Sare Şanlı on Africa & Global Affairs

In 1969, an anti-imperialist report titled “David and Goliath Collaborate in Africa,” published by the Africa Research Group, defined Israel’s role on the continent as that of a “servant of U.S. imperialism.” Half a century later, Israel is back in Africa. But this time, Tel Aviv is not just America's servant; it is evolving into a power striving to architect its own regional and global interests. Cold War Stage: David in Goliath’s Shadow When the U.S. provided direct aid to Africa, it faced accusations of “neocolonialism.” The solution? Instrumentalize Israel, a “third country” with no colonial past. America was not visibly on stage, but indirect aid channeled through Israel served both Washington’s and Tel Aviv’s interests. While posing as an “independent development partner,” Israel essentially acted as an interface, blending Western interests with local development rhetoric in Africa. According to the 1969 report, the lifeblood of this cooperation was military training, i...

French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent tour of Africa was another sign of Paris’s efforts to salvage its rapidly shrinking sphere of influence on the continent. The diplomatic circuit, which began in Mauritius and extended to Gabon and Angola after the G20 Summit in South Africa, reveals France's search for ways to regain lost ground. Throughout the tour, Macron repeated his message about wanting to rebuild France’s relationship with Africa on the basis of an “equal, modern, and ambitious partnership.” However, the gap between Macron’s rhetoric and his practical policies is widening as his term—due to end in 2027—progresses. Despite symbolic gestures in his early years, such as returning some artifacts stolen from Benin, France has failed to shake off its colonial reflexes. In 2017, while meeting youth in Burkina Faso, Macron said, “I do not belong to a generation that tells Africans what to do.” Yet just a few years later, he began reminding African leaders that they had “for...