German Africa Policy

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German Africa policy describes the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany in relation to the countries of the African continent .

history

From 1884 to the conclusion of the Versailles Treaty in 1919, there were several German colonies on the African continent . In the Weimar Republic there were constant demands to win back the German colonies. Subsequently, colonial revisionism was at least tolerated in the Nazi state from 1933 until the turn of the war in 1942/43. German trade activities on the continent were also continued or resumed, "but a larger, even nationwide, state commitment to Africa by the German Reich could not be realized by the end of the Second World War".

The Africa policy of the young Federal Republic, which picked up speed with the regaining of partial foreign policy sovereignty in 1955, was mainly influenced by the Hallstein Doctrine and the pressure of the USA to contain the spread of communism through development aid. After the abandonment of the Hallstein Doctrine, development goals for Germany's Africa policy gained in importance, even though the Federal Republic's supply of raw materials was to be ensured. There was domestic political controversy about how to deal with the apartheid regime in South Africa . Germany's Africa policy focused on southern Africa in order not to endanger relations with the USA and France, which represented their own interests in the rest of Africa. Africa policy was mainly the responsibility of the BMZ . The GDR's Africa policy focused on countries like Angola and Mozambique , but was scaled back towards the end of the 1980s.

After German reunification and the end of the Cold War , Africa lost strategic importance for many countries. However, Africa policy was now able to concentrate more on development aid and human rights, regardless of block constraints. In October 1991 the BMZ published five criteria for German development cooperation:

  1. Respect for human rights
  2. Participation of the population
  3. Rule of law
  4. Creation of a market-friendly but social economic order
  5. Development orientation of government action

Relations with African countries, particularly with regard to trade policy, have also been shaped increasingly by the EU and international treaties such as the Cotonou Agreement . In recent years, many German ministries have developed their own Africa strategies, and the German government is also trying to find a coherent strategy. The initiatives include B. the Marshall Plan with Africa of the BMZ, the Pro! Africa of the BMWi or the Compact with Africa coordinated by the BMF . In 2019 the Federal Government published the update of the Africa Policy Guidelines from 2014. These are geared towards goals in five areas, peace and stability, sustainable economic development, migration, Africa in the world order and civil society partnerships. Non-governmental organizations expressed concern that the new orientation could subordinate development policy to the prevention of migration. The Federal Government’s Africa Commissioner is Günter Nooke , who is criticized for his dealings with critics and in connection with statements on colonialism.

Fields of action of German Africa policy

Development policy

German ODA to African countries amounted to 3.274 billion euros in 2017. The largest recipient countries were Morocco (309 million euros) and Nigeria (257 million euros). The payment of development aid is often subject to the principle of political conditionality, i.e. financial commitments are linked to demands in the area of ​​human rights or democratization. Germany is also cooperating on development policy with the African Union , which has received EUR 500 million from BMZ funds since 2006. Development policy also relates to the goals of Agenda 2063 . NGOs criticize the fact that in recent years development aid has increasingly been tied to the conditions of refugee management, and the continuing lack of coherence between German and European development policy. European development policy is also criticized from an African perspective and perceived as a "EU trade war against African countries".

Security policy

In the area of ​​security policy, German engagement focuses on crisis prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding. The fight against terrorism is also being discussed on the German side. Overall, however, German security policy in Africa is described as hesitant. German security policy is integrated into the EU's security policy in Africa. The EU supports peacekeeping missions of the African Union and in particular the development of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The Bundeswehr is u. a. involved in the EU anti-piracy operation Atalanta
and the UN mission MINUSMA and the EU training mission EUTM in Mali. In practice, the missions abroad not only serve to secure peace, but are also related to securing German trade interests (before Somalia) and German migration policy (in Mali).

Trade and economic policy

The foreign trade interests of the Federal Republic exist primarily in the North African countries, South Africa and Nigeria . The FRG mainly purchases oil and mineral raw materials from Africa and supplies capital goods. However, Africa's share of German foreign trade only accounts for two percent of total foreign trade (imports and exports). In German politics, the focus is on promoting private-sector investments, e.g. B. in the Compact with Africa program . Also the Pro! The Africa initiative of the BMWi aims to promote investments by expanding the coverage of Hermes guarantees . Although the Development Ministry and the Federal Government's Africa Commissioner are proposing protective tariffs on European imports to Africa, the Federal Government is generally speaking out in favor of more free trade.

Trade relations with African countries are characterized by a high degree of fragmentation. African countries trade with the EU on different terms. As part of the Cotonou Agreement, some African states (grouped together in regions) concluded so-called economic partnership agreements with the EU, which, however, have been heavily criticized by civil society as well as by some states because they strengthen the position of European corporations on African markets the African countries would not drive forward. The so-called Least Developed Countries have largely duty-free access to EU markets under the Everything but Arms agreement, but can protect their own markets with tariffs. In addition, the EU is negotiating its own free trade agreement with some North African countries as part of the EUROMED partnership. Since the Cotonou Agreement expires in 2020, a successor agreement is currently being disputed. According to expert assessments , the creation of the AfCFTA African free trade area has improved the negotiating position of the African states.

Migration policy

Africa is the origin of many migratory movements . In the states of sub-Saharan Africa, a third of the population is considering emigration, but the majority of migration takes place within Africa. Due to the high population growth, an increase in the number of migrants is expected. Migration policy has thus increasingly come into the focus of German and European Africa policy in recent years. In 2018 , the Federal Ministry of the Interior adopted a migration master plan , which in many cases takes up the ideas of the above-mentioned Marshall Plan with Africa .

With 160 million euros, Germany is making the largest bilateral contribution to the European Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), which is intended to combat the structural causes of migration. The EUTF is part of a strategy that tries to externalize migration policy measures, i.e. to implement them outside the EU's external borders. It is criticized that the awarding practice is not geared towards sustainability and the long term, that funds earmarked for development projects are reallocated to prevent migration and that the funded projects concentrate on countries that are along the escape routes, but which are not themselves the largest Host countries belong.

The German government also advocates closing borders within Africa in order to curb migration and supports local governments in implementing suitable projects. In addition to granting development aid, this also includes military advice, for example in Niger . This policy is criticized because z. B. the demand for border closings contradicts the efforts for more free trade.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Torben Gülstorff: Trade follows Hallstein? German activities in the Central African region of the Second Scramble . Humboldt University, Berlin 2016, p. 34 ff .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Siegmar Schmidt: Africa south of the Sahara . In: Siegmar Schmidt, Gunther Hellmann, Reinhard Wolf (ed.): Handbook on German foreign policy . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-531-90250-0 , pp. 532-544 (accessed on July 23, 2019).
  3. ↑ "Africa was important for GDR foreign policy". In: mdr time travel. MDR, January 9, 2018, accessed September 7, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Scientific Services: Brief Information Pro! Africa. German Bundestag, 2018, accessed on September 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Compact with Africa - Federal Ministry of Finance - Topics. Retrieved September 7, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Federal Foreign Office: A deepened partnership with Africa: Update and further development of the Federal Government's Africa Policy Guidelines 2019 (accessed on July 9, 2019).
  7. ^ A b terre des hommes Germany eV, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe eV: Commentary on the Federal Government's Africa policy: Africa needs courageous answers . In: Kompass 2019: On the Reality of German Development Policy 2019, pp. 15–23.
  8. ↑ New demands for resignation against Merkel advisor Nooke. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ: Bilateral net ODA by funding area and country 2017. Accessed on 7 September 2019 .
  10. ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ: African Union. Retrieved September 10, 2019 .
  11. ^ A b Rainer Tetzlaff: International Development Cooperation in Africa . In: Rainer Tetzlaff (ed.): Africa: An introduction to history, politics and society  (= basic knowledge of politics). Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-20253-8 , pp. 299-312 (accessed on July 9, 2019).
  12. ↑ Federal Ministry of Defense: Operations in Africa. In: bmvg.de. Retrieved September 18, 2019 .
  13. ↑ What the Bundeswehr has achieved in Africa - and what not. Retrieved September 18, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Sabine Allafi, Julia Koch: Foreign trade with Africa . Ed .: Federal Statistical Office. destatis, Wiesbaden 2015 ( destatis.de [PDF]).
  15. ↑ a b Why Germany does nothing about the causes of flight in Africa. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
  16. ^ Euro-Mediterranean partnership - Trade - European Commission. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Benjamin Fox: Africa is ready for tough economic negotiations. In: euractiv.com. September 7, 2018, accessed September 23, 2019 .
  18. ↑ It's not just about demarcation, but also about fighting the causes of flight. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
  19. ↑ From Emergency to Standard - The EU Trust Fund for Africa. Retrieved September 19, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Inken Bartels: Money against Migration: The Nothilfe-Treuhandfonds für Afrika . Ed .: Heinrich Böll Foundation. Berlin 2017.