For many, Africa Day is a time to celebrate progress and look forward to a bright future. But for Fadhel Kaboub, an economist who heads the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, the day is a bitter reminder of a colonial cycle that hasn't actually ended. He argues that even after decades of independence, the continent remains stuck at the bottom of global supply chains.
"Africa is structurally disempowered, impoverished, and economically colonized. That distinction matters."
Kaboub, who teaches economics at Denison University in the United States, points out that the continent is the youngest place on earth and holds huge reserves of green minerals. It has the renewable energy potential to power the world. Yet, instead of building local industries, we are still exporting raw materials while importing food and fuel from abroad. It’s like owning a petrol station but having to import fuel to run your own car.
This isn't just bad luck; it’s by design. Kaboub describes it as a colonial architecture that keeps African nations servicing external debts in foreign currencies. When we have to borrow dollars or euros just to keep our economies moving, we are essentially financing the prosperity of the very nations that historically colonized us. It’s a trap that keeps us borrowing just to survive while our natural wealth slips away.
The shifting battleground in the Sahel
Countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have pushed back against this status quo by kicking out French military and political influence from the Sahel region. This move has caused significant reputational damage to France. These governments are clearly tired of a system that has historically prioritized foreign interests over their own domestic security and resource control.
Foreign powers are not taking this lying down. They are aggressive in their pursuit of rare earth minerals, which are essential for modern technology like electric vehicles and smartphones. To maintain their grip, they use soft power by funding and controlling specific NGOs and media outlets, nudging the conversation and controlling narratives to suit their own agenda.
A broken global order
The International Schiller Institute is hosting a conference in Berlin, Germany this weekend. The event focuses on the need for a new global security and development architecture to finally bury the last 500 years of colonial influence. Scholars believe the current United Nations system is failing to protect the most vulnerable people in the world.
Look at the Gaza situation. The UN, once the bedrock of global peace, seems like an empty shell. Even when calls for a ceasefire emerge, they often turn out to be smokescreens. The US government remains hostile toward the International Criminal Court (ICC) because Washington isn't a signatory to the Rome Statute, refusing to accept the court’s jurisdiction over itself or its allies like Israel.
The law of the jungle
We have entered a period where international norms are being tossed out the window. The recent case in Venezuela, where the country’s leadership had their own president and his wife kidnapped in the middle of the night, shows the kind of "law of the jungle" behavior that threatens everyone. This trend, where crossing borders to drag leaders into dubious trials is becoming increasingly normal, sets a bad precedent.
Then there’s the issue of tariffs. Some major powers have started ignoring the World Trade Organization, using indiscriminate tariffs like weapons against any country that refuses to fall in line. This trend of "strong man" politics, where force matters more than international law, is a massive red flag for a continent like Africa, which needs a stable, rules-based system to trade and grow. We need a system that actually values multilateral predictability, not one where the loudest or strongest nation dictates the rules of the game.