Wybijanie się Afryki na podmiotowość w stosunkach międzynarodowych

Abstract

AFRICA’S GROWING GLOBAL AGENCY

Although signs of increasing African engagement in global affairs were already evident, the prevailing colloquial, media and expert discourse made them difficult to discern. The year 2023 may prove to be a breakthrough in this regard, bringing an unprecedented build-up of African initiatives, prominent among which were those addressing the most high-profile current crises: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, gang terror in Haiti and Israel’s condemnable methods of conducting a military operation in Gaza. In this way, Africa’s entry into the ranks of those taking – on behalf of themselves and the international community – out-of-the-box action to find solutions not only signals but normalises a shift in Africa’s relationship to the rest of the world. It is also symptomatic of a shift in African leaders’ thinking about the state, the world and responsibility. The effects of the spectacular actions taken in 2023 are uncertain – in many cases their authors lack the resources, experience and determination, and sometimes the objective weight in international relations, to bring them to a successful conclusion. Failure and criticism will have a depressing effect. However, this does not change the fact that they are part of a new trend from which there will be no turning back.