The nexus between Pan Africanism and Foreign Policy paths: The case of the Zimbabwe-West reengagement drive
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https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i4.003##semicolon##
Pan-Africanism##common.commaListSeparator## Foreign Policy##common.commaListSeparator## Zimbabwe-West Re-engagement##common.commaListSeparator## African States##common.commaListSeparator## Realism##article.abstract##
This research investigated the relationship between Pan-Africanism and the foreign-policy trajectories of African states, using Zimbabwe–West re-engagement as a case study. Most African states appear to rely more heavily on support from global powers such as the USA, UK, Russia and China than on other African states. Although Pan-Africanism was historically central to Africa’s liberation struggles, its influence on contemporary African foreign policy remains insufficiently examined. The paper proposes policy recommendations to repair the broken relationship between Pan-Africanism and foreign-policy trajectories, thereby eradicating external influence and exploitation that keep Africa at the periphery of global politics. By determining Pan-Africanism’s role in shaping African foreign policy and analysing its compatibility with it, the study identified a gap between the two. It also assessed the applicability of a socialist perspective within a realism-dominated environment. Nine purposively selected participants were interviewed, complemented by questionnaire data. The findings show that Pan-Africanism ceased to be a key influence on African states’ foreign policy after the colonial era. Zimbabwe’s foreign policy, like that of several African states, is increasingly shaped by engagement with major global powers for survival by association, limiting support for African solidarity. This is largely demonstrated by the Zimbabwe–West re-engagement drive, the Second Republic’s principal foreign-policy agenda.
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