Description
As we unpack Russian strategies of influence and political interference in Africa, we often miss the agency of African actors: what can we understand from their behavior regarding Moscow? Are they puppets in a New Cold War or manipulating superpowers for their own agenda? The answer lies in between. Drawing from preliminary research on multiple countries (including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivore, Chad, Cameroon & Senegal), we present three categories of actors (elites, civil-society organizations, propagandists) supporting Moscow’s strategy. We try to explain the motivations, political agendas and expected gains of these actors, but also the narratives that bind them with Russia. Aware of the risks and benefits, these actors want to get rid of all the constraints involved in dealing with their internal conflicts by joining a new strategic alliance. It is a pact that closes some doors with the Western World, traps them in their own security struggles but opens new opportunities.
