A new great game is afoot in Africa. While the United States and our allies have focused on the war in Ukraine and growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific in recent years, Moscow has been sweeping the African continent in a simple yet powerful manner. This new Russian approach to foreign policy in Africa leverages disinformation, private military companies, and strategic partnerships with authoritarian regimes to exacerbate pre-existing conditions and insert themselves into the narrative. This novel method of great power politics actively undermines regional security and gives the impression that Russia's presence on the continent is here to stay. Long-term, the strategic implications of this shift in the polarity of Africa will force the United States to reevaluate its strategy towards counter-terrorism in the Sahel and rethink its approach towards economic sanctions as the Kremlin gains new markets and access to the hard currency it desperately needs. This report is organized into three parts: The first is an analytical overview of the current situation in Western Africa. The second portion is more academic, combining a literature review of the existing scholarship with a historical foundation on Russia's continental engagement. The third portion of this report briefly discusses the strategic implications of Russia's contemporary foreign policy engagement and what it means for the United States going forward.Russian, East European, and Eurasian StudiesGlobal Policy Studie
