'Donroe Doctrine': What is it and how will it affect Africa?

Editor's note: Talk Africa is a weekly talk show that brings together guests from across Africa and beyond to discuss pressing African issues and global topics, amplifying the continent's voice and showcasing diverse perspectives and independent thinking. This episode focuses on the emerging "Donroe Doctrine" and explores its implications for Africa amid a shifting global order and renewed debates over power, sovereignty, and spheres of influence.

The 2025 US National Security Strategy introduced a “Trump Corollary” that links the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine to modern “America First” goals. Dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine,” it asserts a renewed emphasis on regional dominance, unilateral action, and limiting the influence of rival powers.

To many African observers, US President Donald Trump’s latest expansionist rhetoric, as summed up in the “Donroe Doctrine,” brings back echoes of the continent’s bitter colonial past. They argue that it resurrects stinging memories of a time when the continent’s destiny was bartered away in foreign capitals.

From "Monroe" to "Donroe"

In 1823, then-US President James Monroe warned European powers against interfering in the Americas, essentially dividing the world into spheres of influence overseen by different powers.

"This (Donroe Doctrine) is really the Monroe Doctrine, rewritten, if you will, by the Trump administration," said James Armstead, a retired professor at the US Naval War College. "The doctrine is fairly well enunciated in the current US National Security Document."

Armstead stripped away the policy's thin political veneer, arguing that the doctrine is a bold reprise of the Monroe Doctrine, consciously crafted to entrench US hegemony over its neighbors once again.

"So this is an attempt, in many ways, to go back to the period of the great powers, if you will, from Chancellor Bismarck—realpolitik. If you have the power in the area, then you are the senior nation-state. You can do what you want, and other people will be in concert therewith," Armstead added.

Einar Tangen from the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) observed that the current US President is "doing away with international law and going to realpolitik, but realpolitik in this instance represents the law of the jungle."

In Tangen's view, Trump's philosophy is very different.

"He (Trump) says that the US has total dominance over the entire Northern Hemisphere," he said. 

Why should Africa care

The doctrine's opening salvo detonated in Venezuela, where an elite US commando unit captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife at the seat of power in a lightning raid, whisking them to New York to face an avalanche of charges that some critics have dismissed as sheer fantasy.

"Obviously, the invasion of any country is an act of war,” asserted Armstead. “The basis of international law is sovereignty.”

This dramatic abduction of the leader of a sovereign country raises a poignant question: What message does it send beyond Latin America, and why should Africa care about a doctrine focused on the Americas?

Tangen argued that the US will use force if necessary to seize all they can, even Greenland. He added that US greed would not stop in the Western Hemisphere, and there is reason to be concerned.

"As the old saying goes: they came for my neighbor, and I said nothing; they came for my friend, and I said nothing; they came for me, and there was no one to say anything. This is exactly what the world needs to stand up to,” Tangen said.

Former Egyptian Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Mootaz Ahmadein Khalil, did not think that the new US strategy prioritizes Africa. For this reason, Africa could be fortunate to avoid any military intervention in the near future.

However, the diplomat worried that US foreign policy measures witnessed in Venezuela do not even seem to respect human rights or democracy. For Khalil, this does not augur well for Africa. Recent US engagement with African countries has exposed a mercantilist, transaction-based approach, according to the diplomat.

The "either or" question

In light of all that is happening, questions are now emerging as to whether the return of the doctrine of spheres of influence could force African countries to choose between security alliances and economic relationships.

Armstead shares Khalil's view that US political ties will be primarily based on economic interests under Trump’s new national security strategy, not the other way around. That has been very different in the past.

"So we are witnessing a change in the way the rest of the world is viewed. While there is a desire for dominance in the Western Hemisphere, integration and responsibilities are being relaxed throughout the rest of the world," Armstead said.

For many African nations, the shifting global order poses great challenges. Khalil noted that the US president has openly shown no respect for international law and the UN Charter, which is very dangerous for the international system and for Africa.

As Armstead pointed out, the world is heading toward utter chaos, and it is difficult for African countries to determine where they want to go and who can be trusted.

"What we have is that the US is trying to frame the world as it is either Russia, China, or the US. But China has not been pushing for hegemony," Tangen said, adding that China's approach is based on their civilization, which has seen the rise and fall of empires, so they seek cooperation instead of hegemony.

As for Africa, Tangen suggests standing together with the Global South and BRICS rather than accepting solutions from former colonial powers.

Africa's possible response

Armstead's frank, overall assessment of the "Donroe Doctrine" is that it won't last.

According to him, the idea perfectly reflects America's recent withdrawal from 66 international organizations.

"It's trying to pull back from this interdependence and from working with the rest of the world. It's not going to be successful for us," he said.

Khalil shared the same view on the unsustainability of the "Donroe Doctrine," but emphasized the importance of the legitimacy of African governments.

"Africa should focus, in addition to economic growth and prosperity, on the political framework in order to strengthen legitimacy and institutions within Africa, making them more adaptable to interdependence and regional cooperation and more resilient to foreign intervention, instability, and conflict," he said.

However, Tangen had a slightly different view.

"Greenland, Canada, and Mexico are all genuinely democratic. However, the US still questions their legitimacy. Therefore, I don't believe political legitimacy alone will keep Africa safe," he said. He called on Africa to unite, control the pricing and trade of its raw materials, empower small and medium enterprises, and enable digital payments.