US Africa policy will be largely on hold this year

Significance Despite promises that Biden would visit Africa during 2023, he did not do so. The situation in Ukraine and then Gaza has left little space for development of Washington’s policy towards Africa, and key bureaucratic departures will leave it in a holding pattern this year. Impacts The departure of senior adviser Judd Devermont, who developed the administration’s Africa policy, will leave a leadership vacuum. Biden’s campaign commitments mean that an Africa trip is even less likely this year than it was in 2023. Africa policy is likely to receive more sustained attention in a prospective second Biden term than during a second Trump administration.