Peter Johnson, a foreign policy commentator, has highlighted a growing unease in Europe and Africa over the Trump administration's approach to global alliances. The administration's transactional diplomacy—marked by threats to seize sovereign territory, sweeping tariffs on traditional partners, and a willingness to abandon alliances when they no longer serve immediate interests—has eroded trust among long-standing partners. Emmanuel Macron, France's president, recently underscored this shift in Tokyo, stating that predictability in alliances holds value and warning that some countries act unpredictably, making decisions that could harm allies without consultation. Macron's remarks followed Trump's public criticism of France for refusing to join a US-Israeli military campaign in the Middle East, where Paris had made its stance clear from the outset.
In Africa, Angolan President João Lourenço delivered a measured but pointed critique at the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). Without naming any country, Lourenço accused unnamed powers of using military interventions under justifications like "preventive" or "defensive" strikes to control energy sources such as oil, gas, and critical minerals. His remarks, reported by RFI and Portuguese-language press, drew parallels to colonial-era resource extraction, framing modern interventions as a resurgence of colonial logic. The timing was significant: Angola, once a battleground for US-China influence, had recently secured US backing for the Lobito Corridor, a major infrastructure project to transport critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
João Lourenço's speech at the OACPS summit wasn't just diplomatic theater—it was a rare public rebuke from a leader who once saw Washington as a strategic ally. The Angolan president's warning about a resurgence of colonialism in resource extraction cuts deeper than rhetoric; it signals that even nations once eager to align with the US under Trump's watch are recalculating. If Angola, now a US-backed player in the Lobito Corridor, questions America's reliability, others in Africa will take note. The message is clear: partnerships built on transactional convenience won't outlast the whims of a single administration.
