United States Strategic Objectives in Africa and the Role of AFRICOM

Despite Washington’s desire to expand its global hegemony, Africa has never been central to the US foreign policy agenda.After the Cold War, US strategic interests in Africa waned while other powers, notably China, enhanced their influence acrossthe continent. In these contexts, this thesis investigates US strategic objectives in contemporary Africa, focusing on theestablishment of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), and analyses subsequent global and African responses. The thesis findsthat US strategy has largely been driven by its geopolitical competition with China and argues for the assertion of collectiveAfrican interests in the ‘new scramble’ for Africa.