CEI-Iscte researcher Luís Mah has published the article ‘African agency in geopolitical times: playing with EU and Chinese ontological security’ with Taylor & Francis, co-authored with Niall Duggan, Toni Haastrup, John J. Hogan and Luís Bernardo.
The article analyses the role of African agency in the context of the Global Gateway (GG) strategy, launched by the European Union in 2021, which provides for an investment of €300 billion to strengthen European presence in areas such as transport infrastructure, green energy and digitalisation in developing countries. While much of the research has focused on the European perspective and that of its Member States, this study stands out for analysing how African decision-makers perceive Global Gateway, comparing these perceptions with the African agency developed over the last decade in relations with China.
Using an ontological security analytical framework, the authors seek to understand the new dynamics and challenges surrounding African agency in its relations with the European Union and China — dimensions that remain largely unexplored in studies on European foreign policy.
The article is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01436597.2025.2551134#abstract