The Battle Over AfricaMedeshi Dec 9 ,2008
As the power of the United States wanes and the power of the European Union, China, and Russia rise so too will the level of competition between the various powers. Like all geopolitical competition it is be both overt and covert, governmental and corporate, and will rarely, if ever, involve the direct engagement of the powers in question. At the same time the constant proxy warfare will inflame nationalist sentiments and regional conflicts. These are the cases where direct involvement by one or more of the world powers becomes likely. As the powers increase their presence in a region they also will increase their vulnerability to domestic conflicts which ultimately lead to more intervention.
In Africa exists a fertile ground for large-scale proxy wars between the great powers and other forms of intervention. The Cold War saw battles against colonialism and civil wars becoming battles between the various powers including the European powers wishing to retain their territories in Africa. In the current era similar conflicts are potential staging grounds for proxy wars between outside powers.
Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, has been a long-time ally of the Chinese government dating back to the days of the Rhodesian Bush Wars. At the same time he has become an enemy of Europe and the United States supposedly for his authoritarian methods. In Zimbabwe the U.S. and Europe favor opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Despite criticism of the 2008 election Tsvangirai's party was able to win control of the lower house, though failing to secure the less powerful upper house. The presidential election results were delayed and pushed back but ultimately Tsvangirai was declared to have won but not by a sufficient margin to avoid a second round. In the intervening period Zimbabwean war veterans and loyalists of Mugabe began attacking members of the MDC and frequent threats were made. In the end Tsvangirai withdrew because of the violence against his supporters giving Mugabe victory in the presidential election.
Since that time a series of negotiations have been conducted to resolve the dispute and have a power-sharing arrangement. However, resistance from the military, which is believed to have pressured Mugabe against resigning following the first election and instead unleashing the wave of violence prior to the second round, has held up decisions on key government positions. The situation has deteriorated considerably in the country including an outbreak of cholera and domestic unrest by renegade members of the military.
This situation has also given rise to broader problems with European and pro-Western African officials actively calling for Mugabe to resign or be deposed by military force if necessary. The most notable controversies have arisen over the stance of Botswana's government which has not only suggested closing the borders of Zimbabwe to bring down Mugabe but has even talked about giving shelter to the MDC so it can form a "democratic resistance movement" to the Zimbabwean government should power-sharing talks fail, most likely meaning an armed resistance to Mugabe. Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana have deteriorated to such a level that Botswana has announced it is closing its embassy with the nation.
Botswana is a major ally of the United States with the U.S. training most of Botswana's military officers and the dominant party in the country is said to receive money from the United States. As such Botswana is most likely acting at the behest of the United States government in its statements about Mugabe. The most likely motivation is to prevent the growth of Chinese influence in Africa as Zimbabwe is a stalwart ally of China. However, Zimbabwe is not without its regional allies with Namibia in particular attacking the statements of Botswana's government. Destabilization of the situation in Zimbabwe and interference from Botswana could invite Namibian intervention as a result. Such a conflict would also involve some form of assistance from various regional powers like South Africa and the Congo in the latter case possibly entangling with its own conflicts.
Sudan
While the situation in Sudan has not reached the level it did earlier in the year when rebels from Darfur attacked Khartoum and put Sudan and Chad on a potential path to war there are potential issues in Southern Sudan. The Justice and Equality Movement of Darfur has been reportedly moving forces into South Kordofan and the Sudanese army has responded by sending its military forces into the region. However the region is also disputed with Southern Sudan and scheduled to vote on joining Southern Sudan the same time Southern Sudan is set to vote on independence. The ruling party in the south, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, is claiming the deployment violates the peace agreement. A similar deployment in Abyei earlier in the year nearly resulted in the reigniting of the country's civil war.
Sudan is presently opposed by the U.S. and Europe because of the situation in Darfur, which many in the U.S. government consider genocide, while China has embraced the country. China gets a significant amount of oil from Sudan and one major source China is looking to exploit is in Sudan's south. In conjunction with China's economic and military relationship with Sudan it has a significant presence in the country which would be threatened by a renewed civil war. Most risky is the chance that Southern Sudan and Darfuri rebels will come together against the government in Khartoum posing a real threat to the state. Any threat to China's oil projects in the country and Chinese citizen there could invite Chinese military intervention to prop up the government and fight rebel forces. While relations have improved a major conflict in Sudan could rekindle tensions with Chad, which receives significant backing from France and the EU risking a proxy war between the Europeans and the Chinese through Chad and Sudan.
Somalia
No country best exemplifies the frequent proxy wars and geopolitical dynamics of Africa as much as Somalia. Switching from the Soviets to the U.S. on several occasion the government collapsed completely in 1991 and afterwards devolving into warlordism with several secessionist states forming in the area. In 2006 a powerful force emerged lead by the Islamic Courts Union with significant ties to the global jihadist network including al-Qaeda. Allegedly the ICU was backed by Eritrea with Ethiopia supporting its opponents, a part of the cold war between Ethiopia and Eritrea since their war over the border region of Badme. Ultimately Ethiopia, backed by the United States, launched an offensive into Somalia pushing back the ICU.
Since then, however, the situation has deteriorated. Al-Shebab, the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, became more radicalized and most leaders of the ICU had been swept aside following the Ethiopian intervention. Shebab has begun regaining lost territory in Somalia with its forces beginning to encircle Mogadishu and having already gained control of major ports in the Southern part of Somalia like Kismayo. They also have won support from the local populations to some extent by drastically reducing the crime rate in areas they've claimed. At the same time the Ethiopian government has announced plans to pull out of the country at the end of the year which could be followed by withdrawal of the African Union force. With the Western-backed transitional government in dire straits a withdrawal of foreign forces would allow the quick victory of al-Shebab over remaining resistance in Southern Somalia.
At this point focus would shift to north and the autonomous state in Puntland along with the pirates in the region. If Islamic force can manage to secure victory against Puntland then their next target will be the secessionist state of Somaliland. In such a scenario the West is likely to recognize Somaliland as an independent state and rush to its aid. This conflict could then become another proxy battle between Eritrea and Ethiopia. At the same time with Ethiopia less engaged in the country they could seek to resolve their conflict with Eritrea by force. Such an operation would likely receive Western support as Eritrea has also made threats to neighbor Djibouti including a brief border conflict. Any scenario where Ethiopia and Eritrea go to war will likely also include a conflict in Djibouti which is likely to bring in France and the United States. In such a scenario Eritrea could leak to foreign powers like Iran or Russia for support, thus casting the conflict as a greater proxy war between outside powers.
Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen itself embroiled in the deadliest war in Africa since the Second World War with eight nations overalled fighting in the Second Congo War. Since that war concluded another conflict has brewed in the Kivu region as renegade general Laurent Nkunda fights against the Congolese government. Fighting intensified in 2008 with Nkunda making significant gains in the area and threatening to overthrow the government. While he agreed to peace talks initially they have been cast in doubt with threats of ending the talks if other rebel groups are brought on.
Despite apparently declaring together with African neighbors not to support Nkunda there is evidence the U.S. has covertly backed Nkunda against the Congolese governments and very clear evidence of him receiving support from Rwandan forces with members of Rwanda's military fighting alongside Nkunda according to reports and Nkunda's army even reportedly being on the payroll of the Rwandan government. On the Congo's side are various reports of Angolan soldiers fighting against Nkunda's forces alongside the Congolese military and Zimbabwean soldiers performing recon missions for the Congolese central government.
While the regional alliances are clear enough the outside ones are more complicated. While Nkunda could be receiving support from the U.S. and Rwanda, a U.S.-backed regime in the region, the European Union has talked about intervening in the conflict on the side of the Congolese government. The UN mission there, consisting of many European peacekeepers, have been attacked directly by Nkunda. At the same time Nkunda has shown considerable opposition to Chinese involvement in the country like a $9 billion Chinese plan to invest in Congolese infrastructure in exchange for considerable control of the nation's mineral resources. The terms of the agreement with the central government are clearly favorable to China which had led to accusations of colonialism.
Whether it is concern about the EU gaining too much influence in the country or China the U.S. may be backing Nkunda as a way of applying pressure on the central government to prevent such influence from becoming too great or may even desire to remove the current government in favor of one more pliable to the U.S. However, the only likely chance of direct military intervention is on the side of the Europeans and regional nations. On the regional side a conflict in the Congo could easily intersect with one in Zimbabwe representing a wider African war involving a proxy conflict simultaneously between the U.S. and the EU, the EU and China, and the U.S. and China.
Growing competition between the rising powers and the U.S. as well as between the rising powers themselves will manifest itself more and more as global conditions deteriorate and it is likely Africa will be just one major battleground for the inevitable proxy wars.
Source: World War III
