"Of the eleven US Combatant Commands, the United States Africa Command is the second most active, and for the last decade the scope of its initiatives has grown largely unabated. Its operations span the continent-drone bases in Niger and Cameroon, maritime coalitions in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aiden, ground-raids alongside Malian, Kenyan, and Mauritanian troops. Despite the pivotal cooperation of African states in executing these missions, scholars primarily depict them as little more than clients, dutifully seeking aid and legitimacy born of strong diplomatic relations with Washington. Treachery and Diplomacy upends this narrative. Its focus is assertive African diplomacy, particularly the guile and hard bargaining of African regimes determined to capitalize on US dependence on their military and intelligence assets. Treachery and Diplomacy argues that US leadership in its security alliances with states such as Uganda and Ethiopia, particularly during the War on Terror, has been widely overstated. It offers a novel account of the ways that African governments transform three forms of security cooperation with the United States--intelligence liaisons, military basing agreements, and collaborative military interventions--into valuable strategic resources. Exploiting US reliance on these resources, African officials have engaged in forceful and even deceptive diplomacy with Washington.

The United States, in turn, does more than vaguely pressure and court these "weaker" African allies. As this book illustrates, it is often cornered into meeting their demands, offering political and economic concessions that bolster their illiberal domestic policies and bellicose regional agendas"-- Provided by publisher.