Russia’s Africa Policy and Its Growing Military Presence in Africa: Foreign Policy Drivers and Implications in Relations with the EU and China

This chapter analyzes Russia’s Africa policy, with a focus on the growing presence of Russian military groups in different African countries, with a particular look at the Central African Republic case, seeking to understand the drivers in Russia’s foreign policy and the political and security implications involved in this strategic positioning. Africa has been in the Russian agenda but gained a new profile in recent years, bringing new insights towards the traditional foreign policy alignments, that this chapter looks into, taking in account the current context of war in Ukraine and its implications for Russian foreign policy alignments. The chapter seeks also to understand the implications of this increased Russian presence in Africa for European interests and regarding the strategic partnership with China.