Falling Short or Rising above the Fray? Rising Powers and Security Force Assistance to Africa

ABSTRACT

Despite an increase in rising powers providing security force assistance (SFA) to Africa, the expertise and the capabilities made available by these countries remain insufficiently explored. What different solutions, if any, are brought forward? And how does their overall record fare against previous experiences across the continent? By exploring Brazilian and Chinese efforts in Namibia as well as Chinese and Indian overtures towards Mozambique, I argue that rising powers tend to be more invested in a long-term socializing agenda than in immediate capacitation results. This, in turn, justifies their inroads in sectorial niches, as gateways for durable outcomes over time.

KEYWORDS:

• South-South relations
• military aid
• socialization
• Namibia
• Mozambique

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For China, see the most recent defence white paper, State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China 2019, 31–34. For Brazil, see the latest version of the white defense book, still pending final publication, Governo do Brasil 2016, 24–25. For India, see the latest overall inventory, Government of India 2019, 6–7.

2 Interview with Namibian military officer #1, Walvis Bay (Namibia), 29 January 2020.

3 Interview with Mozambican military officer #1, Maputo (Mozambique), 17 January 2020.

4 Ibid.

5 Interview with Mozambican military officer #2, Maputo (Mozambique), 21 January 2020.

6 Between 2000 and 2002 he was also assigned to the Brazilian Navy as a ship captain under instruction. His predecessor, Rear-Admiral Peter Hafeni Vilho, received similar training in Brazil, complemented by the Advanced Course on Politics and Strategy at the Brazilian National War College in 2005. Vilho was also appointed Minister of Defence on March 2020.

7 Interview with Namibian military officer #2, Windhoek (Namibia), 6 February 2020.

8 Interview with Brazilian military instructor, Walvis Bay (Namibia), 30 January 2020

9 Interview with representative from Brazilian lobby defence group, São Paulo (Brazil), 28 May 2013.

10 Interview with Mozambican military officer #3, Maputo (Mozambique), 23 January 2020.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [grant number SFRH/BPD/116700/2016].

Notes on contributors

Pedro Seabra

Pedro Seabra is a Research Fellow at the Center for International Studies (CEI-Iscte), a Guest Assistant Professor at the University Institute of Lisbon (Iscte-IUL), and a Researcher at the National Defense Institute (IDN). His research interests focus on regional security governance, South Atlantic geopolitics and security-capacity building in Africa.