‘Preventive diplomacy’ is the way to go on the continent — official

The US effort to stabilise Kenya has been cited by a top State Department official as an indication of the Obama administration’s Africa policy priorities.

Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told a Washington forum that he had travelled to Nairobi last month as an exercise in preventive diplomacy. “We could see things sliding down,” Carson said.

Intervening in political crises before they escalate into armed conflict will be one of the hallmarks of President Barack Obama’s approach to Africa, Carson explained.

He added that his mission to Nairobi, in which he carried “a special message” from Obama, showed that the president is engaged with Africa.

Speaking to a gathering of Africa specialists at a Washington think tank, Carson sought to dispel suspicions that crises elsewhere in the world have monopolised Obama’s attention, leaving no time for the White House to address Africa issues.

“There is in fact a lot of involvement. There is energy,” Carson declared.

He pointed to Obama’s scheduled visit to Ghana next month as an indication of the president’s engagement with the continent. “Hopefully these kinds of visits will become more routine. Africa policy should be mainstreamed,” Carson said.

The decision to confine Obama’s initial Africa safari to one country reflects a desire on the part of the White House to demonstrate to the US public that the president is “not too interested” in Africa, says Daniel Volman, head of the Washington-based African Security Research Project.

Unlike his two immediate predecessors — Bill Clinton and George W Bush — Obama is not undertaking a “grand tour” of the continent, Volman observes.

A brief stop in a single country will serve to blunt potential criticisms to the effect that Obama is not spending sufficient time on more pressing international issues, such as turmoil in Iran and defiance on the part of North Korea, Volman suggests.

In his policy presentation at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Mr Carson identified democracy promotion, economic development and action on “transnational issues” as three of the pillars of the Obama administration’s Africa policy.

“Good governance is absolutely critical,” Carson said in regard to the emphasis that the US plans to place on promoting democracy and the rule of law in Africa.

He named three Africa programmes initiated during the Bush years that the new president intends to further develop: emergency assistance for Africans with Aids; special Millennium Challenge grants to countries that meet several economic, political and environmental policy criteria; and a military command focused exclusively on Africa.