Friday, October 13, 2017

Has Great Power Competition Really Returned to Africa?

World Politics Review (WPR) published on 13 October 2017 a commentary titled "Great Power Competition Is Back in Africa. Could the U.S. and Others Collide?" by Steven Metz, author of a weekly WPR column.

The author suggests that great power competition has returned to Africa, although his supporting evidence is thin gruel. He cites China's military base in Djibouti and Turkey's military training facility in Somalia. Turkey is a great power? The author does make a valid point when he says that if the Trump administration ignores Africa altogether, it increases the chances of an unintended conflict with some other outside power.