The “scramble for Africa” is on, indeed. Here’s another story about international concerns influencing Africa. This situation is a little different than China’s involvement, though. Here, the former colonial giant, France, is continuing to ensure its influence on the African continent with their annual Franco-African summit. France is committed to continuing aid, debt relief, humanitarian assistance, et cetera, to Africa. How nice.
But there might be a problem here. Does anyone else think France has maybe done enough and should consider leaving Africa alone? The trouble is that France, (and other international, well-meaning aid givers) tend to “help” through the institutions of the established state in African nations. But, consider this quote from the article:
"For the average African, the state is the enemy," says Richard Cornwell, a political analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. "But very often, outside countries, such as France and China, tend to strengthen the state, which is the exact opposite of what the Africans want and need."
Maybe what Africa really needs is a chance to get back on its feet without foreign meddling. It’s not that France is really an evil conspirator, trying to reestablish effective colonial control via international corporations or whatever. It’s just that things like profit have a way of getting between good intentions and net results. Or am I just being paranoid?
Monday, February 26, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured Post
Turkey's Ban on Insults against Erdogan
Since 2005 Turkey has had a law against insults against Erdogan known as Article 299. The article declares that citizens can be imprisoned ...
-
Great news! Now you can sit back in the comfort of your own home and actually see (provided you have access to high-speed internet) the phys... -
From 600,000 to 1 million souls slaughtered in just 100 days in Rwanda. Thousands killed, raped and mutilated in Darfur, Sudan. On-going civ...
-
Darfur Sudan. Many Americans don't even know where that is. For many in Darfur, it is hell on earth. An estimated 2.6 million people ha...
3 comments:
The state of global affairs makes it impossible for Africa to severe ties with the rest of the world. For the continent to get back on its feet, it has to utilize the global economy...just as the global economy tries to utilize it. The current state of affairs, dire as it may seem, actually offers some hope. Countries like France and Britain that have traditionally had strong footholds in Africa are being rivaled by the new kids on the block like China and the U.S. This competition is good for the African people, because it enables them to assess the "packages" that each country presents, and make the best choice among them. But then again, there's that matter of leadership...
I agree with you, Pierre. Although I think that Africa should be given a little more leeway in matters of business, I also believe that the continent shouldn't be given full preferential treatment. This would be treating African states like children, and I'm sure they have had more than enough of that kind of treatment. In my opinion, it is a good thing that the West is interacting and trading with African countries. Although Africa still has a lot of work to do in order to catch up, leaving them out of the global economy would be going backwards. After all, some African countries such as South Africa and Ghana have been able to pull themselves together and are progressing slowly but surely.
Okay, maybe I should have been more specific with my concerns. It's not that the whole of Africa and its people should be left out of the global economy. Rather, my concern is more along the lines of what Pierre deftly snuck in at the end of his comment: there is indeed the question of leadership. I'm suggesting that perhaps the state infrasructure is just not sufficiently in place to accept said "packages" in such a way that actually benefits the people of Africa and not just foriegn corporations and African "presidents."
Post a Comment