- Obama rings the changes

Obama rings the changes

Africa Confidential - October 18, 2008

African citizens enthuse about the prospect of an Obama presidency, but their governments are much more cautious.

A victory for Barack Obama in the United States Presidential elections on 4 November would be greeted with a roar of approval across Africa and the Diaspora.

For many, it would be seen as a hugely symbolic victory for Africa at a time when the continent's economies are growing in the slipstream of the more dynamic Asian powers. It would strengthen Africa-US ties amidst a long-term geopolitical re-ordering in which African traders and policymakers have been turning to Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

In Africa, the prospect of an Obama presidency is already raising high expectations, which are being quietly dampened by financial analysts well aware of the current damage to the US economy and the likelihood of cuts to Washington's foreign aid budget (a possibility that Obama has already conceded). Some African governments, too, are playing down the benefits of an Obama win; particularly those harbouring concerns that as president he would take an unprecedentedly tough line on corruption and human rights abuses.

The belief in Obama's campaign team that he would come to the presidency with more understanding and knowledge of African issues than any of his predecessors worries some African regimes. A senior African official, whose government is receiving substantial US military aid, suggested that some regimes on the continent might soon pine for some 'benign neglect'. Read More.