Phoenix or Fantasy?
- Alessandro Andrea Aragone
- Oct 9
- 12 min read
Pan-Africanism in the Modern World
A Chaotic Political Climate
Since the inception of African Sovereignty, a new battle has taken center stage in the African political landscape: the fight for a democracy that represents the will of the people. Between the 1990s and late 2000s, this tumultuous conflict seemed to finally be reaching its end to an outsider’s eye, as Africa grew increasingly democratic and demonstrated glimmers of possible prosperity. Since the 2010s however, this progress has capitulated. Largely, African nations regressed to dictatorships, untenable corruption, and military autocrats stealing power in infinite loops of coups d’état. From the flames of this infinite conflict, a new character has emerged within the African political sphere: young, populist, anti neo-imperialist leaders spouting Pan-African rhetoric.
Prominent examples of said movement include South Africa, Senegal, and most relevantly the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The AES comprises Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, which have recently made themselves noticed through their shared ideals of non-adhesion to Franco-American influence within Africa. The AES was spearheaded by Burkina Faso’s new young leader, the controversial Ibrahim Traoré, who has grown immensely popular both in Africa, as a face of a resurging Pan-African movement, and internationally, as an anti-imperialist left-wing symbol. Much of the controversy surrounding Traoré stems not just from his policies, but from the choices he made to create an image around himself as well. Rocking the iconic Red Beret and military tracksuit of Burkinabe Pan-African icon Thomas Sankara, Traoré appears to many as a reincarnation of the dead revolutionary. Along with these supernatural theories, claims of ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses have destabilized the global public’s support for his otherwise successful domestic policies. The support gained from the Burkinabe public and the hope instilled into young Africans, despite the controversy, has demonstrated a new possible path for African leaders, an anti-neocolonial, Pan-African future.
Pan-Africanism - Past & Present
Understanding Pan-Africanism in the modern context and the reasons for its possible flourishing is contingent on understanding its history and values. The main principles of the movement are:
Unity and Solidarity of African peoples.
Anti-Colonialism and Anti-Imperialism.
Self-Determination and Sovereignty.
Economic Independence, Empowerment, and Cooperation.
Social Justice and Liberation (feminism, equality, anti-corruption).
Marxism & Progressivism.
Pan-Africanism can be broadly defined as an anti-neocolonial progressive political movement, forefronting interdependence between African nations and striving for a unified African identity. It aims to achieve liberation and progress for African peoples through rhetoric, civic, economic, and social reform. Pan-Africanism is said to have started with Ghanaian-American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois who organized one of the first ever Pan-African conferences in 1919. As the ideology grew and spread, it transformed into a linchpin that spurred the independence of African nations from their colonizers.
However, issues faced by today's Africa cannot be fully analyzed without an understanding of their rocky foundations. Western colonialism left Africa completely decimated, lacking proper infrastructure and human capital. To make up for this, African countries needed to quickly finance infrastructural projects, and to do so, they were forced to take out loans. This debt gave considerable political power to the same countries that once colonised the African peoples, and prevented nationalization and redistribution within the African countries, often pushing them to implement harsh austerity measures. The austerity further weakened institutions and infrastructure, blocking African countries from ever developing or building up an economy capable of repaying their debts.
A prominent Pan-African figure who spearheaded African independence is Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, who led Ghana’s independence movement, as its first black president, between 1952-1966. Having stated "Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa", he became one of the faces of the movement to unify the continent. Nkrumah further embodied Pan-African principles with his focus on women’s rights, social liberties, and both the establishment and development of educational and administrative institutions within Ghana. Pan-Africanism’s values are also embodied by Burkinabe icon Thomas Sankara. After changing his state’s name from “Upper Volta” to “Burkina Faso”, which translates to “land of the upright people”, Sankara personifies the role of a righteous leader. Famously commuting to work on his bicycle, Sankara aimed to create a government that served the populace by decreasing pay for government officials, as well as reducing the power of foreign-owned multinationals. Sankara established numerous nationalized institutions, aiming for self-sustenance. His infamous quote “he who feeds you, owns you” reinforced his argument for a shared African sovereignty. Crucially, Sankara exposed the predatory nature of debt-trapping from Western institutions in the global south, such as the IMF. With the aim of dismantling these exploitative institutions, Sankara invited his fellow African leaders to jointly default on their debt, suggesting that African countries could support each other instead of relying on their once-colonizers. Soon after, Sankara was assassinated in a France/CIA-backed coup d’état.
Given Pan-Africanism’s anti-Western rhetoric, and its close association with Marxism, the movement has historically held a great alliance with the USSR, proved by the numerous soviet style monuments and buildings within many nations with a Pan-African background. As the USSR’s influence waned and global socialist superpowers fell, so did foreign diplomatic support for Marxist Pan-Africanism, paving the way for more conventional democratic cooperation within the neoliberal global context. While Sankara and Nkrumah are still regarded as African heroes, Pan-African leaders that emerged between then and now have had questionable reputations. An example of this is Mu’ammar Gheddafi, a notorious authoritarian that exposed the Libyan population to numerous mass atrocities. Gheddafi was well-liked among many at the beginning, and symbolized many of the same principles that characterized heroes like Nkrumah and Sankara such as self-reliance and anti-Western rhetoric. However, as time went on, his rule deteriorated into a brutal dictatorship, posing the question of whether the untimely demise of the aforementioned leaders contributed to their current image as Pan-African heroes.
With the recent resurgence of Pan-Africanism, the new characters at the head of the movement have been subject to cautious speculation from the global public. These new leaders, such as Ibrahim Traoré, stand between the squeaky-clean image of Thomas Sankara and the muddied, controversial figure of Gheddafi. The crucial dilemma is whether Pan-Africanism will be used as a tool to consolidate authoritarian power through populism, or if it is the tool that will finally lead Africa to independence from neo-imperialist powers.
The Will of the Masses?
For many, Pan-Africanism is a symbol of rejection against Western rule, both direct and indirect. It’s an open secret that Africans are broadly unhappy with their political situations across the continent. Young Africans, who make up a large portion of the population, are the most dissatisfied demographic. 70% of Africans prefer democracy, with those aged 18-30 ranking highest in this metric. 75% reject military authoritarianism, and only 43% are satisfied with democracy in practice. In the last couple of years, multiple mass protests have taken place against Western presence in African Politics, most notably in Niger (2023) and Chad (2022). These manifestations boil down to authoritarian regimes supported by the same Western powers, motivated by economic and administrative benefits. As a result, many pro-democracy Pan-African youth groups have emerged, such as Pan-African Network, Movement Reborn, Being Pan-African, and Center for Pan-African Culture.
Support for Pan-Africanism is split between nations, pushed by discrepancies in ideologies and alliances. A prominent example of such is the AES, where the leaders of the respective nations remain largely lauded by locals, despite being ambivalent to the outside world and disliked by a majority of foreign nations. This became evident with the withdrawal of the AES states from ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) on January 29th of 2025, a move that clearly underlined the isolationism between the new-age Pan-African revolutionaries and the rest of Western-influenced Africa. Specifically, Burkina Faso’s president Ibrahim Traoré is quickly making a name for himself as one of the most controversial figures in the global geopolitical landscape. While young Africans awe at his handling of foreign influence and movement towards self-reliance, there have been reports of possible ethnic cleansing at the hands of civilian military groups organized to fight Jihadism in the North. Given also his military takeover of the country and distance from the public, Traoré has provoked fear of another authoritarian regime being established in Burkina Faso, reflecting the opposite of traditional Pan-African principles.
From a Western perspective, Pan-Africanism demonstrates a diplomatic and economic threat. Many of the largest primary sector companies in Europe profit greatly from the liberties of resource extraction, privy to them thanks to its political power within Africa. Modern Pan-Africanism, such as what we see within the AES, poses a real threat to many of the largest lobbyists in Europe. For instance, Ibrahim Traoré expelled five foreign-linked gold mining operations, known to be heavily funded by French investors, and nationalized the operations. As such, the reported 20 assassination attempts towards Traoré, some of which backed by France, unsurprisingly follow a trend of Franco-American meddling in foreign affairs. This trend can be explained by Pan-Africanism's heavy alignment with socialist and anti-western ideals, both of which pose major threats to pro-capitalist Western powers. Throughout history, former colonial powers and the US have been vehemently against these new governments, grasping at the chances to condemn the actions of said states. As a result, historical patterns have revealed themselves, with Ibrahim Traoré having high-profile meetings with the Russian president and cooperating with China for infrastructural deals. Following this string of patterns, Pan-Africanism will likely remain — and increasingly become — a controversial political ideology, especially as leaders of the movement attempt to further concretize the detachment from the West and establish autonomy in their diplomatic affairs.
Pan-Africanism and the Panda: Friend or Foe?
Africa’s road to “independence” remains murky, and the price of this transition is yet to be determined. As the new African leaders face assassination attempts, global skepticism, ostracization, and economic risk, the West cautions them about a snake waiting patiently in the grass: China. The neocolonial and neoimperialist label Pan-African espouse to the West derives from the predatory debt trapping enacted by it, often when funding infrastructural projects. However, it is precisely from this perspective that China’s actions in Africa may pose a threat.
Chinese activity in the continent has been particularly prominent in funding infrastructural projects, such as through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum On Chinese and African Cooperation (FOCAC). Through the FOCAC, China has financed pivotal infrastructure projects such as the $3.6 Billion Mombasa-Nairobi railway in Kenya, which was completed in only 4 years, as well as the $4-5 billion Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway. Further investments have been made in the renewable energy sector, in special economic zones, and for telecommunication expansion. Similarly, the BRI is a developmental framework according to which China uses loans to fund infrastructural projects and provide technological and logistical assistance, all the while keeping the process fairly swift through minimal bureaucracy. The aforementioned railway was particularly lauded due to the quickness employed in its construction, displaying the possible efficacy of Chinese assistance
However, herein precisely lies the threat: debt. These infrastructural projects are not gifts but rather loans with interest, putting African countries into debt. China-sceptics have questioned if this Chinese “altruism” is only an attempt to increase its scope of influence by debt-trapping underdeveloped parts of the world like the West has historically done. Furthermore, many of the infrastructural projects financed by Chinese institutions also employ their own Chinese workforce, demonstrating little short-term benefit for local African job markets, regardless of the possible long-term positives. However, it’s also important to recognize that China’s assistance, compared to the West’s financial aid programs and IMF loans, is much more focused on building infrastructure, a long-term benefit to the African nations that may provide the tools needed to eventually pay back the debts. The previous economic aid received (from Western powers) often got lost to bureaucracy, corruption, and lobbying politicians who would protect the interests of Western nations and multinationals. Many African leaders, and especially Pan-Africans, have been satisfied with China’s assistance precisely due to its focus on the continent’s infrastructure, allowing for greater trade and movement between African nations, as well as shared communication systems. While it would be foolish to assume that China is helping African nations out of benevolence, this may prove to be more of a symbiotic relationship than the previous austerity-based Western aid, and may lay out a path to eventual Pan-African independence.
Macron, France, and the USA
France is not blind to the unfolding situation south of the Mediterranean, in what was once their territory. Through symbolic apologies for historical tragedies, Macron initially presented himself as one of the most progressive presidents in modern French history in maintaining diplomatic relations with the African continent. He often aimed for a “redefinition” of the relationship between France and Africa, yet hardly discussed policies to ground this ambition. This blatant vagueness has left much of the French electorate along the political spectrum dissatisfied. For leftist progressives, a “redefinition” presented nothing but an empty promise — the ambiguity enabled further French integration and monopolization within African economies with the outright support from the governments at play, masked behind an image of transformation. For the French right wing, a change to the status quo could present difficulties for many of its voters. Billionaire Vincent Bollore is the owner of palm oil plantations in Cameroon, which have contributed to his net worth of $9.4 billion USD, and is also the owner of many major media channels in France, such as the extreme-right CNews. Such right-winged media channels have often legitimized France’s neocolonial actions in Africa and criticized Macron’s actions, such as its condemnation of French troops leaving Senegal, demonstrating the right-wing’s reluctance to let go of their current economic ties in the continent.
Many of the Pan-African nations, united by an anti-western rhetoric, have expelled French forces from their borders, something that threatens the wealth of the super-rich but also the strength of a faltering French economy that still greatly benefits from the extraction of African resources. Among other things, Nigerien uranium powers France’s nuclear plants; cobalt mined in the Congo allows for the growth of the electric vehicle industry; and fruits and vegetables in French markets are often grown in African countries under exploitative work conditions in complete disregard of EU labour laws. The French economy's vested interests in an unchanging Africa are ultimately threatened by Pan-Africanism's quest for self-determination, a threat that may even undermine France's stability in currently challenging times.
This also may prove to be a moment of definitive decision-making for the USA, which has behaved quite ambivalently towards Pan-African leaders . While condemning the military takeovers within the Sahel, the USA stands to benefit from maintaining some level of influence, especially as jihadist terrorism ravages the region. However, with Trump’s isolationist attitude and erratic foreign policy, it is difficult to predict in what direction American relations will be heading next. It is clear, however, that China and the US are clashing to gain the diplomatic and economic control of the region, as proved by their wrestle for influence and military presence in Djibouti and Somaliland, and Pan-Africans may be the next proxy. The West could respond to the rebirth of Pan-Africanism in many ways. From funding coups d’état, to economic sanctions, to public criticism, the reaction of the West will be crucial to the development of African politics, and the viability of Pan-Africanism in the current world order.
A New Path?
With modern media providing knowledge to a population formerly limited by the extent of state propaganda and lack of education, a look at the past has opened the doors to various political perspectives for many young Africans, chief among those being Pan-Africanism. The inspiring heroes of Africa’s tumultuous past are almost exclusively Pan-Africans, who often regarded Western interference as their antagonist. As the last couple of decades have aligned with a period of adherence to Western standards, Western banking systems, and Western economies, the African peoples are growing tired of an omnipresent Western influence. While the valor of modern Pan-Africans remains in question, the strength of this reemerging movement is not one the West will turn a blind eye to, especially considering Western interest in maintaining power in the region. Africa appears to be one of the future battlegrounds for the Chinese and American spheres of influence, and Pan-Africanism will prove to be a determining factor. Along with that, young Africans will have to choose whether or not to risk enabling Chinese neo-colonialism and further authoritarianism under the regimes of the Pan-Africans, in the hope to find a path to independence.
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