Dakar ¨C A decline in U.S. influence in Africa means U.S. President-elect Donald Trump¡¯s administration will have to grapple with blind spots in its understanding of a fast-changing continent increasingly allied with China and Russia and threatened by spreading jihadist insurgencies.
Interviews with eight current and former officials along with a review of U.S. government watchdog reports show that a dearth of staff and resources under President Joe Biden at embassies in Africa undermined efforts to implement Washington¡¯s goals. The U.S. racked up diplomatic setbacks over the past four years, including losing America¡¯s major spy base in Niger and failing to negotiate a deal with any ally to reposition those assets. It is now caught without a foothold among the Sahel region¡¯s Russia-backed military juntas just as the region becomes the world¡¯s terrorism hotpot.
In soft power terms, a Gallup poll published this year showed that China surpassed the U.S. in popularity in Africa.
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