Five Ways Joe Biden has Dropped the Ball on Africa

It has now been more than a month since President Joe Biden’s marquee “US Africa Leaders Summit.” Joe Biden stated that the meeting would not be just a glorified photo opportunity but also a true commitment to the continent. It would be very welcome. considering how the summit’s iconic photo was Biden laughing and joking with Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed, Liberia’s George Weah, and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, respectively Africa’s bloodiest ruler, one of its most corrupt, and one of its greatest violators of religious freedom.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden has fallen behind his national security team in five key areas. 

The first is about the conference itself. Joe Biden signed many agreements and made other suggestions during the summit. Johnnie Carson was appointed by Biden, a 79 year-old former assistant Secretary of State for Africa. It was a strange move as it duplicated the roles of Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, and Dana Banks, Senior Director at National Security Council. Carson hasn’t traveled to other countries in the few weeks that have followed his appointment. Africa. It is unknown if he will do so in a sustained manner.

The second problem relates to strategy rather than the symbolism of Carson’s lack of engagement. To his credit, Biden recognized early the problem Ethiopia’s civil war posed, and sent a series of envoys to seek its end. Phee worked assiduously in support of a ceasefire in Ethiopia’s war against its Tigray region. This culminated with a ceasefire in Ethiopia’s war against its Tigray region in November 2022. It was concluded in Pretoria, South Africa by the African Union. But the ceasefire had one major flaw: omitted mention of EritreaThe totalitarian dictatorship that was responsible for many of the most horrific atrocities in the war. Tigray continues to be occupied by Eritrean forces. openly loot the region.

The end of the immediate fire should have been the beginning of something new, not the end. Rather than rehabilitate Abiy, to keep the fire from reigniting, Biden’s team should force Abiy into an honest dialogue about Ethiopia’s national compact: The war has set ethnic groups against each other and the younger generation today question the value of unity. Abiy is far too proud to see the danger he has caused for the country. Biden states “diplomacy is back” America is silent when diplomacy most needs. Biden may not know it, but the clock is ticking, particularly as Abiy partners Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki They want to continue their vendetta against Tigray.

Climate is Biden’s third slip-up. Biden’s team, like many others in WashingtonClimate change is a panacea to all African problems. These attitudes exempt some African leaders of responsibility for their actions. Flooding countries with money to combat climate change may also lead to corruption, security breaches, and even local environmental problems.

This is the fourth reason Biden failed Africa. The elephant in the room during Biden’s Africa summit was China. The United States took Africa for granted for many decades and allowed Beijing to surpass Washington in terms of diplomatic and economic influence.

Although Beijing is a great place to grow leaders, it has been increasingly unsuccessful in cultivating hearts and minds. While the younger generation of Africans might be less receptive to the United States or even disapprove of it, they are more resentful at Chinese exploitation.  Polluted waters kill young Africans downstream from nearly every Chinese mining venture. Chinese diplomats try to fix the problem by convincing host governments not to do so, a strategy which, over time, can destroy state legitimacy. Rather than focus on climate change as a broad concept, Biden could help Africans in an immediate way by focusing attention on China’s rape of the environment, offering remedies to help clean up Beijing’s mess, and then helping match American businesses more respectful of the countries in which they operate.

Religious freedom is the final area where Biden has failed in Africa. Inexplicably, Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the list. greatest violators This is religious freedomFrom its annual watch list There is no reason. While he may believe such an olive branch encourages closer ties between the United States and Africa’s most populous country, the reality is that Nigeria’s leader sees such undeserved concessions as a green light for further anti-Christian violence against Nigeria’s Igbo. Such willingness to compromise on principle does not further diplomacy; it only erodes America’s brand. It is past time to reboot America’s Africa strategy in a sustained, strategic, and systematic way.

Contributing Editor at 19FortyFive Dr. Michael Rubin He is a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute. His expertise includes Iran, Turkey and the wider Middle East. He is a former Pentagon official and has lived in Iran, Yemen and both pre-and postwar Iraq. He was also a member of the Taliban prior to 9/11. He taught classes at sea on the Horn of Africa, Middle East conflicts, culture and terrorism for more than a decade to US Navy and Marine personnel. Dr. Rubin is the author, coauthor, and coeditor of several books exploring diplomacy, Iranian history, Arab culture, Kurdish studies, and Shi’ite politics, including “Seven Pillars: What Really Causes Instability in the Middle East?” (AEI Press, 2019); “Kurdistan Rising” (AEI Press, 2016); “Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes” (Encounter Books 2014); “Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos” (Palgrave, 2005).