The US Role in African Development: An Analytical Assessment

Abstract

United States-Africa relations have always remained a significant part of American foreign policy. The African dimension of US foreign policy is fundamentally focused on infrastructural development and humanitarian aid, both of which offer engagement opportunities as well as pose potential challenges. The cooperative ties of different African nations with the United States have resulted in multileveled two-sided engagements in the political, economic, and social domains. Washington’s varying patterns of development agenda for the African continent have created certain bilateral and multilateral cooperative frameworks between the United States and the sub-Saharan nations. These frameworks have developed a robust interconnectedness between the US and the African continent while also posing certain challenges in great power politics. The central purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive account of various arguments concerning the African directions of the US international development agenda and its multi-layered pattern. Focusing on American development campaigns, the paper highlights the emerging response of Chinese and Russian trading designs in Africa as a potential challenge to the promotion of the American soft image. Informed by the theory of soft power, the paper analyzes American cultural diplomacy, political coordination, and economic cooperation in the African region while also accounting for the counterbalancing challenges in this engagement.