To counteract the growing assertiveness of Russia and China in Africa, the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense must strengthen partnerships there by enhancing collaborative relationships, expanding information sharing, and creating a robust counter-disinformation strategy.
Intelligence After Next: Maintaining an Intelligence Edge in Africa in the Face of Great Power Challenges
The withdrawal of U.S. military forces this year from Niger and Chad is reinforcing public perception that the United States is losing its competitive edge in Africa. This loss is having explicit and real-time effects on U.S. force posture and capabilities—including intelligence—across the continent.
Near-peer U.S. adversaries Russia and China are creating inroads with African nations that challenge U.S. placement and access, increase obstacles to intelligence operations, and pose counterintelligence risks.
The Intelligence Community (IC) will be challenged to adapt to maintain effective indications and warning (I&W), strategically counter adversaries, and reinforce trust with African counterparts.
As part of a U.S. whole-of-government approach, the IC can:
- Leverage collaborative relationships across a spectrum of African and non-African organizations to better gain insights into activities and trends on the continent that impact U.S. engagement.
- Broaden information sharing with African counterparts, particularly commercially available and publicly available information, as an alternative to classified intelligence sharing agreements.
- Combat adversarial public and private narratives that seek to undermine U.S. relationships with African nations.
About Intelligence After Next:
MITRE strives to stimulate thought, dialogue, and action for national security leaders developing the plans, policy, and programs to guide the nation. This series of original papers is focused on the issues, policies, capabilities, and concerns of the Intelligence Community’s workforce as it prepares for the future. Our intent is to share our unique insights and perspectives surrounding a significant national security concern, a persistent or emerging threat, or to detail the integrated solutions and enabling technologies needed to ensure the success of the Intelligence Community.
MITRE has published more than 20 Intelligence After Next papers since 2020. Read them here.