Deng Yanting: Socialist Explorations in Africa's De-Westernizing Transformation and Development
Socialist theory and practice play an important role in the process of African political development, having made significant contributions to the achievement of national liberation and economic independence across the continent. Despite encountering setbacks following the Cold War, socialism has by no means become isolated from Africa. Various contemporary explorations of a socialist nature constitute the development and expression of socialist theory and its values at the current stage. Socialist elements are bursting with renewed vitality within African development, providing concrete African cases that fully illustrate the bright prospects for the development of socialism worldwide.
I. Manifestations of the Renewed Vitality of Socialist Explorations in Africa
In the process of shifting governing philosophies among relevant political parties and changes in social activism, socialism and African politico-economic development are exhibiting a trend of accelerated integration. This provides theoretical guidance and momentum for institutional exploration in promoting Africa's transformative development.
(1) Socialist exploration constructs the foundation for reforms in certain ruling parties. These parties are essentially the "star" political parties of the African political arena. They led their respective nations to independence, withstood the impact of the so-called "Third Wave of Democratization" [1] following the Cold War, and remain in power today. They can be subdivided into two main categories.
First, ruling parties that seek breakthroughs for reform from within their past socialist practices. Although these parties temporarily suspended socialist practices in their formal discourse when faced with the strangulation of the "Washington Consensus" after the Cold War, the underlying logic sustaining their state governance still bears distinct socialist characteristics. Compared to the typical electoral parties currently found in Africa, these ruling parties possess multiple advantages: (1) They possess relatively complete ideologies and governing philosophies, their organizational construction is relatively exhaustive—enabling comprehensive coverage of all regions and industries within the country—and they enjoy high political prestige among the masses; (2) They attach great importance to developing the public sector of the economy, emphasizing in international cooperation that maintaining public ownership and controlling sectors or industries vital to the nation's economic lifelines is indispensable for stable national development; (3) They have constructed a democratic political system with the Party at its core, where the broad representativeness of the Party is complemented by internal supervision and decision-making mechanisms, ensuring open channels for the masses to participate in national governance and safeguarding the rights and interests of the people as masters of the country. In recent years, these parties have focused on continuing to expand these advantages, enhancing their adaptability to the requirements of the times, and promoting high-quality development and increased efficiency. Since 2015, under the leadership of John Magufuli, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM; Party of the Revolution) of Tanzania has taken the socialist theories of Julius K. Nyerere and Ujamaa [2] as its guide. It has launched a "combination punch" of initiatives to promote clean governance and Party discipline, economic reform, and national unity. This has not only eliminated the trust deficit the Party faced among the masses but also led the country into the ranks of middle-income nations in 2020, achieving its established development goals five years ahead of schedule and creating an East African development miracle. In 2017, after João Lourenço was elected President, he drew upon several measures used to build a Marxist-Leninist party during the era of António Neto. He worked within the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) to vigorously purge the privileged strata and expand the space for ordinary members—especially youth members—to participate in the deliberation and administration of state affairs. Simultaneously, he has actively sought to recover state assets lost overseas due to corruption and increased efforts to direct profits from Sonangol (the National Fuel Society of Angola) back into livelihood projects. Under the leadership of Filipe Nyusi since 2014, the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) has continuously drawn on the experience of Samora Machel and Nyerere in relying on party building to conduct socialist explorations. By consolidating intra-Party unity and strengthening the Party’s macro-guidance over economic and social development, FRELIMO has used these as primary focal points to improve its governance performance and counter the political offensives of opposition parties. Since 2018, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), centered around Emmerson Mnangagwa, has drawn on the experience of Robert Mugabe’s socialist explorations based on land reform. It has proposed continuing the rational deepening of land reform and reshaping a New Economic Order that achieves a balance between fairness and efficiency in international cooperation, leading the nation to accelerate its pace in escaping economic hardship.
Second, left-wing ruling parties that did not previously engage in socialist practice but are increasingly emphasizing socialist values. The roles these parties play in the political development of the African countries they govern are largely the same as the first category; the difference lies in the fact that their ideologies were originally based primarily on nationalism. Currently, an increasing number of insightful individuals within these parties recognize that they should draw on socialist practices to implement reforms as a fulcrum for breaking the deadlocks in organizational construction and national development. For example, the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) has long adhered to nationalism. However, faced with Namibia's increasingly severe socio-economic crisis, calls within SWAPO to learn from socialism have continued to rise. The focus of the entire Party’s administration has shifted toward curbing the excessive expansion of privatization and strengthening the government’s macro-control. At the 2018 Extraordinary Congress, a proposal within the Party to build "Socialism with Namibian Characteristics" reflected the confidence of the whole Party in socialism. Similarly, the African National Congress (ANC) originally placed nationalism at the center of building a New South Africa. However, in the face of the crisis of intensifying social fracturing in recent years, the entire Party has gradually come to identify with the program of its governing ally, the South African Communist Party (SACP). Responding to the call of the times, the ANC has made focal points of its administration such measures as firmly supporting land reform, restricting white monopoly capital, preemptively preventing the emergence of Black monopoly capital, and nationalizing the South African Reserve Bank. Although Amílcar Cabral, the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), was deeply influenced by Marxism-Leninism, he still emphasized that the party's foundation was nationalism. Since the start of the 21st century, Guinea-Bissau has experienced frequent coups. Since its Eighth Congress in 2014, the PAIGC has actively drawn on Cabral’s exploratory achievements under the influence of Marxism-Leninism. On one hand, it has unified ideological thinking within the Party to resist liberal interference; on the other, it has strengthened the government's macro-guidance and regulation of economic development, increased the proportion of the public sector, and enhanced the state's capacity to guarantee the people's well-being.
(2) Socialist explorations have enhanced the social influence of some non-ruling parties. Various non-ruling parties that identify with socialist concepts have seen a significant increase in their activity within the politics of African nations in recent years, with their social recognition and public support levels rising steadily.
First, the political status of established non-ruling parties is rising. The South African Communist Party (SACP) is one of the oldest socialist parties in Africa and a typical representative of South Africa's left-wing political forces. During the intensifying social crises in South Africa in recent years, the SACP has actively engaged in the struggle to protect the political and economic rights of vulnerable social groups, leading to a continuous rise in its social support. The Tripartite Alliance formed by the SACP, the ANC, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has become a central force pushing the ruling party to take socialism seriously. The Communist Party of Lesotho and the Communist Party of Swaziland, both of which maintain close ties with the SACP, play key roles in promoting reforms centered on limiting the powers of their respective monarchies—aiming for political democratization and economic inclusivity. They are also primary forces pushing for the integrated development of their countries with South Africa. The Sudanese Communist Party is the oldest and largest left-wing force among African Arab nations, striving for comprehensive political democratization and genuine economic independence in Sudan. Particularly after President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a military coup in 2019, and after the military terminated the power-sharing agreement with the interim government in late 2021, the Sudanese Communist Party actively mobilized the masses for democratic demonstrations and became an important leadership force in protecting civil rights. Guided by Marxism-Leninism, the Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism (PADS) has a strong appeal among low-income groups in the country’s large cities, particularly among artisans and young students. Whether in defending Algeria against the encroachment of "Arab Spring" color revolutions [3] from 2010 to 2011, or in working to resolve the domestic political crisis triggered by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation in 2019, PADS has actively promoted dialogue and consultation between the governors and the governed. This laid the foundation for several subsequent reform measures and effectively maintained national peace and social unity. The Convention People's Party (CPP) of Ghana is a socialist party founded by the pioneer of African socialism, Kwame Nkrumah; it later lost its ruling status due to a coup. In recent years, the CPP has explicitly aimed to regain power, positioning the revival of Nkrumaism as the guiding ideology and action plan to rescue Ghana from its developmental predicament. It has won a high reputation among youth and women, with its vote share ranking in the top three across several consecutive parliamentary elections. Additionally, the Socialist Forum of Ghana, which aims to promote working-class solidarity, was reorganized into the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG) in September 2021, providing a necessary framework and mechanism for exchange and alliance among left-wing parties, including the CPP. The National Union for Development and Renewal (UNDR) is the largest non-ruling party in Chad; it advocates for the realization of democracy and socialism based on promoting the universal sharing of political rights and economic development dividends, thereby laying the foundation for the country to achieve sustainable peace.
Second, newly established Communist parties are demonstrating social influence. After the Cold War, many African countries once strictly prohibited the establishment of Communist parties within their borders. However—
The emergence of newly formed communist parties across several African countries after 2010 marks a resurgence of Marxist-Leninist significance in Africa. In 2014, the Communist Party of Namibia was formally established, advocating for the defense of mining workers' rights and actively supporting the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in its socialist-oriented explorations, thereby laying the necessary foundation for the formation of a left-wing party alliance in Namibia. South Sudan, which formally gained independence from Sudan in 2011 as Africa’s youngest sovereign state, saw the former branches of the Sudanese Communist Party in the southern states merge to form the Communist Party of South Sudan. Despite the separation of the north and south, the Communist Party of South Sudan maintains close cooperation with the Sudanese Communist Party, sharing consistent core political positions. On one hand, it actively calls for both countries to end disputes and conflicts arising from the distribution of oil revenues and the sovereignty of the Abyei region; on the other, it actively promotes comprehensive political reconciliation between the domestic Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups and supports United Nations resolutions and actions to resolve the security situation in South Sudan, winning broad support from the populace. In Kenya, long regarded by the West as a model for East African development, the Communist Party of Kenya (founded in 2017) focuses on the country's privatization issues. It points out that the privatization of public wealth is the root cause of the country's periodic political instability. It argues that neither the new Constitution promulgated after the 2010 political reforms nor the current "Building Bridges Initiative" (BBI)—aimed at reconciliation between the ruling party and the opposition—has addressed the substantive issue of halting privatization reforms. Consequently, the Communist Party of Kenya made the promotion of land nationalization its primary issue during the 2022 general election, leading the outcry of Kenya's left-wing political forces.
(3) Socialist explorations have strengthened the solidarity between Africa and international left-wing forces.
The significance of socialism for African development also lies in its role as a necessary bridge for African political parties to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with international left-wing forces.
First, regarding international multilateral exchanges, relevant African political parties generally participate in left-wing party alliances. Currently, various Marxist-Leninist parties in Africa are members of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP). Within this institutional framework, these parties collaborate closely with fraternal parties from other regions of the world, actively supporting the meeting’s critiques of international monopoly capitalism. They point out that international monopoly capitalism is the root cause of the irrational international political and economic order, and reaffirm the necessity of the socialization of the means of production and the democratization of international relations for advancing global governance. Particularly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, African parties have spoken out actively within this mechanism, accusing the West of seeking geopolitical interests through the pandemic. At the special (online) meeting held at the end of 2021, they reached a Joint Action Statement, proposing issues such as properly resolving the refugee crisis, solidifying the fight against the pandemic, protecting the ecological environment, and strengthening the working class's contribution to global governance, thereby consolidating the foundation for the revival of the international communist movement. Meanwhile, other African political parties associated with socialism are largely members of the Socialist International and identify with democratic socialism. In addition to the parties mentioned previously, these primarily include the People's Movement for Progress (MPP) of Burkina Faso, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) of Morocco, the Convention of Democratic Peoples of the African Peoples (CDPA) of Togo, the Socialist Party (PS) of Senegal, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) of Cameroon, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA), the Gabonese Progress Party (PGP), the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) [4] of Algeria, the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC), the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD) of Mauritania, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL) of Tunisia, the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD) of Djibouti, the Polisario Front (PF) of Western Sahara, the United Democratic Party (UDP) of the Gambia, and the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) of Equatorial Guinea. The 2017 reform of the Socialist International further strengthened the functions of its regional committees, prompting these parties to establish a regular dialogue mechanism through the Africa Committee. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, how to overcome financial barriers facing the construction of African public healthcare systems became the focus of dialogue. In June 2021, the Africa Committee held its annual meeting, focusing on democracy and security in Africa under the pandemic, emphasizing that inclusive development can only be truly realized in Africa by substantively reversing the severe imbalance in the distribution of development rights and interests between nations and social strata.
Second, in the field of international bilateral exchanges, African parties are actively strengthening dialogue with the ruling parties of socialist countries, with the exchanges between certain African ruling parties and the Communist Party of China (CPC) serving as a typical example. The CPC is not only the world's largest Marxist party and the ruling party of the world's largest socialist country, but it has also remained a firm supporter of African national liberation and modernization. Inter-party relations between China and Africa are a vital cornerstone supporting the development of China-Africa relations. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, and particularly since the upgrading of China-Africa relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Collective Partnership in 2015, China-Africa inter-party exchanges and cooperation have entered a fast track of development. First, the CPC has consistently sent high-level representatives to attend the national congresses of several African political parties. After 2016, due to fluctuations in the global economic situation and the proliferation of conservative forces in Western countries, the developmental dilemmas of most African countries intensified. The CPC's dispatch of high-level representatives to Africa was a full affirmation of the relevant parties' independent exploration of development paths suited to Africa, laying a firm foundation for the continuous consolidation of China-Africa political mutual trust in the New Era. Second, the CPC has vigorously promoted the exchange of experiences in state governance and administration with African parties. In recent years, through mechanisms such as the China-Africa World Political Parties Theoretical Seminar, the CPC and World Political Parties Summit, and high-level training workshops for African political parties, China has invited representatives from African parties such as the ANC, MPLA, and FRELIMO to China for exchange and study. This has provided a solid political guarantee for promoting the deep alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the African Union's "Agenda 2063." Finally, African political parties have fully resisted the West's groundless smearing of the CPC. Currently, the West utilizes fabricated "arguments" such as the pandemic responsibility theory, the "debt trap" narrative, human rights violation claims, and environmental destruction theories to wantonly disparage the CPC's achievements in state governance and China-Africa relations. In the face of these provocations, African parties such as SWAPO, CCM, and ZANU-PF have denounced Western lies. They have spoken out actively at major historical moments—such as China's decisive victory in the battle against poverty, the centenary of the CPC's founding, and the convening of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee—praising the exemplary significance of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era for the entire world.
II. Reasons for Africa's Renewed Emphasis on Socialist Values
Africa's renewed exploration of the significance of socialism for promoting reform and transformation is the result of multiple factors working together and possesses a historical necessity.
(1) Structural conflicts exist between capitalism and the objective laws of African development.
Due to colonial rule, African countries prior to independence did not undergo the process of capitalist economic development or modern national integration. Therefore, it is unsuitable to mechanically apply Western development concepts, paths, and models. The objective differences between Africa and the West are the internal reasons driving post-independence African countries toward socialist exploration.
At the political level, Western competitive democratic politics is detrimental to ethnic integration in African countries. Because colonial invasion disrupted the natural integration process of African ethnic groups, the foundation supporting the development of post-independence African states remains various ethnic groups from the pre-capitalist era; modern nations compatible with sovereign states have not fully formed. If Western-style democracy is introduced prematurely, it actually facilitates the proliferation of ethnic politics, running counter to the African states' original intention of promoting ethnic integration. To this end, both Pan-Africanism and the nationalism of various African countries emphasize relying on solidarity and mutual aid among various ethnic groups to establish political authority that transcends ethnic differences. Political concepts such as collective collaboration and solidarity promoted by socialism align with the demands of African leaders and serve as a guarantee for maintaining political stability in African countries.
At the economic level, capitalist exploitation and oppression restrict Africa from achieving true economic independence. Following independence, most African countries remained excessively dependent on raw material exports to their former colonial metropoles, essentially failing to change their role as sources of raw materials within the capitalist international economic system. Caught between the "scissors gap" [5], technical barriers, financial monopolies, and other neo-colonial means, Africa would have no hope of thoroughly escaping the "center-periphery" relationship model with Western countries without "starting a new kitchen." By introducing socialist elements and "decoupling" from the West, African countries not only maintained their economic sources but also, by relying on public ownership, state macro-control, and distribution according to work, progressively uprooted the deeply ingrained colonial economy. This allowed their own people to truly become participants and beneficiaries of economic development, consolidating the material foundation for economic independence.
At the cultural level, the individualistic values of capitalism clash with the traditional collective consciousness of Africa. Traditional concepts such as collectivism and the "extended family" are deeply rooted in African society, representing the ideological projection of primitive communal ownership. In the modern Black enlightenment movement, whether in the philosophical emphasis on "Négritude" or the political promotion of "Afrocentrism," all are echoes of collective consciousness. Therefore, concepts advocated by capitalism—such as individual liberation, free will, and the negation of authority—clearly possess irreconcilable structural contradictions with traditional African culture. In contrast, principles promoted by socialism—such as equal pay for equal work, win-win cooperation, and common prosperity—are more easily accepted by African society, helping to transform the traditional values of the masses into a collective social consciousness suited to the development and construction of African nations.
In summary, Julius Nyerere's assertion that "Africa is naturally socialist" [6] revealed, to a certain extent, the necessity of post-independence African countries' preferential choice of socialism. To this day, the discourses of the older generation of African socialist theorists have not become obsolete; the vast majority of African countries still face the challenges mentioned above in these three aspects. The vital significance of socialism to African nationalism remains the underlying logical support driving African countries to rediscover socialist values.
(2) The failure of neoliberal reforms has intensified the contradiction between Africa and the West.
After the Cold War, the West used "carrot and stick" policies to forcibly market neoliberal "prescriptions" to African countries, appearing in the form of a promise to "help" Africa escape its developmental predicament, only to conclude with the aggravation of African governance disorder. The gradual fall from grace of the "Washington Consensus" in Africa has served as a catalyst prompting African countries to reclaim socialism.
From the perspective of political evolution, multi-party elections have been the primary culprit inducing political instability in Africa. As large numbers of nationalist parties were pulled off the political stage by Western-style democracy, the "ballot politics" rampant in the resulting power vacuum accelerated the tearing of African society. On one hand, the "dregs" of ethnic politics have resurfaced, causing horizontal social fragmentation. Newly established "electoral parties" generally lack systematic guiding ideologies and complete organizational construction, relying mainly on ethnic identity to compete for votes. Regularly held multi-party elections essentially represent the acceleration of national political disintegration into disordered competition with the ethnic group as the basic unit. On the other hand, the powerful rise of elite oligarchies has exacerbated social fragmentation. The activities of these parties are mainly confined to central cities, and the candidates they nominate are generally from wealthy groups such as financial oligarchs, big entrepreneurs, and internet celebrities. Multi-party elections essentially involve different members of this vested interest group taking turns in power, while the channels for the broad masses—especially the rural populace—to participate in politics are completely blocked. From the 1991 fall of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), which advocated African socialism in Zambia, leading the country into periodic electoral crises, to the outbreak of civil war in Ethiopia in late 2020 following the dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)—which advocated learning from the Chinese experience—it is evident that political fragmentation under the yoke of Western-style democracy is undoubtedly a massive threat to African political stability.
From the perspective of economic development, liberalization and privatization have intensified the outflow of African wealth. The "Structural Adjustment Programs" (SAPs) proposed by the West...
(SAP), in reality, serves a dual purpose: on the one hand, it forces the African people to relinquish their leading role in economic development through privatization; on the other, it allows Western monopoly capital to bottom-fish African wealth through liberalization. Within less than a decade of accepting these prescriptions, the collective wealth of the people accumulated over nearly half a century in relevant African countries was essentially drained away. Taking the Republic of the Congo as an example, after the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) implemented the restructuring of the National Petroleum Company of the Congo (SNPC), Western oil giants such as Elf Aquitaine, Total, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron rapidly became the de facto controllers of local oil and gas development rights. At the same time, the West further strengthened and solidified its economic exploitation of Africa by signing cooperation agreements. From the European Union's four Lomé Conventions and the Cotonou Agreement to the United States' African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), these appear on the surface to be the West using Most Favored Nation treatment to entice African countries to open their doors, but in reality, they push Africa back to the bottom of the food chain in the international capitalist economic system. Since the end of the Cold War, although Africa maintained an average annual economic growth rate of over 5% for many years, while Western monopoly capital made exorbitant profits, the African people did not truly enjoy the actual dividends of development. Particularly after the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis, while investment in Africa decreased, wealth accelerated its outflow to the West, turning the continent into a site for advanced Western capitalist countries to shift their economic crises. To date, not a single African country has fully crossed the threshold of industrialization; moreover, Africa remains the region with the highest incidence of global poverty, the largest number of impoverished countries, and the largest total impoverished population. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, although the "Build Back Better World" (B3W) initiative proposed by the United States in 2021 and the "Global Gateway" plan launched by the EU strove to portray themselves as "assisting" Africa’s recovery, they cannot conceal the fact that both are essentially fronts for Western countries attempting to maintain their grip on Africa's economic lifeblood.
Regarding the security situation, neo-interventionism is a cancer trampling upon peace in Africa. Since the end of the Cold War, Western countries have not hesitated to sacrifice African security interests, adopting harsh measures of strangulation against African nations that do not accept the "Washington Consensus." From instigating genocide to ensure the realization of "elective democracy" in Rwanda, to isolating Zimbabwe for "trampling on economic freedom" due to land reform; from sanctioning Sudan for implementing "genocide" in Darfur, to launching color revolutions to topple the "dictators" of Tunisia and Egypt; from using the pretext that "human rights transcend sovereignty" to armedly overthrowing the Gaddafi "tyranny" in Libya, to wantonly bombing civilian targets in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region under the guise of counter-terrorism—all current armed conflicts and humanitarian crises in Africa are directly linked to Western hegemonism’s arbitrary interference in the internal affairs of African states. Currently, the most urgent security crisis facing Africa is the rampant spread of terrorism. The reason northern Mali and the shores of Lake Chad have become the regions with the highest risk of terrorist attacks globally is that the root cause lies in the long-term state of anarchy in countries like Libya and Somalia—wrecked by the West—which has objectively become a corridor for international terrorist forces such as al-Qaeda and ISIS to penetrate Africa from the Middle East. Furthermore, the security deficit brought to Africa by the West has exacerbated the livelihood hardships of African residents; more and more people, unable to sustain themselves, are taking risks by either becoming pirates active in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aden or joining various extremist organizations, causing African security to slide increasingly toward a state of insolubility.
Neoliberalism has exacerbated the disorder of governance in Africa. This proves from an empirical perspective that the marriage of the "Washington Consensus" with Africa's developmental path is merely a product forcibly spawned by Western hegemonism and neo-colonialism, reflecting the dominance of the West in the mid-to-short term unipolar world order following the Cold War. In recent years, with the collective rise of developing countries and the intensifying internal contradictions within the West itself, Western "management and control" over Africa has steadily weakened. In this situation, as the "Washington Consensus" both deviates from the objective laws of African development and fails to deliver on its developmental promises, its gradual abandonment by African countries is inevitable; this is the necessary result of Africa’s historical development.
(3) The disorder of the international capitalist system intensifies the crisis of trust in the Western paradigm
Countries across the globe share weal and woe, increasingly forming a community with a shared future for humanity. Solving the common challenges facing mankind requires strengthening pragmatic cooperation among all nations. However, the irrational international political and economic order originating from the Western capitalist international system has become the greatest obstacle restricting international cooperation. As the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries, Africa is currently the primary victim of the rampant spread of Western unilateralism and protectionism.
In terms of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult for Africa to rely on the international capitalist system to bridge the "immunization gap." Increasing vaccination rates is the international consensus for epidemic prevention; the African Union (AU) strove to achieve a 60% vaccination rate for the African public by 2022, which was the key to the post-pandemic recovery plan formulated by the AU. However, the reality is that as of the end of 2021, the vaccination rate for the first dose in Africa was less than 6%, and not a single African country had truly launched a universal vaccination program. It was almost impossible for the AU to achieve its inclusive and equitable immunization plan as scheduled. The obstruction by Western countries in vaccine production and distribution is the fundamental reason Africa became the weakest link in the global immunization chain. On the one hand, regarding vaccine production, the profit-seeking nature of capital dictates that Western countries will not allow Africa to benefit from biotechnology. Since the outbreak, Western countries have made countless promises to strengthen bilateral medical aid to Africa and participate in the COVAX [7] initiative launched by the WHO, but most have been "only words and no deeds" [8]. Although the pandemic has lasted more than two years, cooperation between Western pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca and Pfizer and African countries has stagnated, resulting in Africa’s failure to achieve the goal of reducing vaccine costs through localized production; the continent still has to wait in line to snap up high-priced vaccines on the international market. Meanwhile, major Western countries delayed until mid-2021 to slowly fulfill vaccine donation promises to the WHO, and prioritized providing near-expired vaccines not needed domestically, which meant that although some African countries received free vaccines, they could not effectively vaccinate their citizens. On the other hand, regarding vaccine distribution, the monopolistic nature of capital has spawned Western vaccine hegemonism. As the pandemic spread globally, Western countries with capital and technological advantages did not treat vaccines as an international public good but instead turned them into a tool for seeking geopolitical interests. Since the second half of 2020, Western countries have intensified their hoarding of vaccines; the United States alone, with a population of only 330 million, hoarded over 2.6 billion doses, becoming the world's largest vaccine hoarder. The shortage in the international market caused by hoarding has objectively deepened Africa's dependence on Western countries, creating new opportunities for Western hegemonism to interfere in African internal affairs. Whether viewed through the focus of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's "virtual visit" to Africa in 2021 or the agenda of the "New Africa-France Summit," the core variable determining whether the West provides vaccine aid is not the local pandemic situation, but rather the attitude of African countries toward the "Washington Consensus." The political manipulation of vaccine distribution by the West seriously tramples upon the legitimate rights of African countries to share in international public goods and hinders the normal progress of epidemic prevention work.
In terms of responding to climate change, it is difficult for Africa to rely on the international capitalist system to defend "climate justice." Africa is currently one of the regions most typically affected by climate change globally. On the one hand, Africa's greenhouse gas emissions account for only about 2% to 3% of the world total, making it the region closest to the carbon neutrality goal; on the other hand, the climate resilience of Africa’s economic and social development is the weakest. Climate disasters such as droughts, hurricanes, and desert locust plagues have directly and indirectly affected nearly ten million people, triggering the world's largest scale of climate refugees. Western climate hegemonism further exacerbates the contradiction of the serious imbalance between Africa's low "contribution rate" and high "victimization degree" in responding to climate change. First, Western countries have responded passively to climate financing commitments. The 2012 UN Climate Change Conference "Cancun Agreements" stipulated that developed countries provide $200 billion [9] annually in climate financing to support climate adaptation in developing countries, including Africa, but the actual implementation of this agreement is worrying. At the 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26), Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then-rotating chair of the AU, accused Western countries of breaking their promises, resulting in an annual climate financing gap for Africa as high as $27 billion, leaving it unable to implement effective climate adaptation. Second, Western countries are extensively fabricating green protectionism. In March 2021, the EU formally passed the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which, under the guise of forcing carbon emission reductions, imposes high tariffs on "non-green" imported goods. Restricted by factors such as technology and cost, many current African exports to Europe face the risk of taxation because they do not meet "low-carbon" standards; thus, African public opinion has criticized this move by the EU as a fuse for an EU-Africa trade war. Furthermore, the United States is currently also contemplating a carbon border tax on imported goods; carbon barriers are becoming a brand-new weapon for the West to exploit developing countries, including those in Africa. Third, Western countries have set a climate trap for de-industrialization. Most African countries are currently at a critical period of crossing the threshold of industrialization and still rely mainly on traditional fossil fuels to meet energy demands. As the primary emitters of greenhouse gases, Western countries are deliberately shifting the burden of carbon reduction obligations onto developing countries, including Africa. The essence is an attempt to neutralize the manufacturing cost advantages of developing countries through a forced transformation of the energy structure. Affected by this, Africa, whose industrial achievements are already limited, is highly likely to be constrained by technological shortages and skyrocketing costs, eventually moving toward complete de-industrialization, thereby becoming thoroughly reduced to a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for Western commodities.
The widening immunization gap and the lack of climate justice are true reflections of Africa's marginalized status within the international capitalist system. Therefore, only by thoroughly breaking free from the shackles of the international order dominated by Western countries can Africa explore African solutions to the common challenges facing humanity on the basis of genuine international fairness and justice.
III. Challenges Facing the Comprehensive Revival of Socialism in Africa
If we are to promote a new high tide for the development of socialism in Africa, we must comprehensively examine the challenges currently facing African socialist exploration and, on this basis, seek appropriate solutions.
(1) Multiple limitations of the practitioners of socialist exploration
From a micro perspective, as the fresh force [10] promoting socialist exploration in Africa, the relevant political parties still face many limitations in their own development and construction. Therefore, significant uncertainty remains as to whether they can eventually grow into a leadership force capable of guiding Africa onto the path of scientific socialism.
First, the proportion of Marxist-Leninist parties is relatively low. Among African parties that identify with socialism or implement socialist exploration, the vast majority are members of the Socialist International and endorse so-called Democratic Socialism that transcends class interests; there are fewer than ten members of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, and currently, no Marxist-Leninist party is a ruling party. This is actually a manifestation of Africa's current state in an ideological transition period. Influenced by the fact that Western political and economic influence has not fully receded and the framework of the political and economic system created by post-Cold War neoliberal reforms has not been fully abandoned, other parties—especially ruling parties—aside from Communist parties, are increasingly returning to or leaning toward socialism in their governance, yet few openly declare socialism as their guiding ideology, and it is even harder to speak of adhering to Marxism-Leninism. Especially in the current situation of intensified competition between China and the United States, relevant African parties are even more cautious in their ideological pronouncements to maintain political maneuvering room. However, from the perspective of the internal evolutionary logic of socialism, if there is a lack of guidance from scientific theory, the explorations of various African parties will inevitably struggle to avoid the drawbacks of blindness and fragmentation, making it impossible to truly carve out a socialist development path that transcends neoliberalism.
Second, the proletarian attributes of these parties are relatively weak. As previously mentioned, due to limited achievements in economic and social development, ethnic identity—rather than class differentiation—remains the primary variable governing internal political development in African countries. Within the African context, where socialism is viewed as the most effective means of realizing nationalism, the relevant political parties still rely in practice on the politicization of ethnicity to advance their socialist explorations. For ruling parties or opposition parties with a broad scope of activity, they typically aggregate and balance the political demands of all ethnic groups within the country to build themselves into "parties of the whole people" in order to enhance the legitimacy of their authority; examples include the MPLA and FRELIMO after the revision of their guiding ideologies [11]. For newly established or smaller parties, they usually take certain disadvantaged or marginalized ethnic groups as their base, relying on their demands for rights protection or resistance as an entry point for the party’s participation in politics. Even Communist Parties are no exception; for instance, the members of the newly formed Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) primarily come from the Mijikenda and Kamba ethnic groups in the eastern counties. Therefore, in a strict sense, the aforementioned African political parties are all different manifestations of "ethnic parties." Due to the weakening of class attributes, the socialist explorations of these parties lack a clear practical subject and service object, appearing instead as political compromises between different ethnic groups and between different interest groups within those ethnic groups.
Third, participating in elections is the only channel for these parties to participate in government. Influenced by the wave of so-called Western "Third Wave" democratization [12], African countries currently all have constitutional provisions for multi-party elections. Without amending their constitutions, there is basically no foundation for taking power by leading and mobilizing mass movements. Given that running in elections is currently the only path for African political parties to take the political stage, the parties involved cannot avoid the issue of compromising their political programs for the sake of survival. Out of their nature as "parties of the whole people," ruling parties need to win votes by maintaining a broad balance between the Left and the Right. For example, in response to accusations from South African opposition parties that policies such as land reform and striking at monopoly capital were "ultra-left," the ANC has to some extent adopted the political views of right-wing parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA), supporting the development of the private economy to solve employment issues in order to maintain its own center-left political image. Opposition parties, especially those of relatively limited scale, often need to form campaign alliances with parties holding other political views. Particularly for Marxist-Leninist parties, such political compromise inevitably leads to the "Bernsteinian dilemma" [13]. For example, as the Marxist-Leninist party with the highest degree of political participation in Africa, the South African Communist Party (SACP) participates in the formation of the cabinet through its alliance with the ANC, with its members running for office as ANC members. Some of the right-wing measures taken by the ANC to win votes are fundamentally contrary to the tenets of the SACP, essentially weakening the development of Marxism-Leninism in South Africa.
(II) The effectiveness of socialist exploration in leading African development needs to be further highlighted
From a macro perspective, relevant African parties and states have not yet provided a scientific and systematic exposition of the internal connection between their own development and socialism from a theoretical and strategic height. If the defects in the current exploration—such as spontaneity, blindness, utilitarianism, and fragmentation—are not overcome, the comprehensive revival of socialism in Africa still has a long way to go.
First, relevant African parties still lack a dialectical understanding of the socialist explorations in Africa before the end of the Cold War. To date, Africa's theoretical analysis of the alignment between its own developmental characteristics and socialism remains primarily stuck in the discourses of pioneers such as Nyerere, Senghor, and Kaunda [14]. It has not formed a brand-new theoretical breakthrough regarding the transcendence of neoliberalism by integrating the new opportunities and challenges Africa currently faces. Reflected at the practical level, the socialist exploration in Africa at the current stage is concentrated in relevant parties replacing failed neoliberal reform measures by directly borrowing or reviving the ideas or policies of their predecessors. However, from the perspective of evolutionary logic, this direct "borrowism" is merely a simple repetition rather than a revolutionary advancement. While the beneficial explorations of predecessors remain valid today, their explorations also had limitations or even errors; following old tracks out of habit will become an obstacle to development. Therefore, if the true reasons why previous African socialist practices fell into a low ebb after the end of the Cold War cannot be effectively answered, the current socialist exploration in Africa may find it difficult to thoroughly break through the historical limitations of previous models. In particular, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA-PASJ) and the People's Movement for Progress (MPP) in Burkina Faso—two ruling member parties of the Socialist International—were overthrown by military coups in May 2021 and January 2022, respectively. Furthermore, the ANC-SACP governing alliance was helpless in the face of the nationwide riots in July 2021. These events once again highlight the urgency for Africa to inject new momentum into its socialist exploration and to quickly make up for its governance capacity deficit.
Second, relevant African countries do not have a clear plan for whether the goal of current exploration is to establish and improve a socialist system. While Africa's gradual abandonment of neoliberal policies is indeed a reflection of the objective law that socialism will inevitably replace capitalism, looking at Africa's specific context, whether the current changes mark a comprehensive revival of socialism in Africa remains to be seen. After the end of the Cold War, African reforms began to take on a strong pragmatic color, and the descriptions of the institutional foundations in the short- and medium-term plans formulated by various countries are generally vague. The fundamental reason why relevant African countries previously accepted neoliberalism was that their original socialist explorations encountered difficulties; the current renewed emphasis on socialism is to seek a ready-made solution to replace gradually failing neoliberal policies. The motives and methods of change in these two stages are roughly the same. Although socialism is more in line with the characteristics of African development in the long run, without relying on scientific theoretical guidance, proletarian practice, and clear institutional guarantees, it will be difficult to achieve a leap from quantitative change to qualitative change in the foreseeable future by simply following the explorations of predecessors. If the dilemmas of previous explorations are encountered again in the future, there remains a certain degree of uncertainty as to whether Africa, under the sway of pragmatism, will pivot back to neoliberalism, or to other paradigms concocted by the West, or toward statism. Only by completely breaking this cycle can the explorations of a socialist nature carried out by African countries truly clear up their thinking, clarify their direction, and make the necessary practical preparations for the re-grounding of the socialist system in Africa.
Third, African countries currently lack a strong consensus on the relationship between socialism and Pan-Africanism at the present stage. With the spread of neoliberalism in Africa after the Cold War, the significance of socialism for achieving Pan-African goals was once forgotten by various sectors of African society. Although some African countries and parties have begun to rediscover the value of socialism, for an African continent composed of 54 countries, the force is relatively limited. Given that many African countries are currently adopting a wait-and-see attitude toward whether to completely abandon neoliberalism, whether socialism can re-empower African integration still faces several practical obstacles. At the level of top-level design for African integration, Africa lacks an autonomous multilateral cooperation mechanism to promote socialist exploration. While the aforementioned international socialist exchange mechanisms have played a positive role, they have no direct connection with the African autonomous multilateral cooperation mechanisms led by the African Union (AU) and therefore cannot directly influence all African countries. Relevant African countries and parties have not yet established a mechanism similar to the São Paulo Forum in Latin America [15] under the framework of the AU or sub-regional organizations, nor have they proposed relevant topics at leadership summits. This not only makes it difficult to further strengthen direct cooperation between relevant African countries based on socialist exploration but also makes it impossible to extract socialist reform plans or measures that can be used as a reference or promoted for other African countries. Affected by this, socialist exploration has not yet been able to play an effective role in promoting the quality and efficiency of African integration. At the level of African integration practice, cooperative relations between African countries carrying out socialist exploration and other African countries urgently need to be established. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is currently the top project for promoting integration in Africa, but in terms of defining the unobstructed flow of factors of production, there are real conflicts of interest between African countries that have taken the lead in strengthening public ownership reforms and other countries that are still waiting and seeing. For example, the Magufuli reforms triggered a trade war between the two major economies of East Africa since 2017 [16]. Tanzania accused Kenya of "price scissors" economic exploitation, while the Kenyan side condemned Tanzania's growing nationalization reforms and public ownership economy as "violating" the principles of free competition. The feud between the two countries hindered the construction of the East African Common Market, and similar problems may appear in other parts of Africa. How to successfully embed a country's socialist-natured reforms into and ultimately lead regional development linkage still requires arduous exploration.
IV. Conclusion
Africa's current explorations of a socialist nature are the result of a combination of factors under the "changes unseen in a century" [17], possessing multiple connotations and profound significance. Empirical cases from multiple micro-perspectives within Africa fully illustrate the great significance of socialism for human development and progress. Admittedly, the aforementioned explorations are currently limited to some African countries and parties and are still constrained by multiple challenges. However, as the structural contradictions between the "universality" of neoliberalism and global governance become increasingly prominent, socialism will further burst forth with strong vitality in leading Africa to accelerate its development transformation and achieve a comprehensive decoupling from Western paradigms, eventually becoming the consensus of all African countries. Against the backdrop of the accelerated decline of the West caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the collective rise of developing countries helps Africa fully absorb the beneficial fruits of socialist development from other countries. Especially under the epochal background of China and Africa working together to build a community with a shared future for humanity in the New Era, the theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics continue to contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to African development, constantly empowering Africa's exploration of self-renewal and laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive revival of socialism in Africa. As the weakest link in the chain of global capitalist development, socialism is highly likely to help Africa’s development achieve a leap from stagnation to "changing lanes to catch up," providing a New Era answer for the ultimate realization of Pan-African goals.