U.S. development diplomacy in Africa: From Bill Clinton to George W. Bush

Abstract

By means of descriptive approach and content-analysis of documentary sources collected from two U.S
embassies in Africa (Lagos and Pretoria), the article examines the U.S development diplomacy in Africa
during the Clinton years and the early directions of George W. Bush’s policy toward Africa. The article
is broadly divided into three sections. The first part deals with introduction, motivation and
methodology. This section also attempts a concise historical overview of U.S policy toward Africa, from
Truman to J.F Kennedy and to George Bush. The second section outlines the several development
imperatives apparent in the US official thinking about Africa at the beginning of the Clinton
administration. The section specifically focuses on basic provisions of the Clinton’s AGOA policy and
to what extent Africans/Africanists were agog with AGOA. Within this context, the article also
enumerates the reservations of Africans/Africanists about AGOA. The third section describes the early
indications [or lack of it] of the direction of George W. Bush Africa policy before 9/11 terrorist attack on
the U.S. The study concludes by identifying key development issues that have been side-stepped by the
paradigm of 9/11 and how the war on terror have scuttled the gathering momentum on the anticipated
transition from Clinton to Bush pro-development diplomacy in Africa.