Moscow is seen as a more friendly ally by African nations that treats them as equals in a multipolar world.
The burden of tough economic sanctions by Western states and a lingering war with Ukraine should have buried any thought of expanding Russian influence beyond its borders.
However, Russia is pushing through the dark clouds to shape a future of geopolitics without the West at the center – a multipolar world in which Moscow is a major player.
This push for a new order, despite being recent, is gaining some traction, thanks in part to a growing romance between Russia and the African Union.
- Russia’s growing popularity in Africa
Africa and the African Union have, for most of modern history, looked to the West for bilateral relationships.
Some nations over the years have survived on aid from Western partners or their erstwhile colonial masters, and others have also depended on the West for military support.
But recently most of these countries, once loyal to the West, have taken a new open-minded approach to international relations.
The Russia-Africa Ministerial Conference, which took place last November in Sochi, is the first of its kind in the relationship between both parties.
Still, it also followed the spirit of the October BRICS summit in Kazan, where Russia hosted African leaders.
The conference not only kept the already existing relationship foundation laid by the Russia-Africa Summit in 2023 but also became the next step toward expanding bilateral cooperation in agriculture, defense, education, energy, investment, medicine, mining, and in international bodies and trade.
This two-pronged purpose strongly indicates Russia’s growing influence in the region.
The discussions held at the ministerial conference reveal several major factors driving Russia’s increased acceptance and popularity in Africa.
First of all, there is a common dissatisfaction among African nations with their relationship with the West.
It is a relationship that has resulted in the West infringing on the sovereignty of some African nations, placing harsh economic sanctions on defiant African nations, and even influencing domestic politics.
This experience has pushed most African nations to seek alternative partners outside the continent.
Russia’s non-involvement in the colonization of Africa, coupled with the fact that no African state has been under Russian sanctions, makes Moscow a more friendly ally that will look out for their interests and treat African states as equals.
Even after nominally obtaining independence, African nations found themselves in varying levels of dependence on its former colonial masters.
Most of these relationships, although somewhat beneficial to the ex-colonies at some point, have led to the emergence of neo-colonialism where some countries were subjected to Western-backed rulers for decades.
As a result, the alignment with the new alternative seems to be an effective protest against years of Western-backed misrule.
In most cases, the alignment with Russia has not led to a total disregard for relations with the West. However, what is happening is a shift in the focus of international relations across Africa.
While these countries have remained exclusively pro-West for most of their existence, they now desire to embrace both sides of the divide.
The hope is to balance ties with the West, Russia, and China without taking sides in geopolitical rivalries.
- Action Plan
Russia has a vision of a multipolar new world order, and its terms for bilateral relations in Africa are encapsulated in the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan 2023-2026.
This document was ratified by the delegations of 54 African nations and Russia at the ministerial conference.
The Action Plan will guide Russia’s bilateral relationship with Africa across three broad areas: political and security, economic, and social and cultural cooperation.
Beyond expanding cooperation between regional organizations in Africa and the Russian Federation, it also encourages mutual election monitoring between African states and Russia.
Of particular importance is the agreement to develop collaboration between political parties and to organize an annual international inter-party conference known as Russia-Africa: Reviving Traditions.
The cross-fertilization of ideas from this annual event is aimed at benefiting both sides.
For Russia, it would deepen its understanding of politics within the region, while on the other hand, the political parties from the African states would pick up new ideas that would improve the way they run activities, from campaigns to electioneering.
Recently, Russia has increased its military presence in Africa, especially in the area of counterterrorism.
The plan aims to further increase its export of security to Africa and expand information sharing with counterpart security outfits in Africa.
Beyond security, one of the most attractive themes in the Action Plan is Russia’s plan to forge a different path for trade settlements with African nations.
The agreement promises that trade between the Russian Federation and African nations will be in national currencies.
This is a sharp blow to the status quo of settlements always being in dollars and has huge implications for the international economic order.
Ultimately, we might be heading to an era where trade with Russia is more attractive than with the West.
Technologically, the Action Plan gives Russia a strong role in the development of the region.
While the West has done quite little in nuclear programs across Africa, the plan promises more Russian involvement in developing nuclear programs and educational exchanges across Africa.
- Embracing multipolarity
The African Union, African nations, and regional organizations have been loyal to the West from the colonial era to the post-colonial era, and this loyalty has been met with some discontent in recent years.
Accordingly, it seems there is an agenda to keep the Global South, particularly Africa, poor.
This has led to the current diplomatic stance of various erstwhile colonies to seek relations with nations other than their colonial masters or Western powers based on their interests.
A multipolar world gives nations the freedom of association rather than taking sides in the wider geopolitical rivalries among nations in the Global North.
Therefore, Russia’s expanding influence into Africa is necessary to give developing nations wider options for relationships on their path to development.
In the end, the only criteria for international relations should be mutual benefit rather than taking sides in a power tussle that has done little for African development. (David Okpatuma)