Africa Reacts to the DNC and RNC Nominations

September 2, 2020

In our “Africa Reacts” series, the CSIS Africa Program asks prominent African journalists, civil society activists, and thought leaders to share their analysis on the U.S. presidential election process. Sub-Saharan Africa has not featured prominently in presidential campaigns, but the outcome of the election will have important ramifications for U.S. policy toward the region. By flipping the script—featuring African analysts’ views on U.S. politics rather than U.S. analysts’ opinions on African developments—we are seeking to start a new conversation about the future of U.S.-African relations.

In the fifth installment of Africa Reacts, we asked top African analysts to provide their thoughts on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions (DNC and RNC, respectively) held in August. Many noted the abundance of petty arguments and personal attacks traded between campaigns. Others brought up the challenges of fact-checking the speeches, and they questioned if the United States would be able to hold free, fair, and transparent elections. Finally, many analysts noted that the conventions were held against a backdrop of voter suppression, the ongoing murder of Black and brown people, and the declining soft power of the United States in Africa and throughout the world.

Read the first, second, third, and fourth installments of our Africa Reacts series.

The contributions in this commentary have been edited by the CSIS Africa Program for brevity and clarity.

Samba Dialimpa Badji, Journalist, Africa Check (@dialimpa)

While watching the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, a question arose: Why is political life in the United States defined only by two political parties? 

This situation reminds me of Senegal in the 1970s, when then-president Léopold Sédar Senghor passed a law limiting the number of political parties to three and imposing three currents of political thought (liberal and democratic, socialist and democratic, Marxist-Leninist and communist) to which each of these parties had to comply.

Although there is no law limiting the number of political parties in the United States, it seems as if everything is done to ensure that no political offer outside these two camps can succeed. But if U.S. citizens are satisfied with that, why not?

Udo Jude Ilo, Country Officer, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) (@udoilo)

Watching the conventions, I cannot help but worry about the rather toxic relationship and disdain with which both major parties hold the other. It appears that good governance is not the goal for some of the speakers but rather the triumph of their parties. They demonize the competition and peddle falsehoods. I think that this approach is damaging America’s democracy and the ability of politicians to work across the divide for the best interest of their citizens. I must note, sadly, that the leadership and speeches of the current president embody the darker instincts of American politics and may have greatly divided the country and weakened its democratic guardrails. The conventions paint a damning picture of a democracy in crisis. America’s global leadership is in decline, and by extension a major support base for democracy across the globe is almost gone.

Khaya Khumalo, South African Journalist (@Khayajames)

Whether President Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins, a key question for many observers will be: what is their policy on Africa? The United States has been a key counterterrorism partner in sub-Saharan Africa, but neither Trump nor Biden have clarified how they plan to strengthen bi- and multilateral cooperation while navigating Chinese engagement in the region. It's been fascinating watching two leaders battling it out and promising to deal with socioeconomic issues confronting the world’s superpower.

Aikande C. Kwayu, Author (@aikande)

While listening and reflecting on various speeches in both the DNC and RNC it is unavoidable to think how politics in the United States has grown increasingly personal. Discussions on policy and serious national issues are choked with personal attacks. It represents the erosion of American exceptionalism, which informed its soft power for decades. Why have the politics surrounding the U.S. elections been reduced to nationalistic and personal attacks? During President Trump’s speech at the RNC, he coated each of his arguments with an attack on rival Joe Biden. Furthermore, Trump was not scared to lie; he claimed to respect and observe science in fighting Covid-19, something that he has failed to uphold.

The current state of U.S. politics has a negative effect on democracy across the world. U.S. politicians are using similar tactics employed by those in undemocratic countries, where it is normal for the incumbent to use his public office to support his reelection campaign as well as attack his opponent instead of focusing on policy issues. In many African countries, activists and defenders of democracy and human rights rely on the United States to set standards and provide support for their cause. However, the recent political rhetoric and practices, including nepotism, weaken U.S. moral authority to speak and stand for democracy in other parts of the world, and in particular in Africa.

Moky Makura, Africa No Filter (@mokymakura)

In the past, the international community typically assessed African countries solely on their leaders. These leaders—frequently men, dominant with questionable leadership ethics—often overshadowed what was happening on the ground. Many of those strongmen have thankfully gone now: Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Zairian leader Mobutu Sese Seko, Nigerian military ruler Sani Abacha, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe—as well as a few we are still waiting for—but their stories have been preserved in films and books. Americans should revisit these stories.

Watching the Democrats and Republicans at their conventions, it struck me that America may be borrowing from the playbook that previously served some of these ignoble African leaders. America is bigger than one man. Americans should remember that.

Fidelis Mbah, Al Jazeera (@FidelisMbah)

The U.S. election process has sparked a debate among Africans like never before. While there is no candidate of African origin on the ballot, the keen interest of Africans is due to President Trump's policies and their negative implications for Africa and African immigrants.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp are veritable ground for rigorous debate about which candidate should get African support.

Some Africans feel that Trump doesn't care about what happens to the continent. He has not visited any African country since he assumed the U.S. presidency on January 20, 2017. Trump's insulting comments about Africa are still fresh in the memory of those opposed to his reelection in November. But he enjoys a huge support base from African evangelical Christians. They have been mobilizing support for his reelection. Some of his supporters also perceive him as a president that would continue the fight against insurgency on the continent.

Meanwhile, a section of Africans feel that former president Barack Obama didn't do enough to support the continent, and they think that Joe Biden won't be any different.

However, there is hope that as president, he would end the immigration nightmare for Africans—especially those looking forward to achieving their “American dream.” Biden's choice of Kamala Harris has also expanded the debate among Nigerians. Not for being the first woman of color on the presidential ticket but her link to the continent via marriage. Her niece, Meena Harris, is married to an African American of Nigerian descent, Nikolas Ajagu.

Overall, religion and immigration remain hot button issues for Africans, as opposed to economic reforms and other electoral promises made by Trump and Biden.

Cliff Mboya, International Relations Practitioner (@mboyacliff)

The 2020 U.S. election process reads like a script from third-world politics. If there was any doubt about the decline of the United States as a leader and champion of democracy and party politics, the Democratic and Republican National Conventions bear it all. They have brought out the bad and the ugly in American contemporary politics. Previously, America was touted as having one of the best constitutions in the world, with independent institutions and a legal regime able to check the excesses of various arms of government, including the executive branch. This is all under question in U.S. politics today.

Africa looked up to the United States as a model for democratic principles and values, and the United States played a leading role in propagating these values in Africa. However, U.S. commitment to democracy and human rights has waned. Scenes of police brutality, restrictions on the right to protest, hate speech, and talk of election rigging and the possibility of the incumbent refusing to accept defeat in the election are all too familiar in Africa and not expected in America. The once-vibrant African civil society that looked up to the United States for leadership and support feel abandoned with little motivation to push on with the democratization agenda.

With very little hope for a robust and comprehensive Africa policy from either Republicans or Democrats, the 2020 election is less relevant to Africa. This is due to the very little substance the United States offers to Africa at the moment.

Mantate Mlotshwa, Magamba Network (@MantateQueeneth)

A lot of African youth are increasingly questioning United States as a model of democratic governance. Joe Biden’s choice of a minority woman candidate as a running mate, while celebrated by many, is being considered by African voices as carrying the undertone of a cliché and rehearsed political move that’s designed to make him look inclusive. This tokenism makes the American political campaigns no different from identity politics experienced in Africa as candidates scramble for votes. This does not undermine Kamala Harris’ credentials as she is a phenomenal leader. It questions what Biden seeks to get out of that decision, and if he will in fact get it.

Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia (@wunpini_fm)

It is interesting to watch both political parties share inspirational stories about equality and deploy cultural mythologies to highlight American exceptionalism in the face of voter suppression, the murder of Black people, and the perpetual annihilation of Native Americans. One of the things that has stood out to me has been the strength of the Republican Party’s propaganda machine and the way that representation politics has been used to court white voters who want to vote Republican but are scared of being called unpleasant things.

This year has disrupted and challenged America’s soft power in Ghana. Many of us are awaiting the outcome of this election and wondering if it will reposition the country as the beacon and global gatekeeper of democracy it has always claimed to be. Will America be able to hold elections that are free, fair, and transparent? Will the United Nations send election observers to monitor and report back to the rest of the world?

Fred Muvunyi, Reporter and Editor, Deutsche Welle (@MuvunyiF)

The last four years under Donald Trump have shown how quickly democracy can erode even in countries where human rights and political freedoms are cherished dearly. President Trump has lowered the U.S. governing standard to the level of so many authoritarian countries in Africa. The confidence human rights defenders had in the U.S. government, and the support they usually got from Washington, is waning.

The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Iran nuclear deal, and the pulling out from UNESCO and recently from the World Health Organization have shown how one man can take away the stature and respect we all have for America. Trump is erasing all the foundations laid by American forefathers.

The world has lost its leadership, and I guess that American people don't want to repeat the same mistakes by reelecting Donald Trump.

As we have all witnessed at the end of the RNC, some staunch GOP supporters still see President Trump as the only option and will back him no matter what, while others are less enamored and are encouraging fellow Republicans and Independents to vote him out.

If all goes well, provided that American voters truly see how divisive Trump has been, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can take the mantle and hopefully put an end to the anxiety—which is not only experienced by the American people but also the entire world. Hopefully, the morning after the November 3 vote will not be as depressing as it was in 2016.

Dickens Olewe, Kenyan Journalist (@DickensOlewe)

It was quite something to behold the amount of work that fact-checkers put into parse the speeches during the conventions, but they were especially busy during the RNC than the DNC. Most of them concluded that the Democrats said fewer misleading statements and outright falsehoods than the Republicans, but I couldn't help but think that the U.S. media could do with a bit of help. They alone cannot hold politicians to account for their claims.

Maybe after this election, the U.S. Congress should back a bipartisan mass voter education program, similar to the ones the United States funds in Africa ahead of elections. The campaign should be backed by elaborate billboards and pamphlets informing voters of their constitutional right, how politics affects their lives, why their votes matter, and importantly and crucially to urge the youth, as the State Department would frame it, to "resist political incitement and manipulation." Maybe this would make U.S. elections more tolerant, honest, and also help lessen the burden of fact-checkers.

Prince Papa, Africa Justice Campaigner (@princepapa1)

U.S. politics—and the elections—impact Africa. We follow this closely, watching how politics affect trade, democratic development, human rights, and opportunities in the education and arts sectors. The surprise that Americans gave us when they elected Trump as their leader still baffles us!

The hate that we have witnessed coming from the United States’ top leader does not reflect so-called "American democracy," or the type of democracy we ought to have in the year 2020. U.S. citizens and voters must not surprise us this time: I urge them to rise to the moment, it's the year 2020, over 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. While we expect things to change for the better, it has gone from worst to worse—we see how Black people are slaughtered by white policemen in broad daylight. We see how the U.S. president reverses the gains made on the fight for climate change and the global peace treaties. Americans must not disappoint us this time!

Maria Sarungi Tsehai, Kwanza TV (@MariaSTsehai)

The year 2020 has been anything but conventional. There has been so much bad news on many fronts—but most clearly on global health and the world economy. It is therefore not a surprise that both conventions, Democratic and Republican, were vastly different from any that we have seen on our screens since the ascension of television. The DNC had pre-recorded speeches instead of its usual pageantry and fanfare, while the RNC was a scaled-down version of its usual flamboyance, albeit they found a very majestic backdrop: the White House. I used to think that this was the habit of incumbent presidents in Africa to use public offices for partisan events like elections. My bad!

The highlight of these conventions has always been the candidates’ acceptance speeches, and that is what I was waiting to hear, compare, and contrast. Unfortunately, neither speech was electrifying, to put it mildly. Both speeches pandered to their electoral base, bashed the other candidate, and strangely used the same analogies. There were no real earth-shattering visions put forward, no exciting new plan that has not been proposed in one form or another before.

When stripped of its star speakers and great editing, neither convention seemed to resonate with a wider global public nor was my American “Twitterati” particularly impressed by any of the conventions, except for a bit of “Twitterplause” when their candidate reconfirmed their preferred policy or political stance.

So together with the unconventional year of 2020 and the unconventional setting/milieu of the conventions, the main highlight was pretty conventional.

If you are interested in contributing to future Africa Reacts commentaries on the U.S. presidential election, please email CSIS Africa Program Manager Marielle Harris (mharris@csis.org).

Commentary is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

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