¨Russia in Africa: Why the sudden Interest?¨ by Sebastian R.
Russia is the largest country in the world. It is one of the world’s superpowers when it comes to countries. Russia is heavily reliant on natural resources like gas and oil. Then there is Africa, with the lowest GDP out of any other continent in the world. However, it does have a plethora of natural resources that countries could use. Africa has always been seen by other countries as a place to try to colonize and take from, so they can benefit from these resources. It should be easy to see why the African government might be interested in economic relations with Russia, but why would Russia be so willing and ready to begin this relationship? Is there another unseen purpose for Russia’s activity in Africa?
Russia is not the first to hop on the trend of organizing and institutionalizing Africa’s summits. Countries like China, India, Japan, France, and even the United States are a few countries that have already done this. Africa has a lot to offer other countries and in return, this helps Africa’s economy. Things like exotic animals are hunted and poached ruining the environment there. This is all because of supply and demand for pets and other resources like ivory. African’s export these things and many others such as gold, diamonds, and platinum. Africa benefits by exporting these to other countries and those who have a closer relationship with Africa get more resources. This makes many wonder if Russia is trying to get Africa’s natural resources just like other countries around the world?
There are so many other reasons Russia could want this close relationship with Africa. Russia is known for not being the most kind and understanding because of their past. Also, the fact that they are a communist country and that goes against many other countries' core values. They are slowly increasing their influence in Africa. This can be shown throughout Africa with all of the Russian corporations. (Shown Below) Russia and Africa’s trade between each other has gone up a sizable amount since 2005. It has increased a whopping 185 percent. Is Russia’s intent purely economic reasons?
(Russia-Africa Summit)
Russia is not the first to hop on the trend of organizing and institutionalizing Africa’s summits. Countries like China, India, Japan, France, and even the United States are a few countries that have already done this. Africa has a lot to offer other countries and in return, this helps Africa’s economy. Things like exotic animals are hunted and poached ruining the environment there. This is all because of supply and demand for pets and other resources like ivory. African’s export these things and many others such as gold, diamonds, and platinum. Africa benefits by exporting these to other countries and those who have a closer relationship with Africa get more resources. This makes many wonder if Russia is trying to get Africa’s natural resources just like other countries around the world?
There are so many other reasons Russia could want this close relationship with Africa. Russia is known for not being the most kind and understanding because of their past. Also, the fact that they are a communist country and that goes against many other countries' core values. They are slowly increasing their influence in Africa. This can be shown throughout Africa with all of the Russian corporations. (Shown Below) Russia and Africa’s trade between each other has gone up a sizable amount since 2005. It has increased a whopping 185 percent. Is Russia’s intent purely economic reasons?
(Russian Corporations in Africa as of 2018)
One of the biggest things that people are scared of is the selling of weapons. Countries are scared because this will give Africa access to technology that they are not known for. Plus, if Russia is enabling Africa to have new advanced military technologies they will have a very strong relationship with Russia. The selling of arms and the economic trade between these two countries broadens the influence of Russia. This can be threatening to countries that are not allies of Russia. The more influence Russia has, the more power they will start having. Russia has already started supplying Africa with arms and security. Russia in recent years has made up 35 percent of exports going into Africa followed by China at only 17 percent. Even the Central African Republic’s national security advisor is a Russian citizen. This shows how much African officials are comfortable with Russia and the strong relationship that they are building.
This makes people question more things about not only Russia and Africa, but other countries. Questions such as, how do other countries feel about this relationship slowly growing stronger in Africa? Like most people know that the US tries to be the ‘problem solver’ of the world. Even John Bolten, a past US security advisor said, “predatory practices pursued by China and Russia stunt economic growth in Africa, threaten the financial independence of African nations, inhibit opportunities for U.S. investment, interfere with U.S. military operations, and pose a significant threat to US national security interests.” He is looking out for Africa but is also looking out for the United States’ economic and military interests. This is how many other countries feel about Russia and Africa’s relationship. This is because every country wants their piece of Africa’s resources and that they don’t want Russian influence to grow because this means Russia will have more power.
What does this mean for Russia and Africa? For Russia, this will give them more global influence. Not only this, but they will project their power on a global stage. The more they insert themselves into Africa, the more they will control. It has even been said that Russia sells arms to Africa in exchange for votes at the United Nations. Then there is Africa, which seems to benefit a lot more than Russia. They continue to grow their military for protection and their economy grows even more. So, why does it matter that Africa is benefiting from a powerful country like Russia? It matters because they are enabling Russia to have even more power. Russia is one of the strongest countries in the world and that is dangerous for many countries. Russia has been known to be very unpredictable. So with more power comes even greater unpredictability.
In conclusion, there is no telling what Russia truly wants with Africa. Do they want resources that come with Africa’s land? Are they wanting to have Africa as a close ally in the future? Will they try taking control of Africa’s government? In the end, Russia will never admit what they are doing even if it is nothing worth concern. Russia has shown interest in Africa for a while now for economic and military reasons, but this is where other countries start to have problems. Russia is taking over the market in Africa and all other countries want to have the same access to Africa’s resources. This newly found relationship that Russia has with Africa is very likely to become stronger. This could make Africa become a more powerful place in a few years. Both countries are profiting off of this relationship, but this could mean danger for many other places if Russia intends to do so. Should countries even be worried? Will Russia continue to expand its influence in Africa?
Work Cited
Adibe, Jideofor. “What Does Russia Really Want from Africa?” Brookings, Brookings, 14 Nov. 2019, www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2019/11/14/what-does-russia-really-want-from-africa/.
“Africa: A Continent of Wealth, a Continent of Poverty.” War on Want, 22 Dec. 2015, waronwant.org/media/africa-continent-wealth-continent-poverty.
Penney, Joe. “Russia's Africa Summit Is the Latest Step in Its Resurgence as a Global Power on the Continent.” Quartz Africa, Quartz, 12 Oct. 2019, qz.com/africa/1726464/russia-africa-summit-marks-growing-influence-with-presidents/.
“Russia.” Russia Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption, www.heritage.org/index/country/russia.
Stratfor Worldview. “Russia Has Big Plans to Expand Its Influence in Africa.” The National Interest,
The Center for the National Interest, 4 Nov. 2019, nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia-has-big-plans-expand-its-influence-africa-93156.
It is alarming how interested Russia seems in Africa. Knowing Russia's history of military aggression, as well as what happened years ago in Crimea, I find it hard to trust Russia. Africa's resources are important to the world's economy, and if Russian influence began to take hold of them, I think it would mean bad things for most other countries in the world.
ReplyDeleteI think that what is going on is similar to what has been going on in Africa for centuries. Russia is saying that they are going to help the economy of African countries in exchange for access to the natural resources there and create a deal that is very lopsided. These kinds of things have been happening all the time due to the economic and political position Africa is in.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first news I have heard about this occurrence. I do find it quite odd that Russia has a sudden interest in Africa of all places. I feel that they definitely have some sort of ulterior motive in their sudden partnership with the nation of Africa. It wouldn't be surprising if they were striking up a partnership in order to secure African resources, as countries have been exploiting Africa for centuries. It also wouldn't surprise me if they were planning on selling arms to Africa, as Russia has been the largest dealer of firearms to nations around the world since the Cold War. Russia has supplied weapons to nearly every hostile military group in the world. If they have a plan to arm Africa, it could potentially be a part of an even larger scheme. Nevertheless, I think we should definitely keep an eye on them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with AJ that it is alarming. A lot of world trading goes through Africa and of Russia controlled it they could make it complementary stop. I believe the resources are a big reason that Russia would want Africa in the first place.
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