American policy toward Africa will soon enter a new era: the establishment of the joint military United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) creates an important instrument and signals a new direction for U.S. security strategy. On September 20, AEI will hold a conference to better understand the role and mission of this new command, both from U.S. and African perspectives.

Though AFRICOM has yet to be formally established, it is already controversial. Some in the United States and in Africa worry about the “militarization of aid.” Other debates have focused on the possible locations of AFRICOM’s headquarters and speculated about the “real” U.S. interests--such as balancing China’s growing presence in Africa or securing the continent’s natural resources--that the new structure is designed to serve. At the same time, relatively little attention has been devoted to understanding Africa’s security dilemmas from an African perspective and articulating how the United States can respond to African priorities with the limited set of security cooperation tools at its disposal. In sum, AFRICOM’s mission, plans, and purpose are poorly understood.

Speakers at this AEI conference will address some of the major questions raised by AFRICOM’s creation: What are U.S. interests in Africa, and what forms of security partnership will protect them most effectively? How does Africa define its own security priorities, and what forms of U.S. engagement does it find most valuable? Does this signal a fundamental shift away from a primarily humanitarian foreign policy toward Africa to a more “normal” policy based on mutual interests and common threats?

Join us on September 20 to answer these and other questions with current and former U.S. and African defense officials and analysts.