{"id":3395,"date":"2025-12-25T01:02:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T01:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3395"},"modified":"2025-12-25T01:02:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T01:02:49","slug":"africa-brief-2025-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3395","title":{"rendered":"Africa Brief: 2025 Year in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome to <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this year: Africa adjusts to the shifting global order under the second <strong>Trump administration<\/strong>, Gen Z-led <strong>protest movements<\/strong> roil several governments, citizens respond to <strong>sham elections<\/strong> across the continent, and other major stories that stood out in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome to <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this year: Africa adjusts to the shifting global order under the second <strong>Trump administration<\/strong>, Gen Z-led <strong>protest movements<\/strong> roil several governments, citizens respond to <strong>sham elections<\/strong> across the continent, and other major stories that stood out in 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/africa-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"africa_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"Africa Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-africa_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-africa_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"africa_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Africa Adjusts to Trumpism<\/h3>\n<p>Ahead of last year\u2019s U.S. elections, Africa Brief <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/10\/30\/africa-trump-harris-whats-at-stake-for-africa-2024-elections\/\">predicted<\/a> that the battle against China for critical minerals in Africa <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/10\/30\/africa-trump-harris-whats-at-stake-for-africa-2024-elections\/\">would be the primary driver<\/a> of U.S. foreign policy in the region\u2014regardless of who won the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>That turned out to be true\u2014as did our analysis that a victory by President Donald Trump would spell disaster for trade, immigration, and the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), one of the most successful global health programs launched by a president within the U.S. Republican Party.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d policies have been far <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/02\/sudan-refugee-crisis-foreign-aid-cuts-un-world-food-program-hunger-risk\/\">more disruptive<\/a> than many envisioned. The suspension of funding for PEPFAR and the U.S. Agency for International Development has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/14\/uganda-pepfar-hiv-health-aid-trump-united-states-funding-freeze\/\">shuttered clinics<\/a> and disrupted lifesaving services across Africa. Talk from analysts that these cuts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/middle-east-and-africa\/2025\/03\/06\/why-some-africans-see-opportunity-in-foreign-aid-cuts\">would force<\/a> African governments to be <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/21\/usaid-africa-foreign-aid-development\/\">independent<\/a> of foreign aid in health care was mostly full of hot air. In Malawi, HIV\/AIDS services <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/01\/trump-malawi-global-health-hiv-aids-prevention-treatment\/\">have all but disappeared<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Predictably, Trump has committed to backing the Lobito Corridor, a railway project intended to export critical minerals from central Africa, and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/30\/congo-conflict-m23-rebels-trump-rubio-us-peace-deal-critical-minerals\/\">brokered<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/10\/congo-peace-deal-fighting-rwanda-m23-trump-historic-deal\/\">critical minerals-for-peace<\/a> deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. A Washington summit in July with leaders from <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/09\/trump-africa-summit-washington-critical-minerals-migration-security\/\">five African nations<\/a> was also dominated by critical minerals talk.<\/p>\n<p>Yet U.S.-African trade relations have been disrupted by Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/09\/trump-tariffs-africa-lesotho-trade-response-china\/\">global tariffs<\/a> and the end of the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/02\/africa-us-trade-trump-agoa-nigeria-lesotho-south-africa-madagascar\/\">African Growth and Opportunity Act<\/a>, a preferential trade agreement that expired in October. The law had been the foundation of U.S. trade policy with most African nations since it was enacted in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, there has also been an acrimonious split between the United States and two of Africa\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/top-10-africas-largest-economies-in-2026-according-to-the-latest-imf-rankings\/kctsb1b\">biggest economies<\/a>\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/12\/nigeria-trump-military-threats-response\/\">Nigeria<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/02\/12\/south-africa-trump-musk-afrikaners-refugees-ramaphosa-anc\/\">South Africa<\/a>\u2014over the White House\u2019s false allegations of widespread \u201ckilling of Christians\u201d and a \u201cwhite genocide,\u201d respectively.<\/p>\n<p>U.S.-Nigerian tensions peaked in early November, when Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115476385101120405\">threatened<\/a> to go \u201cguns-a-blazing\u201d into the country. As Abuja navigates this friction and seeks to recover from years of sluggish economic growth, it has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/23\/nigeria-economy-trump-tariffs-south-africa-mining-oil-afcfta\/\">sought to diversify<\/a> its trade relationships from Washington, forging closer economic ties with other African nations, Europe, and China.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Pretoria has looked to strengthen trade with its fellow BRICS member nations after an <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/23\/trump-ramaphosa-meeting-washington-south-africa-land-reform-history-racism\/\">explosive standoff<\/a> between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in May. Last week, Pretoria <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/17\/south-africa-to-deport-kenyans-involved-in-us-afrikaner-refugee-scheme\">deported<\/a> seven Kenyan workers who were processing U.S. refugee applications in Johannesburg for white South Africans\u2014one of the only communities in the world <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/14\/white-south-africans-us-refugees-trump\/\">granted refugee status<\/a> under Trump\u2019s second administration.<\/p>\n<p>Other African nations have sought to adapt to Trump-style transactional diplomacy to further their own strategic interests. For instance, several countries have struck <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/24\/ghana-deportations-controversy-third-country-migrants-us-trump-deal\/\">multimillion-dollar deals<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/23\/trump-deportations-migrants-africa-eswatini-south-sudan\/\">receive<\/a> third-country migrants deported by the United States\u2014including Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini, which have received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/10\/deportations-equatorial-guinea-money\">$7.5 million<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cq50vjdx368o\">$5.1 million<\/a> from Washington, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Morocco has had notable success in leveraging Trump\u2019s return to office. In October, the United Nations Security Council voted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cpd2yp6zny7o\">in favor<\/a> of a U.S.-sponsored resolution backing Morocco\u2019s plan for sovereignty over the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/17\/western-sahara-refugees-humanitarian-crisis-malnutrition-un-morocco-algeria\/\">disputed Western Sahara<\/a> region, where Rabat is building a <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/world\/africa\/new-atlantic-port-of-dakhla-africa-trade-spc-intl\">$1.2 billion trading port<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- newsletter_ad: not found --><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Gen Z Demands Change<\/h3>\n<p>Across the continent, youth-led movements leveraged social media this year to organize mass protests. These included demonstrations against <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/16\/kenya-protests-death-toll-police-brutality-ruto-government\/\">high taxes and disregard for citizen rights<\/a> in Kenya, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/08\/africa-gen-z-protests-madagascar-morocco\/\">poor health care services<\/a> in Morocco, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/15\/madagascar-protests-military-takeover-president-flees\/\">lack of electricity<\/a> in Madagascar. Many of those protests grew into larger anti-government movements.<\/p>\n<p>The widespread protests represented deep-seated frustrations with corruption, poor governance, and high levels of youth unemployment. Only 24 percent of the region\u2019s jobs are salaried, according to a World Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/topic\/development\/publication\/world-bank-regional-economic-updates\">report<\/a> released in October.<\/p>\n<p>Amid high public discontent, militaries in some countries used the chaos to seize power, as happened in <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/15\/madagascar-protests-military-takeover-president-flees\/\">Madagascar<\/a> in October and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/03\/guinea-bissau-military-coup-election-sham\/\">Guinea-Bissau<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Sham Elections Across the Continent<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/peoplesdispatch.org\/2025\/10\/09\/with-paigc-barred-will-elections-in-guinea-bissau-legitimize-a-neocolonial-dictatorship\/\">public dissatisfaction<\/a> in Guinea-Bissau over electoral processes and the country\u2019s subsequent coup reflected another trend across Africa this year: rigged elections designed to keep unpopular leaders in power.<\/p>\n<p>In January, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/01\/22\/mozambique-chapo-government-protests\/\">Mozambique<\/a> experienced widespread protests in the wake of the election of President Daniel Chapo and the ruling Frelimo party, which has been in power for 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the largest protests began on <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/29\/tanzania-unfree-election-cameroon-ivory-coast-protest-sudan-conflict\/\">Tanzania\u2019s election day<\/a> in October, when President Samia Suluhu Hassan effectively ensured her reelection by <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/04\/tanzania-activists-arrest-elections-security-forces-torture-allegations\/\">jailing opponents<\/a> and violently cracking down on dissent. Hassan claims that she won an eyebrow-raising 98 percent of the vote. The country\u2019s opposition and rights activists said that at least <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/12\/nigeria-trump-military-threats-response\/\">1,000 protesters<\/a> were shot dead during the unrest.<\/p>\n<p>There is also unease ahead of Guinea\u2019s Dec. 28 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/guineas-doumbouya-looks-complete-journey-coup-leader-president-2025-12-22\/\">presidential elections<\/a>, which Gen. Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup, is almost guaranteed to win.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Insecurity in Mali<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In November, the African Union called for urgent <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/03\/mali-junta-france-interventions-un-ecowas\/\">international intervention<\/a> in Mali over an ongoing fuel blockade in the capital of Bamako by al Qaeda-linked Jama\u2019at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which has paralyzed businesses and led to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/15\/madagascar-protests-military-takeover-president-flees\/\">school closures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Mali is facing worsening humanitarian conditions and isolation after its junta-led government pushed out international partners in recent years, including the U.N. and France, and deepened ties with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/03\/mali-junta-france-interventions-un-ecowas\/\">Russia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theafricareport.com\/402513\/turkish-drones-in-mali-the-secret-contract-between-baykar-and-bamako\/\">Turkey<\/a>. With the African Union\u2019s calls going largely unheard, atrocities in Mali are likely to continue unchecked.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Africa on the Global Stage<\/h3>\n<p>The Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in November <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/19\/south-africa-g20-summit-us-trump-boycott-clean-energy\/\">was historic<\/a>, as it was the first to be hosted on African soil. It was also boycotted by the United States. In Washington\u2019s absence, Pretoria issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/26\/ethiopia-eritrea-tensions-red-sea-access-conflict\/\">G-20 declaration<\/a> that largely focused on issues that are <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/08\/africa-economy-policy-development-aid-trade-health\/\">important to the continent<\/a> but opposed by U.S. officials, including climate change and global wealth inequality.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, some African nations have <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/28\/trump-africa-policy-ramaphosa-meeting-china-iran\/\">struck deals<\/a> with emerging middle powers beyond the region. These include <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/iran-and-ethiopia-have-a-security-deal-heres-why-they-signed-it-256486\">Ethiopia\u2019s security pact<\/a> with Iran and South Africa\u2019s renewable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-04-25\/saudi-push-into-south-africa-yields-billions-of-dollars-in-deals\">energy deal<\/a> with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/24\/africa-year-review-trump-trade-protests-elections\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Foreign Policy\u2019s Africa Brief. The highlights this year: Africa adjusts to the shifting global order under the second Trump administration, Gen Z-led protest movements roil several governments, citizens respond to sham elections across the continent, and other major stories that stood out in 2025. Welcome to Foreign Policy\u2019s Africa Brief. The highlights this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}