Africa’s Growing Strategic Autonomy

By Emmanuel Musaazi

From the fifteenth century onwards, Africa’s path has been shaped by external powers who saw the continent less as a partner and more as a resource to be exploited. The trans-Saharan slave trade, driven by Middle Eastern powers, and the brutal trans-Atlantic slave trade orchestrated by European empires, tore millions from their communities and devastated entire regions.

This exploitation of human labor laid the foundation for centuries of economic subjugation. Even after the formal abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, colonial rule quickly followed.

European colonial powers carved up Africa, from the 1884 Berlin Conference through the early decades of the twentieth century, seizing control of land and resources to fuel their industrial revolutions. African agency was sidelined, and traditional structures of self-governance were systematically dismantled.

This dynamic of paternalistic domination continued into the post-colonial era, though it shifted from military conquest to economic manipulation. The establishment of the Bretton Woods financial institutions – particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – after the Second World War seemed to offer a new global order of cooperation and reconstruction.

In reality, these institutions often imposed financial policies and loan conditions that kept African economies tied to external agendas. For instance, structural adjustment programs in the 1980s and 1990s demanded deep cuts in public spending, leading to reduced investments in education and healthcare while prioritizing foreign debt repayments.

Through it all, Africa was rarely treated as an equal partner. Instead, its leaders were too often forced to accept unfavorable terms that served the interests of others.

Building on this legacy of external control, the landscape began to shift in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in a unipolar world dominated by Western economic and political systems.

However, the emergence of China as a global economic powerhouse challenged this dynamic. Unlike the West, whose engagement with Africa often came with stringent political conditions and cultural prescriptions, China presented itself as a partner focused on infrastructure development and mutual prosperity, without imposing its political ideology.

Development Through Partnership – The Chinese Approach

This economic alternative has given Africa more agency in shaping its destiny. Rather than being forced into one-sided deals dictated by Western banks and governments, African nations have increasingly been able to choose partners who offer them better terms.

Chinese investments in African roads, ports, and energy projects since the early 2000s have often come with fewer political strings attached, allowing African countries to prioritize their own development goals. Western observers sometimes dismiss these ties as a shift towards communist ideology, but in reality, they are driven by practical considerations – China’s willingness to invest in Africa’s long-term growth and treat African governments as equal partners.

This new dynamic has opened a fresh chapter in Africa’s ongoing struggle for strategic autonomy. With more choices for trade and infrastructure development, African leaders have been able to negotiate from a stronger position.

This doesn’t mean that all challenges are gone – imbalances and dependencies remain – but for the first time in centuries, Africa’s agency in the global economic order is expanding. The continent’s resources are no longer just a prize for foreign powers – they are increasingly recognized as assets to be developed and managed for the benefit of Africans themselves.

China’s approach to engaging with Africa, rooted in non-interference in domestic affairs and a pragmatic focus on development, is increasingly being echoed by other global powers. Countries like the United States, Türkiye, Russia, and India have begun to adopt similar methods – prioritizing stability and shared prosperity over imposing political or cultural models.

The unfair tariffs imposed on many African nations and the withdrawal of aid programs have acted as a catalyst, sparking deeper discussions and new strategies to enhance intra-African cooperation and reduce reliance on foreign powers.

This signals a broader shift in international relations, moving away from the paternalistic practices of the past and towards a more balanced, mutually beneficial framework.

A clear example of this shifting dynamic is President Biden’s 2022 launch of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a U.S.-led G7 initiative aimed at boosting trade and investment across Africa and other developing regions. One of its flagship projects is the Lobito Corridor – a vital rail and port network that links the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola.

The 2023 Lobito Corridor Trans-Africa Summit underscored a significant departure from the West’s traditional focus on aid and handouts. Instead, it highlighted Africa’s growing strategic autonomy and the move towards partnerships focused on infrastructure development and private investment.

This mirrors China’s pragmatic, business-driven approach championed through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), showing how Africa is increasingly engaging with the world on its terms.

Biden’s visit to Angola in 2023 underscored this evolving partnership model. It wasn’t about dictating terms but about working together on shared economic goals – a vision of cooperation that acknowledges Africa’s right to shape its own development path.

In this sense, Africa’s engagement with both traditional and new partners is no longer defined by dependency. It reflects a new era in which African agency is more visible than ever, as the continent navigates its future with increasing confidence and leverage.

Case For Strategic Autonomy

In the current America-first era of US President Trump, marked by aggressive tariffs and trade wars designed to coerce countries into one-sided deals favoring the U.S., one might have expected a decline in Africa’s hard-won strategic autonomy. The Trump administration’s transactional approach, coupled with its clear disengagement from Africa politically and economically, signaled a possible return to the status quo of external dominance.

But the numbers tell a different story: in 2024, the United States had a trade deficit of US$7.36 billion with African partners, representing just 0.6 percent of America’s total trade deficit of over US$1.2 trillion that year. For Africa, America’s retreat has not been a devastating blow.

Most of Africa’s exports – about 40 percent – now go to Asia, mainly to China and India. By contrast, only 6 percent of African exports went to the U.S., largely through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which faces an uncertain future when it comes up for renewal on September 30, 2025.

This spirit of agency has found expression in Africa’s deepening ties with China and other emerging partners through South-South cooperation frameworks like BRICS. China’s pragmatic approach, focusing on infrastructure and long-term growth without political interference, has resonated strongly.

These shifting patterns underscore a growing independence in Africa’s global dealings. Rather than pulling Africa back into dependency, the Trump administration’s strong-arm tactics have inadvertently unified much of the world in a shared economic purpose, following China’s example of non-interference and mutual benefit.

This has only strengthened Africa’s resolve to chart its own course. The unfair tariffs imposed on many African nations and the withdrawal of aid programs have acted as a catalyst, sparking deeper discussions and new strategies to enhance intra-African cooperation and reduce reliance on foreign powers.

Initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched in 2019, aim to build a single market across the continent, cutting down barriers and boosting African trade with itself. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), introduced in 2021, is already working to simplify payments across African borders, reducing dependence on foreign currencies and financial systems.

The Regional Infrastructure Projects of Strategic Importance (RIPoS) are also part of this new era, focusing on developing critical road, rail, and energy links that tie African countries closer together. These homegrown efforts speak to Africa’s growing strategic autonomy: a determination to build capacity from within, create better deals for its people, and engage with the wider world on its terms.

Strategic Autonomy: The Way Forward For Sustainable Development

As African political and business leaders have noted in recent years, this shift toward greater autonomy is not simply a matter of economic policy – it’s a vital strategy for survival and dignity. As former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo once said, “Africa must stop being a pawn in the global chess game and start playing to its strengths.”

Echoing this sentiment, Strive Masiyiwa, the Zimbabwean entrepreneur and founder of Econet, has argued that “building our trade ties within Africa is no longer optional – it’s essential for resilience and growth.”

This spirit of agency has found expression in Africa’s deepening ties with China and other emerging partners through South-South cooperation frameworks like BRICS. China’s pragmatic approach, focusing on infrastructure and long-term growth without political interference, has resonated strongly.

It has shown that Africa can engage in partnerships based on mutual respect rather than paternalistic dictates.

Meanwhile, the Trump-era tariffs and economic coercion – far from returning Africa to subservience – have only served to highlight the risks of over-dependence on Western markets and financial systems.

As Africa strengthens its intra-continental trade links through AfCFTA, streamlines financial transactions with PAPSS, and drives infrastructure integration via RIPoS, the continent is sending a clear message: Africa’s future will be defined by African priorities. The challenge now lies with the West.

If it wants to remain relevant in this new era, it must fundamentally rethink its approach, moving beyond transactional deals and paternalistic aid to embrace Africa as a true partner in development. Otherwise, it risks becoming a peripheral player in a world where Africa’s voice and agency are finally taking center stage.