The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has established an International Desk as part of efforts to monitor foreign influence and enhance Africa’s voice in shaping global policy.

Launched in Accra last Thursday during a regional convening on foreign powers, interests and their impact on West and Central Africa, the new desk will serve as a hub for research, policy analysis and strategic advocacy aimed at protecting democratic governance and civic space on the continent.

Furthermore, it will track and analyse geopolitical trends, produce timely, data-driven insights and support African-led responses to external pressures, with a strong focus on promoting good governance and inclusive development.

Event

The event brought together high-level representatives and stakeholders from across the region and beyond.

Notable attendees included Ghana’s Special Envoy to the Alliance of Sahel States, Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Barrie Freeman.

There were also panel sessions to discuss a wide range of pressing global and regional issues, with a focus on foreign influence, civic space, security and governance across West and Central Africa.

Inclusive foreign policy

The CDD-Ghana Director of Policy Engagement and Partnerships, Dr Kojo Asante, stressed that foreign policy could no longer remain the exclusive domain of foreign policy experts, urging activists, researchers, analysts and civil society actors to engage more deeply with the geopolitical forces shaping Africa’s future.

He stated that the growing involvement of foreign powers on the continent, coupled with rising authoritarianism, insecurity, shrinking civic space and disinformation, demands a coordinated and informed response.

“As an organisation dedicated to the promotion of democracy, good governance and inclusive development, the rise of authoritarianism globally and in the sub-region, rising insecurity, the closing of civic spaces in many countries, the repression of the media, rapidly changing technology, the rise of social media and the spread of disinformation, including foreign information, manipulation and interference, FEMI, really call all of us to action,” he said. 

Dr Asante explained that the Desk is a strategic response to these emerging threats and was part of CDD-Ghana’s broader effort to strengthen African agency, enhance democratic resilience and ensure that the continent’s voice is better represented in global affairs.

Africa first

The ECOWAS Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Dr Abdel-Fatau Musah, in a keynote address, urged African nations to adopt an “Africa First” approach in navigating global geopolitics.

He referenced Russia’s recall of Wagner troops from Burkina Faso following Ukraine’s incursion into its territory as a demonstration of how major powers prioritise their own national interests—arguing that Africa must do the same.

“Africa also needs to operate on Africa first, by banding together as a continent and as a region, just as we are seeing all over the world.

That is the nature of the game,” Dr Musah said.

He emphasised the importance of continental unity in countering foreign influence, warning that while emerging powers may support modernisation, they often sideline democratic values and readily align with authoritarian regimes.

Dr Musah further cautioned against dependency on any global bloc, stating that Africa must define its partnerships based on its own needs, and also critiqued ECOWAS’s past reliance on threats of military intervention, urging a rethink of regional strategy in today’s multipolar world.