African Views on the Ukrainian Invasion: An Experimental Analysis

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has caused a global response largely condemning Russia. People from all over the world including in Africa have reacted to this invasion. Many western countries like France, the United States, and African countries like Senegal, as well as international institutions like the United Nations and African Union, have all condemned the invasion. However, other countries like China have refused to condemn the invasion. Does this matter? Does the position of France affect people’s views of the invasion? Does the contrasting position of China affect views? In this paper we will examine these questions focusing on African views of the invasion considering if people here believe it should be condemned or not. We will focus specifically on their response as they relate to who is condemning the invasion including France, the United States, Senegal, and China. Our theoretical expectation is that the country making the condemnation will affect how respondents in Africa view the invasion. Compared to a control in which no statement is made, we expect that respondents will be less likely to condemn the invasion if France condemns it, more likely to condemn it in the cases of the U.S. and Senegal, and in the case of China we do not have a clear expectation prior to collecting our data. Research will contribute to an under-studied area of international relations namely the views of Africans about international affairs outside of Africa and how colonization has affected those views.