Bolstering the Bromances: Turkey's and Iran's Tightening Ties with Africa

Changing global dynamics resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine are creating opportunities for non-traditional actors - such as Iran and Turkey - to scale up their engagement with Africa. The African continent is particularly affected by the war: the blockage of grain export routes, the repercussions of Western-imposed sanctions, and globally surging prices have fuelled anti-Western discourses on the continent. The consequences of the war against Ukraine have exacerbated the already existing challenges in Africa regarding food security, especially since the continent is heavily dependent on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine. The war's precedence over other crises in terms of immediate response puts already vulnerable regions at risk of greater food scarcity, humanitarian emergencies, and political instability. Over the past twenty years, Turkey has emerged as a major humanitarian actor in Africa, promoting rhetoric that brands the country a benevolent brother of African states. Ankara's role in brokering the grain shipment agreement between Ukraine and Russia has strengthened this narrative, with Turkey gaining recognition for having prevented more severe food crises. In terms of Iran, Africa has played a crucial role in its international status-seeking agenda and intermittently as an economic survival sphere at times of deteriorating Iranian relations with the West. The developments regarding the domestic mass uprisings and unpromising nuclear negotiations - coupled with recent comprehensive cooperation with Russia since the beginning of the war - have led to a revitalisation of Iran's engagement with African states. Both Iran and Turkey deploy an amicable rhetoric, drawing on their discursive advantages - such as their Muslim identity and non-colonial history - to better engage with African states. In this way, they are able to leverage rising anti-Western sentiments among African leaders and societies to serve their foreign policy agendas. If European governments wish to remain relevant partners to African states and contain the anti-Western power projection of states such as Iran and Turkey, they should not depart from their commitments to the continent. They should exhibit a genuine commitment to horizontal partnerships and take a coherent approach towards authoritarian states to promote a value-based foreign policy

Figurations of displacement in and beyond Tanzania: reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Congolese and Burundian refugees in Dar es Salaam

This working paper investigates the livelihoods, trajectories, networks and self-generated opportunities of vulnerable migrants in refugee-like situations in Dar es Salaam. Its main purpose is to arrive at a deeper understanding of protracted displacement through a 'figurational approach', which stresses the networks and the interdependencies of urban refugees in Dar es Salaam, across Tanzania, and across national borders. Refugees' social relations do not unfold in a vacuum but are shaped by the regimes of aid and asylum that govern their lives. In a context of constant fear of imprisonment and deportation, this working paper gives particular attention to the alliances that the vulnerable migrants build within Dar es Salaam. It underlines their agency and coping strategies, as they bring with them many valuable skills. Capitalising on these skills can result in longstanding partnerships between vulnerable migrants and locals. Spaces of freedom where displaced people do not need to live in a perpetual state of fear and uncertainty are equally important. More than focusing on constraints, this paper underlines the urban refugees' agency and survival strategies. We pay particular attention to the mobility and connectivity of female urban refugees, also within a digital context. Through (social media) entrepreneurship, women in refugee-like situations have managed to overcome immobilisation and create new opportunities for themselves. By analysing a variety of life situations throughout this paper, we seek to recognise and pro mote urban refugees' agency and dignity