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Sunset at the North Campus © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund
Funding secured for new project

Raising Awareness of Geopolitical Influence in Africa

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Portrait of Prof. Susanne Fengler © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund
Prof. Susanne Fengler is academic director of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism.
The Daimler and Benz Foundation is funding a new project by Prof. Susanne Fengler, head of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism at TU Dortmund University. The aim of the project, “The ‘Great Game’ of Media and Politics in Africa: Geopolitics and Media Intervention after 2022,” is to raise awareness of the issue of external influence and to examine its impact on the media landscape in seven African countries.

“Currently, we are witnessing significant geopolitical shifts in Africa due to political and economic influences from Russia and China, as well as from Turkey and the Gulf monarchies,” says Prof. Susanne Fengler, who leads the new research project. “This influence manifests itself, for example, in the form of economic cooperation and military ‘support’ – but also through measures in the highly sensitive media sector.” Together with researchers from Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania, Prof. Susanne Fengler will investigate how external influence affects the respective media landscapes: To what extent do the interventions of China, Russia, and other BRICS countries change the reporting of African media?

The aim of the research project is to initiate intra-African debates on democratic standards such as press and freedom of opinion. In addition, concrete recommendations for action for the different regions of influence are to be developed jointly as part of the project. The project also aims to create a more pronounced and differentiated awareness of the problems associated with geopolitical influence at both national and international levels. “So far, many Western actors in media development cooperation are not aware of this intense new competition,” says Prof. Fengler. “This can ultimately lead to significant shifts in African public spheres – and thus influence the question of which partners this key continent for Europe wants to cooperate with in the long term.” Conferences with researchers, media professionals, and public representatives in Africa and Europe are planned as exchange platforms.

About the Funding

The Daimler and Benz Foundation is funding the project as part of its new funding program “Ladenburg Horizons,” which aims to support research collaborations between scientific institutions in Germany and institutions in Sub-Saharan, East, and West Africa. The grant, 300,000 euros over a period of three years, is intended to primarily benefit the African partners. With this funding measure, the foundation aims to address the growing scientific and political significance of African countries.

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