This Friday, the Institute for Policy Studies has a great opportunity for those interested in the role of US foreign policy in Africa. American University Professor Carl LeVan and his research assistant Jillian Emerson will present their findings from a recent paper. They studied what drives whether or not African nations are accepting the US military’s recently-formed Africa Command, established in 2008 and based in Europe. It has been controversial since its inception, especially because of its purported focus on development and humanitarian issues—priorities that don’t seem best left to soldiers.

Most African governments have resisted the project. But rather than finding Pentagon “public relations” errors to be the cause of negative attitudes, LeVan and Emerson found that countries sustaining high levels of growth with lower overall levels of foreign aid are more critical of AFRICOM – even if they happen to be traditional American allies. The findings, to be published in Africa Today, suggest that recent economic progress among African countries is making them more comfortable with staking out their political independence.

I don’t want to spoil the ending, but surprise, surprise: countries that receive more monetary aid from the United States speak more favorably about AFRICOM.

IPS’s Foreign Policy in Focus will host an in-depth discussion that examines these and other issues, featuring LeVan and Emerson. The event is this Friday at noon. You can find directions and more info on IPS’s website, or contact me, the event organizer, at [email protected].

Photo: A Liberian soldier in Fort Benning, Georgia. Courtesy of IPS.