African Region in the Current Geopolitical Interests of the United States of America

The purpose of the article is to reveal the current geopolitical interests of the United States in Africa, and its objectives are to outline the main factors influencing the geopolitical interests of the state in the region, to find out their main components and features of implementation; to highlight the prospects for strengthening the American presence in the region. The study used a systematic approach that helped to establish the interrelationship of individual events and their impact on the formation of US geopolitical interests in Africa and to form a holistic picture of the development of US foreign policy towards the region. The use of the chronological method and event analysis made it possible to analyse the process of formation of the modern African foreign policy vector of the United States, and the comparative analysis made it possible to identify changes in US foreign policy at the present stage. A forecasting method was used to predict the prospects for increased American involvement in the region, taking into account new security challenges. Today, the level of excellent power interest in the African region, and consequently the growth of their influence, is quite dynamic. For the United States, the region is extremely important in economic, security and political terms, especially as a temporary (potentially permanent) member of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly. The upcoming US presidential election could significantly alter the power architecture in the region, but regardless of who wins, the US should maintain its focus here. It should modernise its AFRICOM system so that it can respond pre-emptively to military unrest, thus preventing juntas from taking power and extremist movements from spreading. In states where juntas have come to power, and where possible, the US should focus on creating positive incentives for a return to democratic rule. Washington should also renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) next year, given the particular benefits to the region through increased exports and the guarantee of a long-term perspective and, thus, indirect US influence on the continent. At the same time, the United States should use tools and develop areas of cooperation to counter Chinese and Russian influence, for example by expanding the use of soft power tools, coordinating cooperation with states in the region with its allies who also have interests in the region (the EU, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, etc.), and strengthening cooperation with regional partners (Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, and Nigeria). The United States should focus on economic and security cooperation rather than the development of political will, as this is the algorithm of action that is likely to be applicable to this region.