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In his 2022 article, “America Ignores Africa at its Own Peril,” Joe Bruhl made the case that the United States was ignoring Africa to its grave peril while China and Russia operated on the continent with impunity. Three years on, we asked him to reflect on his argument.Read more below.Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Peter ThompsonIn your 2022 article, “America Ignores Africa at its Own Peril,” you characterized the U.S. posture toward Africa as “a problem to be managed,” while Russia and China operate unchecked across the continent. Three years on, with significant changes in the global landscape, do you still assess this to be the case?Yes, and it has gotten worse. While there are a few pockets within policy and commercial sectors that understand Africa’s potential — the United States still tends to think about Africa only when there is a crisis. A lot has occurred to reinforce the perception, among many Americans, that Africa is a “problem to be managed.” In April 2023, a civil war in Sudan forced the United States to evacuate its embassy in Khartoum. In August 2023, a coup in Niger displaced the U.S. military from a crucial counter-terrorism base of operations. Today, fresh reports of atrocities in Democratic Republic of the Congo and resurgent Somali pirates undermine optimism toward Africa in the minds of many.Meanwhile, Russia and China’s influence in Africa is on the march. Reports suggest Russia helped orchestrate the expulsion of the United States from Niger, and Wagner’s footprint in Africa appears to be growing. Xi Jinping, after scaling back loans to Africa in recent years, recently pledged $51 billion in new investments in Africa. According to Gallup, Russian and Chinese soft power in Africa have increased while the America’s has decreased — falling below China for only the second time