacit relationship developed during the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the 16th century and remains relevant today.
Behavior gives credence to the underlying unresolved racial tensions and misunderstood political and cultural complexities of the continent. Policymakers have historically prioritized other regions of the world based on confirmed pacing threats, while largely ignoring Africa, which created a power vacuum for rogue actors and known adversaries. The United States' inconsistent diplomatic engagement with Africa continues to reflect enduring racial tensions and a persistent misreading of the continent's political and cultural complexity, contributing to a steady decline in America's strategic influence as China consolidates a more structured and durable presence across the continent.
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