The sankofa and the eagle : pan-african geopolitics and the future of american power

Abstract

This project deals with the rise of continental integration in Africa as it relates to the United States. Drawing from the history of Pan-Africanist thought and institutions and the conduct of U.S. Africa policy, I look at the ways in which increasing economic and political interdependence in Africa will benefit and hinder the interests of the U.S. and how the U.S. can shape its foreign policy accordingly. I argue that the prospect of increasing integration in Africa and the further development of the African Union will most likely benefit U.S. short-run interests in the areas of commercial relations, peace and security, and strategic minerals access. These benefits, however, are contingent on the U.S. adopting an Africa policy that is geared to the realities of regional and continental integration.