African Currents

Who Really Benefits? The Uncomfortable Truth About Africa-Europe Economic Relations

16:03, 24 March 2025
Chimauchem Nwosu
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Foreign aid is often perceived as Africa's lifeline, but what if it's a leash? A new book argues that Europe's charity model has entrenched dependency, masked control as help or compassion, and systematically blocked Africa's path to economic autonomy.
Sputnik
"A bird that relies on another for food will never fly far," says an African proverb that captures the quiet danger of dependency. This wisdom finds relevance in The Self-Deception Trap: Exploring the Economic Dimension of Charity Dependency with Africa-Europe Relations, where Professor Carlos Lopes, a Bissau-Guinean scholar at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, South Africa, offers a piercing critique of the unequal power dynamics that lie beneath Europe's so-called benevolent assistance.
In a spellbinding conversation, African Currents spoke with Professor Lopes to scrutinize the mindset shaping Africa-Europe relations, questioning whether Africa can break free from outdated models of economic dependence and redefine its role on the world stage.

"When we define the relations between Europe and Africa in economic terms, we miss one aspect that is probably responsible for some of the difficulties that we are facing for such a long time. And that is the mentality, the mindset that has prevailed in the engagements between the two sides. And one characteristic of that mindset is the belief on the part of the Europeans that they are going to help Africa by compensating for the past colonial times with aid. And therefore, this principle enshrined in the idea of charity has been transformed into policy in different ways, very sophisticated sometimes. And has had a contagious effect of making everybody believe that Africa is sort of in need of help all the time. And its inferiority can only be addressed with some sort of compensation. That's the self-deception on the part of the Europeans to believe that they are going to actually engage in transforming Africa through aid," Professor Lopes expressed.

To find out what else our guest had to say, tune in to the African Currents podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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