The limits of offensive liberalism: UK grand strategy in Africa

Manu Lekunze

doi:10.1080/01495933.2025.2565579

The limits of offensive liberalism: UK grand strategy in Africa

Manu Lekunze^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

The Labour government that came to power in the United Kingdom in 2024 seeks a new approach for its Africa relations. However, both the discarded and the new approaches are unclear. Despite extensive literature on UK activities in Africa, a focused study of UK grand strategy in Africa is limited in Strategic Studies and International Relations. This article examines UK grand strategy in Africa to determine its fit in a changing world. Using historical analysis of UK-Africa relations, I explore UK behavior in Africa to show that “offensive liberalism” best describes UK grand strategy in Africa. Using UK-Mali relations as a case study, I show that the approach struggles to achieve its objectives. It overly relies on multilateral institutions, assumes Africa to be a tabula rasa, and ignores competition in the international system as well as local resistance. Therefore, the UK needs an approach which avoids the flaws of offensive liberalism.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	114-133
Number of pages	20
Journal	Comparative Strategy
Volume	45
Issue number	2
Early online date	27 Oct 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2025.2565579
Publication status	Published - Feb 2026

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The limits of offensive liberalism: UK grand strategy in Africa

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