The Case for Neutrality: Understanding African Stanceson the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Abstract

The war in Ukraine is impacting most countries in the world. Economically, prices of goods and services are rising and manycountries around the world are experiencing energy crises that can be linked to the war in Ukraine. Politically, fracturesare appearing in long-established political structures with many countries around the world deciding on how to respondto the war in Ukraine based on their political, economic, and strategic interests. Surprisingly, Africa is generating a lot ofattention due to the stance of several notable countries – including some seen as key allies of Western countries. Contraryto expectations that most African countries except those ruled by despots would follow the West in condemning and puttingpressure on Putin to end the war, many African countries chose to stay neutral without condemning Russia or supportingresolutions to put pressure on Putin to end the war. This article has explored not only the role of neo-imperialism in shiftingpolitical alliances away from the West as well as a key factor fostering neutrality, but also other factors. It has made use ofUN resolution voting patterns as well as statements made by African leaders as lenses through which the stances of Africanleaders can be understood. The article “The Case for Neutrality: Understanding African Stances on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict” by Olayinka Ajala is translated and published with permission of the author and и Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, where it was originally published in English (Journal of Military and Strategic Studies (2022), vol. 22, iss. 2). Available at: https://www.mapleleafnavy.com/index.php/2023/02/16/journal-of-military-andstrategic-studies-volume-22-issue-2/.