Выступление Л.Р. Хлебниковой в Барселонском институте международных исследований

Аннотация доклада:

Security-Development Nexus in Africa: An Israeli Perspective

In the 21st century African continent faces interdependent development and security challenges. Inequality, poverty, high mortality, deathful diseases, economic instability and environmental degradation often co-exist with weak governance, bloody civil conflicts and spread of Jihadism. Lack of negative peace reinforces threats to structural peace here indisputably and illustratively. 

To alleviate suffering of the African people and mitigate the security threats emanating from the continent many international actors provide some kind of assistance to Africa often disguising their interventions as an intent to ‘help them help themselves’. Among these donors Israel stands out in being an OECD member and one of the major recipients of the foreign aid (from the U.S.) simultaneously.

In the 2010s Israeli-African relations have seen a remarkable progress. In 2016 the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu declared Israel’s comeback to Africa and Africa’s comeback to Israel. He emphasized that Israel might cooperate with Africa in two key spheres: countering terrorism and ‘seizing the opportunities of tomorrow’. And made a historic tour across Africa visiting several key countries.

This paper examines Israel’s role as a provider of military and non-military assistance to the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa – Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, particularly, and demonstrates that Israel acts within a ‘security-development nexus’ paradigm which gained prominence in the policies of the DAC OECD members in the 2000s. On the one hand, Israel helps Sub-Saharan states address the most complex and seemingly insolvable development challenges. On the other hand, she positions herself as a practically indispensable security partner for African governments – as a staunch ally in the war against terrorism proliferating in a wider region. The conclusion is drawn that Israel’s current ambitious policies towards Africa are driven by very rational economic and geostrategic calculations, but produce some new uncertainties in an already risky environment.