Can you spot an empire when it arrives through a port?

You know how we often think of 'empire' in terms of old maps and direct occupation? This piece from Africa Is a Country turns that idea on its head, asking us to look closer at how power operates today. It unpacks the less visible, but equally devastating, ways some nations exert influence – through finance, proxy forces, and controlling vital infrastructure. The writer shows how this 'subimperialist' model, exemplified by the UAE, is playing out with catastrophic consequences in places like Sudan, challenging us to see the quiet violence often laundered through the language of development.

The United Arab Emirates employs a distinct model of sub-imperial power, operating through capital acquisition, proxy forces, and control of infrastructure rather than direct territorial occupation. This analysis details how the UAE funds and sustains the civil war in Sudan, laundering violence through development language and facilitating the exchange of gold for weapons. It argues this approach produces mass death and requires explicit recognition.

Read at source: Africa Is a Country