6. US–Africa’s Engagement from Clinton to Trump

This chapter broadens the historical canvass to provide an assessment of US foreign policy toward Africa at a defined period of time—from Clinton to Trump. Clinton’s era followed a period of neglect of Africa in US foreign policy, and elevated commercial diplomacy. This was also a testing period for America’s post-Cold War foreign policy. Clinton’s ascendance coincided with the vogue of globalization, and his commercial diplomacy thrust dovetailed with the spirit of the times, especially the renewed confidence of US multinational companies that were raring to go abroad. Donald Trump would later cash in political capital on the back of the disintegration of globalization, which deepened fissures between the elites—the beneficiaries of globalization—and those at the bottom who saw international openness as stacked against their interests.