Part 2: Harris or Trump 2.0 – why it matters for Africa

As the US election approaches, Africa’s perception of US politics has garnered significant attention. The rise of Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate has sparked reactions across the continent. And the prospect of a Donald Trump 2.0 presidency is met with mixed emotions. In this mini-series, divided into two episodes, we explore how Africans view the candidates in the upcoming US election and how they think it will affect US-Africa relations.

In the first episode, we discussed how Washington’s Africa policies, and US-Africa relations, have evolved over the post-Cold War era in general, and under Joe Biden’s administration in particular. We also looked at how Africans view Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.

In this, the second episode, we look at how Republican candidate Donald Trump, and the legacy from his term as president, is regarded in Africa. We also chew over what implications religious values, and the Israel–Hamas war, might have on African perceptions of American politics.

Of course, there is no “one perception” of American politics in Africa, since it is a continent of 1.4 billion people divided between 54 countries. So do not worry, dear listeners, we will not take on the impossible ambition of covering all of Africa. Instead, our hand-picked researchers in the expert panel will talk mostly about the countries that they cover in their research.

And the guests are:

• Patience Mususa, Senior Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, specialized in mining communities and mineral resource management in Southern Africa in general and Zambia in particular.
• Angela Muvumba Sellström Senior Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, specialized in women, peace and security and Africa’s voice in the UN, with a particular insight into Uganda and South Africa.
• Isaac Kaledzi, Ghanian journalist who has been covering the US Elections from a West African perspective.