The Russia-Africa Summit, October 2019. From GovernmentZA, Flickr [CC BY-ND 2.0].
Russia’s next set of interests in Africa center on limiting the diplomatic and reputational damage from its war on Ukraine. Due to its lack of a colonial history in Africa, and memories of Soviet support for African liberation movements, Moscow enjoyed a reservoir of goodwill among many African governments. Since February 2022, it has drawn on this goodwill to influence the UN votes of African states, especially where Ukraine is concerned. Africa routinely has the highest proportion of countries abstaining from or voting against UN resolutions condemning Russia. Immediately after the full-scale invasion, South Africa led a bloc of African countries that abstained from the UN General Assembly resolution condemning Moscow’s aggression. Although over 81% of non-African member states voted for the resolution, only 51% of African members did, underlining the fact that opinion among African UN members is split over fault for the war. This pattern has largely persisted since, with African states being less willing to condemn Russia than are other UN members. Underlining Russia’s instrumental attitude toward Africa is the fact that it has been fertile recruiting ground for the Russian military, with many Africans sent to fight in Ukraine. Ukraine’s government says over 1400 Africans are fighting for Russia there, often having been lured to Ukraine on false pretenses. Luring Africans to fight at the [10] front in Ukraine converts Africa’s poverty to Russia’s advantage, and recruiting foreigners avoids having to mobilize urban ethnic Russians, a move that could carry a high political cost for the Kremlin. China frames its activities and objectives in Africa as “win-win”; sometimes making good on that promise and other times failing to do so. Compared to Russia’s, China’s interests in Africa are broader, more comprehensive, and more formally integrated. Where Russia often informally parlays security assistance into resource extraction, China has formal programs aimed at bolstering security (GSI), building the infrastructure of a global trading system (BRI), and enabling economic development (GDI). The overall goal of these programs is to establish a new global order based on China’s vision of itself and its role in the world. [9] [11]
// RUSSIA AND CHINA IN AFRICA Delphi Global Research Center
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