Africa at the Center

Letter from the Editor

BY SHAWN DORMAN

As we were about to go to press with this special edition on U.S. engagement with Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed out on an Africa tour, his first trip there as Secretary. During his stop in Pretoria, he gave a major speech launching what is being billed as a new U.S. policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. Tied to that, the White House released a new “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa.” Read more in the next FSJ.

And so this is a great time to hear from some of the best diplomat experts on Africa.

Mark Wentling, a retired USAID Senior Foreign Service officer who served in six African countries, offers his sobering perspective on Africa today in “Much Cause for Worry: A Clear-Eyed Look at Africa.”

Ambassador (ret.) Tibor Nagy, who served in Africa for 22 years at eight posts and as assistant secretary of State for Africa from 2018 to 2021, takes a more optimistic, though still realistic, view in “A Brighter Future for Africa?”

Vice President for the U.S.-Africa Business Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Kendra Gaither, a former FSO, looks to the future and makes the case for the U.S. to engage with Africa as a strategic and economic priority.

U.S. Navy Commander Jonathan Ahlstrom, writing from the USS Columbus nuclear submarine, argues in “Higher Education and the New Scramble for Africa” that the U.S. should invest in education for Africans as a vital component of our engagement.

In a…