Russia and Africa - historical characteristics of cooperation When it comes to cooperation with Africa, you need to think specifically about partnerships with specific countries, since the region is characterized by tribalism - almost all political parties and movements exist in one way or another on the basis of the tribal system, noted Nikolai Manbalov, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor at the Presidential Academy, in his commentary on "Sovereign Economy". According to him, historically, in most countries, the head of state or leader is first of all a tribal leader. Developed countries are mainly interested in those African countries that have something. Either mining has already been established there, or these countries have great geopolitical importance from the point of view of regional leadership, the expert noted. The first category includes, for example, Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique, and the second category includes Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and partly Ethiopia. Regarding the African Union, we must remember that every international organization is a kind of interest club, believes Manblov. For example, EU companies cooperate mainly in areas that are convenient for them. Africa will not be different from them in this sense. In addition, in Africa there is a very serious problem with demarcation of borders, because the colonialists in many places simply drew borders in a straight line, the expert noted. There is also a problem of nomadic tribes and groups of tribes that do not recognize these borders and move from place to place. Given these features, the Organization of African Unity and the resulting African Union, which unites all African countries recognized by the United Nations, are "well-intentioned organizations". According to Manblov, regional associations, for example ECOWAS - the Economic Community of West African States, are much more interesting in this situation.