From Trade to Geopolitics: The Transformation of the UAE’s Role in Sub-Saharan Africa
https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2025.03.06
Abstract
In the late 2010s to early 2020s, the presence of so-called “middle powers” in Africa, including Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), significantly expanded. Countries such as Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and others, which act as regional “centers of power,” have leveraged competition among major global states (China, India, the U.S., France, etc.) to advance their interests. These middle powers increasingly influence the political and economic development of African nations by participating in peacekeeping missions and peace negotiations, supporting allied regimes, intervening in conflicts (including through arms supplies to conflicting parties), and boosting investments in key sectors of African economies while expanding development assistance. The UAE has emerged as one of the largest geopolitical players in Africa, actively pursuing multidimensional cooperation with countries across the continent. Geographic proximity, religious ties with many African states and peoples, substantial investments, and development assistance have positioned the Emirates as one of the most desirable partners for African nations, including SSA states. This status is further reinforced by the UAE’s accession to BRICS in 2024. While acknowledging the positive effects of UAE-Africa economic cooperation, the authors also highlight the negative consequences of the Emirates’ interference in the internal affairs of African countries.
Keywords
Sub-Saharan African countries,
UAE,
economic cooperation,
political contacts,
Red Sea region,
military-political conflicts
Supporting agencies: This article was prepared with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development No. 075-15-2024-551 “Global and regional centers of power in the emerging world order”.
About the Authors
T. S. Denisova
Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatyana S. Denisova, PhD (History), Leading Researcher, Head of the Centre for the Study of Africa South of Sahara
Spiridonovka Street, 30/1, Moscow, 123001
S. V. Kostelyanets
Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sergey V. Kostelyanets, PhD (Political Sciences), Leading Researcher, Head of the Centre for Sociological and Political Science Studies
Spiridonovka Street, 30/1, Moscow, 123001
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Review
For citations:
Denisova T.S., Kostelyanets S.V. From Trade to Geopolitics: The Transformation of the UAE’s Role in Sub-Saharan Africa. Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law. 2025;18(3):98-114. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2025.03.06
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