By David Yeh
At the 39th African Union summit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described Africa as indispensable to Europe’s future. She spoke of agricultural modernization, strategic resource cooperation, artificial intelligence training, and youth empowerment. The message was ambitious: Europe and Africa, working as equal partners, building prosperity together.
Such language reflects an awareness that Africa is not peripheral, it is central to global economic and geopolitical transformation. Yet rhetoric matters. When partnership narratives drift into imagery of rescue, guardianship, or civilizational revival, history becomes unsettled.
References explicit or implied to renewed European strength, or nostalgic invocations of figures like Benito Mussolini, are not harmless symbolism. In regions shaped by colonial conquest, such echoes revive painful memories. They risk reframing complex geopolitical engagement as a benevolent return rather than a sober recalibration. Cooperation is necessary. But it must rest on clarity, not mythology.
Colonial Foundations and Structural Legacies
Italy’s presence in Eritrea did not begin with a formal empire; it evolved gradually through commercial acquisition and strategic expansion.
In 1869, land around Assab was acquired under commercial cover. By 1882, the Italian state formalized control. In 1885, Massawa was occupied. By 1889, Italian forces had moved inland to Asmara and surrounding regions and had expanded their occupation until the rivers: Mareb, Belesa and Muna. In 1890, the Colony of Eritrea was officially proclaimed, and in 1900 the capital of Eritrea shifted from Massawa to Asmara.
Colonial governance reshaped land systems, imposed racial hierarchies, and oriented infrastructure toward extraction and military mobility. Eritrea later became the staging ground for Italy’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, embedding it within a broader imperial project of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana) that included Ethiopia, Italian Somaliland, and for about 7 months British Somaliland.
These were not isolated episodes. They constructed borders, economic hierarchies, and political imbalances that still influence regional dynamics.
Strategic Priorities and Economic Alignment
During Eritrea’s thirty-year war for independence (1961-1991), Italy’s engagement reflected a discernible strategic hierarchy. While Eritrea endured annexation and prolonged armed struggle, Rome steadily deepened economic ties with Ethiopia. Large scale infrastructure projects and capital-intensive ventures embedded Italian firms within Ethiopian development planning.
Taken together, Italy’s long-term investments reveal a consistent pattern: Eritrea received no tangible support during its independence struggle, while Ethiopia became the focal point of sustained Italian commercial diplomacy. The scale and continuity of these engagements positioned Ethiopia as the bigger fish strategically central and economically indispensable.
When Ethiopia’s Derg regime nationalized Italian property, Italy did not demand restitution, threaten arbitration, or turn expropriation into a diplomatic weapon. Instead, Rome quietly absorbed the cost. Through domestic legislation enacted in 1980 and a bilateral agreement signed in Addis Ababa in 1982, the Italian state assumed responsibility for compensating its own citizens and companies while formally renouncing the pursuit of claims against Ethiopia in international courts. What Ethiopia paid was not compensation to dispossessed owners but a small, cooperation-linked lump sum and administrative relief, carefully framed as development assistance. The result was deliberate and asymmetrical: Italy shielded Ethiopia from external legal pressure, converted private losses into a state obligation, and chose political stability and post-colonial pragmatism over creditor leverage. In doing so, Rome demonstrated that nationalization—when handled through sovereign negotiation rather than financial coercion—need not become a permanent instrument of dependency or a pretext for neocolonial enforcement. Economic gravity shaped diplomatic behavior.
This history frames contemporary perceptions. When modern partnership rhetoric emerges without corresponding acknowledgment of past asymmetries, skepticism follows.
The African Union and Institutional Responsibility
The muted response from the African Union to Ethiopia’s repeated assertions and Sudan’s crisis raises serious institutional questions.
The AU’s founding framework rests on sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rejection of unconstitutional changes of government. When rhetoric or conflict threatens established norms, early and visible diplomatic engagement can prevent escalation. Proactive clarification strengthens stability.
Institutional silence, even when intended as neutrality, can generate ambiguity. In geopolitics, ambiguity invites miscalculation. Credibility depends not only on charters, but on consistent defense of foundational principles.
Sudan: War, Accountability, and the AU’s Role
The crisis in Sudan presents one of the gravest tests of African continental leadership. Since 2023, conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country. Civilian massacres, ethnic targeting, mass displacement, and the collapse of state institutions have created a humanitarian catastrophe.
The RSF has been widely accused of systematic abuses, including atrocities in Darfur and campaigns that have displaced entire communities. These actions are not merely internal political struggles; they directly threaten civilian protection and regional security.
The African Union has suspended Sudan following the 2021 coup and issued general condemnations. However, the scale and severity of RSF violence demand stronger measures. A credible AU response requires:
° Clear and explicit condemnation of RSF atrocities.
° Coordinated diplomatic pressure against armed factions undermining civilian governance.
° Targeted sanctions or accountability mechanisms in cooperation with regional blocs.
° A unified mediation framework prioritizing civilian protection and constitutional order.
Failure to act decisively erodes the AU’s normative authority and signals that force may outweigh constitutional legitimacy.
Sudan’s instability affects neighboring states and regional security. Prolonged conflict without decisive continental leadership leaves a vacuum filled by external actors with divergent interests.
Partnership, Responsibility, and Coherence
European initiatives AI training, youth employment, agricultural development are valuable. But their impact depends on coherence with geopolitical realities and respect for sovereignty.
True partnership requires two pillars: historical accountability and institutional consistency. Africa’s future depends on African led frameworks and principled engagement from external partners.
Historical Continuities and Present Crossroads
From colonial consolidation in Eritrea to the 1998 – 2000 border war, from Italy’s economic alignment with Ethiopia to Sudan’s ongoing crisis, the Horn of Africa is shaped by layered history and persistent strategic challenges.
The present moment is not a repetition of empire but unresolved legacies continue to influence decisions, tensions, and perceptions.
Conclusion: Beyond Symbolism and Silence
Africa does not need symbolic saviors or rhetorical grand gestures. It needs consistent respect for sovereignty, credible continental leadership, and partnerships grounded in equality.
Italy’s colonial history in Eritrea, its long-standing economic prioritization of Ethiopia, and the AU’s restrained responses to both regional tensions and Sudan’s RSF atrocities together illustrate a broader lesson: rhetoric moves faster than responsibility.
If Europe seeks a durable shared future, economic ambition must align with principled diplomacy. If African institutions seek credibility and lasting authority, they must act decisively to defend sovereignty and civilian protection.
Partnership cannot rely on imagery. Stability cannot rely on silence. Africa’s trajectory belongs to Africans. Paternalism and institutional inaction is not acceptable.
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