Sare Şanlı on Africa & Global Affairs

Africa is now seen not only for its young workforce, vast market, rich mineral resources, and massive agricultural lands but also as a new global laboratory where the human body and genetics are being turned into "raw data material." African babies become statistics in global biopolitics from the moment they are born. For centuries, precious minerals, oil, cocoa, and coffee were exported from the continent. What is being circulated today is human DNA and health data. The controversial health cooperation agreement announced to be signed between Kenya and the United States in December 2025 stands as one of the most striking examples of this new era. The deal, under which the US pledged to transfer $1.6 billion to Kenya over five years, was swiftly suspended following intense backlash from the public and civil society. At the center of the criticism were clauses regulating the sharing of health data. The Kenyan government argued that only "anonymized and aggregate data...

 Imagine a continent with vast agricultural lands, fertile soil, and a favorable climate—enough to feed the world. Now imagine that this same continent also suffers from some of the highest rates of poverty and hunger on the planet. Unfortunately, for years, Africa has been trapped in this profound paradox. While internal conflicts, governance issues, and flawed local policies are frequently cited as primary causes of hunger, these are only the tip of the iceberg. The real, deeper reason lies in the structural functioning of the global economic system and the reinforcing policies that condemn African peoples to hunger. From the essential morning coffee, to the cocoa in our chocolate, to the cotton that is the backbone of the global textile industry, many key commodities are produced on massive plantations across Africa. This production is not for local African consumption but for global markets. Consider that Ivory Coast and Ghana, which supply over 60% of the world's cocoa, ...

The Invisible Exploitation in Kenya We can access summaries of hundreds of pages in seconds, learn the content of an hour-long video in a few lines, and accomplish coding tasks that would take a programmer days in a very short time. Artificial intelligence saves time, increases productivity, and sometimes even saves lives through medical diagnoses. However, behind the "miraculous" level AI has reached today lies an invisible cost. This price is paid with the labor, time, and mental and physical health of people living in less fortunate regions of the world. There is a significant group of people whose mental and physical limits are pushed so that safe content can be produced for users. The Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence Almost every day, the short videos we watch on YouTube and the "reels" content we encounter on social media undergo a "data labeling" process to train AI algorithms and filter out harmful content. This process cannot yet be auto...

Since the early 21st century, China has gained mining concessions in Africa in exchange for infrastructure investments, largely taking control of strategic resources, primarily rare earth elements. China is not only building bridges and dams in Africa; it is also imprinting its mark on the continent's genetic, cultural, and emotional fabric. Marriages and informal relationships between Chinese men and African women are becoming signs of a quiet yet profound sociological transformation. However, this transformation is not unfolding on an equal plane for both parties, raising the issue of not just China's economic exploitation but also its sociological exploitation. Relationships Born from Emotional Void For decades, thousands of Chinese doctors, healthcare workers, agricultural experts, and teachers have served on the continent. Today, in addition to these fields, tens of thousands of Chinese workers and experts continue to operate across Africa, from railways and dams to ...

 Israel's decision to formally recognize Somaliland, an entity not recognized by the international community, is undoubtedly not a last-minute diplomatic maneuver. This step is the product of a series of geopolitical calculations, ranging from the search for a military foothold against the Houthis in the Red Sea and access to potential maritime resources, to controlling trade routes, balancing Turkey's Mogadishu-centered regional influence, and gaining leverage over Ethiopia through port promises. However, reading this move merely as a reflection of current power struggles might obscure its most striking and disturbing dimension: the fact that the Horn of Africa has previously been envisioned as a 'solution geography' for 'problematic populations.' The plans being woven around Somaliland today resemble an updated version of dreams conceived for Harar and its surroundings eighty years ago. The Search for Jewish Land The search for alternative settlement sit...

 In the 21st-century global competition, Africa—with its natural resources, dynamic youth population, and geopolitical weight—is at the strategic center not only for traditional powers but also for a growing number of regional actors. One country quietly opening the continent's door is the Asian tiger, Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s tour of Ethiopia, South Africa, and Kenya, which began on November 20th, signaled Malaysia’s desire to become more visible on the continent. The timing was also notable: Anwar Ibrahim attended the G20 Leaders' Summit in South Africa as an "invited guest," reaffirming his country’s versatile and flexible diplomacy on the global stage. Looking at the overall picture of these engagements, Malaysia positions itself apart from the often contentious competitive models of the West or China. It projects a partnership profile that is more equitable, cooperation-based, and prioritizes mutual benefit. Historical Foundations ...

 In recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has drawn significant attention with its rapidly expanding economic, diplomatic, and military presence in Africa. While projecting an image as a modern, progressive, and investment-friendly Arab nation, this Gulf state’s activities reveal deeper contradictions. From supporting the Rapid Support Forces—the perpetrators of genocide in Sudan—thereby destabilizing the region and illegally exporting gold from the chaos, the UAE has built its influence on profound inconsistencies. This marks a fundamental shift in Emirati foreign policy toward the continent. Following its independence in 1971, the UAE’s relations with Africa, initially based on religious and geographic proximity, evolved into a purely strategic and interest-driven approach as the economic clout of Abu Dhabi and Dubai grew. Despite formal sovereignty, the UAE’s ruling elite long acted as a pro-Western proxy. Its current role in Sudan’s chaos is a clear and ruthless contin...

  In the Democratic Republic of Congo, peace is a word that has been signed at tables for over three decades but never lived on the ground. After every negotiation, another city in eastern Congo falls, and news of a new massacre emerges from the country. For Congo, which returned to the negotiating table with Rwanda under the mediation of US President Donald Trump in December, the picture remains unchanged. Just one day after the signatures were dry, the M23 terrorist group seized the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu, massacring dozens of civilians. Peace remains unattainable in Congo because in these lands, the crisis is more than a security issue; it is a system where the absence of a solution has been turned into profit, a setup that is not meant to be shaken. In this order, peace is the least desirable scenario. The controlled continuation of chaos is the guarantee for the permanent presence of America and other imperialist powers in the region. As Burkina Faso's Pre...