Russia’s growing influence and engagement in Africa is a significant and often overlooked dimension of global great power competition. While much of the focus to date has been on Moscow’s activities in the Sahel, Russia is also using both hard- and soft-power tools to project influence across Africa. Its approach includes disinformation campaigns, media cooperation, arms sales, nuclear power plant agreements, and a growing network of cultural and religious institutions which spread Kremlin propaganda. Through these efforts, Moscow is strategically positioning itself to access resources and build support for its vision of an alternative world order.  
  
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held a virtual panel discussion on Monday, May 18, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ET, to mark the release of a new report, Beyond the Sahel: Russia’s Toolbox for Influence in Africa, by Kate Johnston and Valeria Allende, with Isabel Dlabach. The report looks at Russia’s activities in key states in Africa—Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa.  
  
The discussion was moderated by David McKenzie, communications director at CNAS, and featured Anna Borshchevskaya, Harold Grinspoon senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Mvemba Dizolele, adjunct lecturer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and Kate Johnston, associate fellow with the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program.