Located only blocks away from St. James’s palace in London’s West End, the neoclassical mansion of Lancaster House was perhaps an unlikely venue for the final act of a century-long era of colonial rule and occupation. However, beginning on December 10, 1979 the house played host to a conference of British and Rhodesian leaders who negotiated the terms of independence for the last African territory remaining under European colonial rule. It took the leaders three months to lay out the arrangement, but when a treaty was finally signed on December 21, 1979, there was a clear agreement that Great Britain would extricate itself from domestic affairs in Rhodesia. The curtain had fallen on Europe’s 200 year colonial presence in Africa.

The creation of the sovereign state of Rhodesia, which would later be renamed Zimbabwe, was the last independence movement in a 30 year wave of decolonization efforts that began when Libya threw out its Italian occupiers in 1951. For the first time in history, Africa was comprised solely of independent, sovereign states.

But it soon became evident that such declarations of independence would not alone be able to erode the mindset of European dominance that had marked the previous two centuries. While Africa was now ostensibly comprised of autonomous states, the major world powers continued to treat it with a significant degree of paternalism—as a region to be controlled, influenced, and exploited. Indeed, during the Cold War and well into the 1990s, Africa’s colonial reputation as a continent demanding a considerable, persistent presence and influence from outside actors was still quite firmly intact.

Such was Africa’s situation as it entered the 21st century. However, since that time the international community’s relationship with Africa has markedly changed. Now, rather than seeking to control and influence the continent, outside actors are beginning to compete with each other for access to Africa’s resource markets, while also giving Africa the credit to make significant decisions for itself. Concurrently, Western states, which have traditionally been the only significant players influencing affairs on the continent, are beginning to see competition from other states; international actors are being forced to rethink their strategies and approaches.

This symposium is an effort to make sense of this change of mindset toward Africa. Each of the five articles contained herein approach this question from a different angle. Collectively, they illuminate how, why, and to what degree Africa’s place in the world has started to change.

We open with an article by Edmond Keller that traces Africa’s development from post-colonial times to the Cold War and examines the challenges that Africa still faces. We then present articles by David Shinn, Peter Chaveas, and Ousmane Kane, each of which respectively addresses three players currently seeking to exert influence in Africa: China, the United States, and Islamist groups of the Middle East. Finally, we close with an article by President Festus Mogae of Botswana asserting that change in Africa must come from within, instead of being externally imposed upon it.

Each article focuses on a different facet of the larger phenomenon of Africa’s recent effort to raise its position in the world. However, what is noteworthy about all five is that each one, in the end, calls on African states to push themselves forward. The countries of Africa will face many challenges in the next 50 years, but the answers to its problems do not lie with foreign powers. Indeed, for the first time in history, Africa is prepared to face these issues alone and carry itself forward into a new era of African independence.