From Cape to Kazan? Russia’s Contemporary Use of Colonial Warfare in Africa

The scale of the war in Ukraine has overshadowed Russia’s other overseas military ventures. This includes the multiple operations across Africa which began with Libya in 2016, and has since expanded to Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan, among others. Such operations were a key source of notoriety for the Wagner group before its deployment to Ukraine, which has since dominated coverage and analysis of the group’s conduct. Hence, in comparison to their conduct in Eastern Europe, the modus operandi of Russian state and private forces in Africa has received comparatively less attention. This paper aims to fill this lacuna and provide a taxonomical framework for this conduct, arguing that the military methods utilised by Russia in Africa are classifiable as colonial warfare, akin to the warfare waged by Europeans in the region two centuries earlier. It will elaborate on colonial warfare as a distinct practice of violence and how Russia’s conduct fits in with this framework. Furthermore, this paper will elaborate on the risks that the use of these methods directly and indirectly poses to European security.

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Assessing Africa-EU Relations vis-à-vis Russian Influence in Africa

This paper will analyse to what extent Africa past relations with Russia and the West have affected present African geopolitics. To reach this goal an historical overview of the legacy of the USSR will be provided, complementing this theoretical part with the effects that the colonial legacy still produces, hampering EU-Africa relations. Following this, in order to assess future developments in Russia-Africa relations, it is fundamental to evaluate the implications of the food and economic crisis in Africa as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as evaluating the effects of the recovery of many European countries with energetic ties with Africa after Russia’s weaponization of the energy policies. Finally, this research paper aims to provide some recommendations to strengthen Africa-EU relations in the near future as a result of the window of opportunity opened by the Russia-Ukraine war.  

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