Nigeria Freedom House January 2010 draft

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FEATURED PAPER: “The Political Economy of African Responses to the U.S. Africa Command”

The United States unveiled a consolidated military command for Africa in 2007. The Department of Defense (DOD) attributed the largely negative African reactions to a public relations failure, but contradictory statements continued even after DOD acknowledged its blunders. I test a political economy explanation for African reactions using a content analysis of over 500 African print and radio news sources. Test results show that support for the Command corresponded with greater aid dependence, and that countries sustaining high levels of growth with less foreign aid were more critical of the Command. The findings suggest that good economic performance increases the latitude African countries have when responding to U.S. policy leverage.

(Read the article in the AFRICA TODAY, fall 2010 issue)

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