Anti-Westernism in Africa: meanings, roots and reach of a growing aversion

An anti-West sentiment is growing across sub-Saharan Africa – if with significant variations – largely as a reaction to Western dominance, seen as the cause of the region’s dependencies and predicaments. Recriminations against France have been the most visible expression of anti-Westernism. Yet, contrary to prevalent understanding and media accounts, Africans’ resentment reaches beyond French-speaking areas. This is demonstrated in two ways. First, anti-West drifts have been evident in the two largest countries well outside predominantly Francophone regions, namely South Africa and Ethiopia. Secondly, hostility and resistance towards policies strongly identified with European and American values (i.e. LGBTQ rights) and demands (i.e. the green transition) have become widespread across much of the region. While the diversity of the area calls for country-specific investigations, some background factors of the current anti-West trend are clearly shared, including a deterioration of economic and security conditions for many Africans, which generated a fertile ground for public anger and thus for the search for scapegoats. An increasingly exasperated urban youth, with expanding access to social media, was instrumental to the spread of resentment, whereas the diversification of international partners offered non-Western alternatives and support.