Obama and Africa: Understanding the Framework for President Obama's Foreign Policy in Africa

The election of Barack Obama on November 4th, 2008, January 2009 was expected to usher in a new direction in American-African relations because for the first time, an African American with an African father would be sworn in as President of America. Barack Obama, whose father was of Luo heritage in Kenya, was expected to build on President George W. Bush's foreign policy on the continent. The response to Obama's election in Africa was euphoric and met with celebration all over the continent. But the question is what it will mean for Africa, its people and its leaders. It was thought that President Obama would be informed by the legacy of the Clinton administration, the Bush policy in Africa, his own heritage and the involvement of many advisers with prior experience in Africa, prominent among who was Susan Rice. Africa was expected to be central to President Obama's foreign policy interests.