We need to talk about Africa. With major wars raging in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, increased Chinese and Russian activity, jihadi terrorists gaining ground in many places, and American foreign aid on the chopping block, the failed U.S. policy in Africa is past due for some new thinking.
To think clearly about Africa, we have to discard some accumulated nonsense and illusions that get in the way. To begin, we must drop the myth, endlessly promoted by the NGO-industrial complex of consultants and activists, that the struggle between democracy and dictatorship defines the continent’s politics. If only this were true. In reality, democracy has essentially collapsed in much of Africa. According to Freedom House, only 8% of Africans live in countries that can be called “free.” There are no signs that this trend is going to reverse.