US Presidential Elections

The result of the vote could have a profound impact on US foreign policy in Africa, the EU’s Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) says. During his tenure Trump has proposed a large-scale pullback of US forces abroad, including in West Africa, marking a strategic shift from the ‘war on terror’ to countering China’s growing influence in Africa through other means, says Giovanni Faleg, a senior analyst at the Paris-based EU agency.   “As competition mainly revolves around the predatory economic practices (of China) the first pillar of Trump’s strategy is advancing US trade and commercial ties with the region,” Faleg says. This included the Trump administration’s ‘Prosper Africa’ initiative whose objective is to streamline bureaucracy, expand the role of the private sector, and remove logistical trade barriers. “Trump has never personally considered Africa a priority region or traveled to sub-Saharan countries,” Faleg says, while “his rhetoric towards Africa in public speeches […]