Contours of the Global South: Africa at the Center of Interstate Confrontation and the Position of Russia

Abstract

On the eve of the First Russia-Africa Summit in the fall of 2019, the Russian infospace for the first time started talking about new opportunities for Africa. The African theme became increasingly important with the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the subsequent adoption of the new Concept of Russian Foreign Policy of 2023 and the actualization of Russia's contacts with the so-called Global South. Contemporary Africa is not a continent of threats, as was commonly said a decade ago, but of opportunities. The very identity of more and more states on the African continent is growing. Many of them continue to build their capacities at the expense of their rapidly growing young populations. At the same time, against the backdrop of the emerging global scramble for Africa's raw materials and new attempts at resource colonization and fragmentation, the continent needs honest partners focused on a pragmatic but mutually beneficial approach. In this context, Russia actively advocates strengthening the sovereignty and development of the national economies of the continent, using the "two-way street" concept. The Russia-Africa Summits (in 2019 and 2023) marked a new milestone in Russia-Africa relations and led to concrete practical results: the establishment of new contacts and the strengthening of trust and mutual interest of representatives of political, business, scientific and cultural circles.These and other topics were discussed by Lora Chkoniya, Junior Research Fellow (Institute for International Studies, MGIMO University), and Dr Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Full Member of the RAS.

Keywords

• africa
• russian-african cooperation
• international relations
• russia-africa summit
• international trade
• global south