Foreign Militaries in Africa

According to General Douglas MacArthur, ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ That axiom, however, doesn’t seem to apply to foreign military and paramilitary organizations such as Russia’s Africa Corps (a reinvention of the Wagner Group) and Chinese military advisors who are appearing on the African continent in increasing numbers. Supposedly there to assist African governments deal with insurgencies and extremist movements, they often are the cause of further instability and deteriorating security, and are propping up autocratic and military regimes. 

This not only has a devastating impact on security and development of African countries, but is potentially threatening to US security interests.

FPRI’s Africa Program Chair Ambassador (ret) Charles Ray, 2024 Templeton Fellow Raphael Parens and Paul Nantulya of the US National Defense University discuss the evolution and impact of foreign militaries in Africa and the implications for US policy on the continent.