ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a systemic analysis of the logics that inform military expansion in Africa. It provides a theoretical framework called the government–business–media complex. The framework illustrates the nature of Northern complexes operating mostly in the Global South. The book then outlines the policies that make up a portion of the United States’ grand strategy in relation to other world regions and powers. It also discusses the role of United States Special Operations Forces and their use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as a method for expansion. The book considers military-interventionist framings of disease-related security that frame military intervention in epidemic outbreaks as not only sensible, but obligatory. It then explores the media’s role in setting the agenda and/or reinforcing existing perceptions by examining African media outlets’ role in public perceptions of United States Africa Command and the implications for its soft power.
