Militarization and securitization in Africa: The role of Sino-American geostrategic presence

Abstract

This article is predicated on the argument that the African continent has become a focus of geopolitical and economic attention, especially as a locus of Sino-American rivalry and to some extent cooperation. Accordingly, Sino-American presence in Africa has resulted in: (i) the militarization and securitization of Africa impelled by the war on terrorism and the need to protect vested political and economic interests; (ii) the continent becoming a theater for the interplay of differences between American and Chinese militarization and securitization; and (iii) the inevitable and rare cases of military and security cooperation between the two powers on the continent. The article probes how and why the two powers have militarized and securitized the continent, the activities that constitute militarization and securitization, and prospects for further militarization and securitization in the context of both rivalry and minimal cooperation.