^aDepartment of Society and Globalization, Roskilde University, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark. E-mail: gormrye@ruc.dk

Abstract

The Africa policies of the United States and of the European Union seem to have undergone significant changes in the years following September 2001. Nevertheless, the paper shows that the choice of policy instruments has been path dependent in both cases. The American policy is not totally path dependent if the size of the military initiatives and the volume of development aid are included in the analysis. The Africa policy of the EU is path dependent even when the increase in development assistance is taken into account. The growth in EU aid can only be explained by reference to the influence of values and norms. Even though September 11 is a 'breaching point', path dependency and bureaucratic inertia seem to be able to explain most of the lacking changes. However, agency-based explanations are also necessary.