BLINKEN'S TRIP TO AFRICA

The secretary of state's latest trip to four African countries reveals America's impotence in the post-hegemonic world. Despite the demands on his time from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Blinken obviously knows he has to pay attention to Africa. He and the Biden administration face six overlapping, simultaneous crises in different part of Africa: the Sahel, Nigeria, Sudan, the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia), the Great Lakes Region (DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda), and northern Mozambique.Blinken's highest priority is to make a deal with the putschists in Niger to maintain the U.S. drone base at Agadez in northern Niger. His other major priority is to deal with the deteriorating situation in Nigeria. And Washington is competing with China for political, economic, and diplomatic influence in Africa. To show that the United States can succeed in the competition with China for economic influence and prestige. Blinken will highlight the Lobito Corridor project in Angola.Blinken is right to emphasize that United States is doing better on investment and trade these days, while China is doing far worse than generally portrayed. Chinese President Xi Jinping, severely disappointed by the "Belt and Road" strategy, has directed his government to abandon many current projects in Africa and to cut back on future Chinese plans for investment Africa. At the same time, the success of the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other American economic initiatives in Africa-however limited that success might be-shows that the United States can compete with China on its own terms.But the trip also demonstrates-by the omission of any significant initiatives other than pledging $45 million in weaponry and other military assistance to the remaining members of ECOWAS-that the Biden administration is incapable of responding to the challenges it confronts in Africa, at least for the time being. AlthoughBiden may still be committed to making a trip to Africa during his term in office, that can only happen if he wins a second term this coming November. So, Blinken has to go to Africa instead, even though it distracts him from missions in what the United States considers more important parts of the world.