A New Scramble for African Oil? Historical, Political, and Business Perspectives

It has been suggested that Africa is experiencing a ‘New Scramble’ thanks primarily to its oil and gas wealth, with the United States and the People’s Republic of China actively competing for access to Africa’s resources. This article aims to scrutinize the claim that Africa is facing a New Scramble, analysing the nature of the economic and political changes at work, the importance of Africa’s oil, and the political and economic forces behind the new oil rush. The article starts with an overview of the phenomenon labelled by some as the ‘New Scramble’. The main body of the article evaluates the existence of a New Scramble from three subject perspectives: history, international relations, and business studies. Finally, by analysing the likely impact on the economies of oil-producing States, it considers whether we should dismay or rejoice over the ‘New Scramble for Africa’. It concludes that the existence of a New Scramble or a US-Chinese race for Africa should be treated with some caution and that the use of terms such as ‘scramble’ and ‘race’ is perhaps misleading, while the economic impact of oil investments is likely to be bleak. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]