Africa’s economic role in the global economic value chain has evolved over millennia, but its modern identity as a supplier of raw materials to the industrialised world has roots deeply embedded in colonialism. Historically, the continent has been viewed as a reservoir of resources essential to global industrial and technological progress. From the Transatlantic slave trade to the ongoing competition for critical minerals in the 21st century, the West’s relationship with Africa has been defined by a persistent pattern of extraction, dependency, and geopolitical contestation. The emergence of new global actors such as China has complicated this relationship, transforming Africa into a key theatre for the strategic rivalries shaping the global order.
Precolonial Foundations: Indigenous Innovation and Early Global Trade
Long before European contact, African societies had developed sophisticated systems of mineral extraction and metallurgical production. As early as 1000 BCE, Africans smelted iron, copper, and gold using complex furnaces, bellows, and forges made from locally available materials (Mavhunga, 2023). These technologies underpinned not only agricultural and artisanal production but also trade networks that extended across the Sahara and along the East African coast.
By 1000 AD, Africa was already integrated into global trade systems. West Africa’s gold enriched Islamic and European economies, while the Swahili Coast connected the continent to the Middle East, India, and China (Green, 2023). However, the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century disrupted these balanced networks. Their quest for monopoly over trade routes, coupled with the devastation wrought by the slave trade and disease, eroded Africa’s autonomous production systems and laid the groundwork for a new phase of external exploitation.
The Colonial Period: Institutionalising Extraction
European colonialism, consolidated after the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, institutionalised Africa’s subordination to Western industrial needs. The continent was partitioned into territories designed to extract and export raw materials while importing finished European goods (Mavhunga, 2023). Infrastructure such as railways and ports was developed not for continental integration but to channel resources outward—gold, copper, diamonds, and later oil—to feed Europe’s industrial revolution.
The colonial economy replaced Africa’s internal systems of value addition with an extroverted economic model. Mining activities once linked to domestic production became oriented toward export, severing the ties between resource extraction and local development. European settlers and companies controlled key industries, exploiting African labour while displacing indigenous technologies and knowledge systems. This period solidified Africa’s identity in Western geopolitical thought as a periphery — valuable not for its people or innovation, but for its resources.
Post-Independence: The Struggle for Sovereignty and the Weight of Dependency
The wave of decolonisation in the mid-20th century ushered in political independence but not economic autonomy. The structures of colonial extraction persisted under new guises: European companies continued to dominate mining sectors, and trade relationships remained asymmetrical (Britwum & Saadi, 2020). African governments sought to reverse this by nationalising industries, asserting state control over natural resources, and promoting domestic processing. Ghana, Botswana, and Zambia exemplified early efforts to reclaim sovereignty over mineral wealth.
However, structural dependencies and global market pressures constrained these ambitions. The Cold War further entrenched Africa’s economic subordination as Western and Soviet blocs competed for influence through mineral access and ideological alignment. Western countries, prioritising stability and resource security, often supported authoritarian regimes willing to maintain favourable extraction conditions. This period marked the beginning of Africa’s integration into the global political economy as both a supplier and a battleground for superpower competition.
The Contemporary Era: The Green Transition and the New Scramble for Africa
In the 21st century, Africa’s strategic value has been redefined by the global energy transition. Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements—abundant in Africa—are essential to renewable technologies, electric vehicles, and digital infrastructure. Europe and North America now frame access to these resources as vital to achieving energy security and industrial competitiveness (European Commission, 2019).
The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and intensifying US-China rivalry have accelerated Western efforts to diversify supply chains away from geopolitical vulnerabilities. Initiatives like the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and the US Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) seek to secure African resources while reducing dependence on China (Boafo et al., 2024; Cloete et al., 2023). Yet these frameworks largely replicate earlier models of extraction—prioritising access and control rather than equitable development or industrial transformation within Africa.
China and the “New Geopolitics” of Resource Competition
China’s rise has disrupted Western dominance in Africa’s resource sectors. Through its “infrastructure-for-minerals” strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has become Africa’s largest trading partner and a major financier of infrastructure and energy projects. This engagement, often characterised by concessional loans and long-term supply agreements, has given China a quasi-monopolistic position in critical mineral supply chains (Müller, 2023).
For many African states, Chinese partnerships provide alternatives to Western aid conditionalities, offering tangible infrastructure in exchange for resources. Yet this model also perpetuates dependency and exposes African economies to debt risks. Western powers, alarmed by China’s ascendancy, are reasserting their presence through new partnerships and investment pledges, giving rise to what analysts call a “new scramble for Africa.”
Africa’s Agency: Between Dependency and Opportunity
Despite being courted by global powers, African nations are increasingly asserting their agency. Countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Namibia have banned raw mineral exports to promote domestic processing, while Botswana’s renegotiation of its diamond deal with De Beers exemplifies a growing insistence on fairer terms (Global Policy Watch, 2024). These measures signify a shift from passive participation in global value chains to proactive efforts to capture more value locally.
However, challenges persist. Export bans and resource nationalism face pushback from Western actors and institutions like the WTO, which argue that such measures distort global trade (Fang, 2024). Moreover, political instability in mineral-rich regions, particularly the Sahel, complicates governance and deters sustainable investment. Nevertheless, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) provide frameworks for collective action, aiming to integrate industrialisation, sustainability, and peacebuilding within resource governance.
Conclusion: Towards a Reimagined Partnership
The West’s relationship with Africa has evolved from conquest to competition, yet the underlying logic of resource extraction endures. The continent remains at the heart of global mineral supply chains, its fortunes tied to the geopolitical manoeuvres of foreign powers. However, Africa today possesses unprecedented opportunities to reshape this relationship. The green transition, while reinforcing external demand, also creates space for industrial transformation, regional cooperation, and strategic autonomy.
To move beyond dependency, African nations must prioritise intra-continental value chains, through structures such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, invest jointly in infrastructure and industrial capacity, and negotiate partnerships that align with domestic development goals. The call to action is clear: Africa must no longer be the source of raw materials for others’ revolutions, but the architect of its own. A reimagined governance architecture—rooted in transparency, accountability, and regional solidarity—can transform the continent from a geopolitical pawn into a central actor in the global transition toward sustainability.
References
Boafo, J., Mishi, S., & Kotor, K. (2024). Critical minerals, global supply chains, and Africa’s strategic role. African Economic Review, 16(1), 45–63.
Britwum, A., & Saadi, I. (2020). Post-colonial resource governance and the persistence of extractive structures in Africa. Third World Quarterly, 41(9), 1542–1560.
Cloete, M., Adams, T., & Mokoena, P. (2023). The geopolitics of critical minerals: Implications of the US Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) for Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Policy, 8(2), 77–94.
European Commission. (2019). Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and Sustainability. European Union Policy Report.
Fang, T. (2024). Export bans, WTO rules, and the politics of resource nationalism. Global Trade & Development Journal, 12(3), 201–225.
Global Policy Watch. (2024). Botswana’s diamond renegotiation and the future of African mineral sovereignty. Policy Brief No. 87.
Green, T. (2023). A Cultural and Economic History of the Medieval Sahara. Cambridge University Press.
Mavhunga, C. (2023). The Metabolism of Mineral Extraction in Africa: Knowledge, Technology, and Power. MIT Press.
Müller, L. (2023). China’s dominance in critical mineral value chains: Implications for Africa and the global energy transition. Energy Geopolitics Review, 5(1), 12–33.
