In August 2016, the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR), Cape Town, South Africa, brought together about 30 key scholars, policymakers, and civil society activists to assess bilateral and multilateral
relations between Africa’s traditional and non-traditional actors in the post–Cold War era. Key issues pertaining to Africa’s relations with global actors were discussed under the following three broad
themes: bilateral relations with traditional powers: the United States (US), Russia, China, France, and Britain; bilateral relations with non-traditional powers: India; Japan; the Nordics; and Europe and the Arab world; and multilateral relations: the United Nations (UN), the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), the European Union (EU), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This meeting examined Africa’s relations with eight key bilateral actors or blocs and six major multilateral actors, assessing progress made in the continent’s efforts to increase its leverage in global politics through engagement with key external actors.
