Moscow’s sudden shift in approach to gathering influence and economic power worldwide has surprised policy and analytical communities that viewed Russia’s ambitions for power projection as primarily in its former satellite states and the Middle East. Russian involvement in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia is not new, and Moscow has supported the restoration of Russian presence and influence in these regions for almost a decade. This workshop will examine Russia’s national strategic objectives in Sub-Saharan Africa and the extent that they are achieving these objectives. And from the perspective of individual African states, examine if those objectives are discernible, desirable, and achievable.
Agenda:
15:00 - 16:30
Session One: Russia looking at Africa
15:00 - 15:10
Nataliya Bugayova
Non-Resident National Security Research Fellow, ISW
15:10 - 15:20
Joachim Isacsson
Strategic Analysis Programme, Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (UK)
15:20 - 15:30
Struan MacDonald
Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Caribbean Division, Ministry of Defence (UK)
15:30 - 16:30
Moderated Q&A with Keir Giles
Senior Consulting Fellow, Chatham House
16:30 – 17:00
17:00 - 18:30
Session Two: Africa looking at Russia
17:00 – 17:10
Dzvinka Kachur
Researcher, Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
17:10 – 17:20
Jideofor Adibe
Professor of International relations and Political Science, Nasarawa State University (Nigeria)
17:20 - 17:30
Samuel Ramani
University of Oxford (UK)
17:30 - 18:30
Moderated Q&A with Alex Vines
Managing Director, Risk, Ethics and Resilience; Director, Africa Programme, Chatham House
Biographies
Struan Macdonald has a career spanning thirty years in UK MOD centred on international security. After previous work on both UK and US defence reviews, he led the Russia policy team from 2016-20, and is now Deputy Head for Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Colonel Joachim Isacsson is a Swedish Marine (artillery) with 35 years of military service, including training programs in a number of African nations. He has been posted to the UK MOD Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre in Shrivenham since June 2013, where he is Deputy Assistant Head of DCDC Futures and the Global Strategic Trends Programme, with a close focus on Africa.
Nataliya Bugayova is a non-resident National Security Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War’s (ISW). She previously led ISW's Russia and Ukraine research team. Her work focuses on the Kremlin’s decision-making, information operations, and ongoing campaigns - including in the former Soviet Union and Africa.
Dzvinka Kachur is a Researcher at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition, Stellenbosch University.Her research interest covers the topics of disinformation in South Africa and Russian influences in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dzvinka looked at the Nuclear Deal in South Africa, and Russian presence in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia. She holds degrees from the University of Oxford (MSc) and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (MSc).
Jideofor Adibe is a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. He holds degrees in political science (B.Sc, M.Sc. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka) and a doctorate in International Development Studies from Roskilde University, Denmark. He also holds an LLM degree in Media Law from City University London. He consults for several organisations including the Centre for Democracy and Development (Nigeria) and the Brookings Institution (USA). Prof Adibe is the founding editor of the SCOPUS-indexed, quarterly academic journal, African Renaissance (published consistently since 2004) and currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of African Union Studies, (also SCOPUS-indexed). He is the founder of Adonis & Abbey Publishers (http://www.adonis-abbey.com), a London and Abuja-based publisher of professional books, peer-reviewed and indexed academic journals, and the online newspaper The News Chronicle (http://www.thenews-chronicle.com). Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd, which was incorporated in the UK in 2003, is one the largest African publishers of peer-reviewed and indexed academic journals.
Samuel Ramani completed his doctorate in International Relations at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford in March 2021 and is currently a tutor of politics and international relations at Oxford. Samuel is a specialist on contemporary Russian foreign policy with a particular focus on Russia's power projection in global theatres, such as the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. Samuel is a regular contributor to media outlets, such as Foreign Policy and the Washington Post, and to think tanks, such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, RUSI and the Middle East Institute. Samuel is also a regular commentator on world affairs for broadcast media outlets, such as the BBC World Service, Al Jazeera English and CNN International. Samuel has briefed and advised the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defence, NATO Intelligence Fusion Center, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and France's Ministry of Defence IRSEM on Russian foriegn policy. Samuel is currently writing a book on Russia's foreign and security policy towards Africa since 1985, which will be published by Oxford University Press and Hurst and Co. in 2022.