Over the last 50 years, the world has struggled to maintain an economic balance and stability, while flourishing countries try to maintain a steady income to support its people and relations with other countries. Therefore, when a country like Africa fails to maintain a stable government and economy, super powers such as America decide to intervene with its relations. Africa has great potential to become another pillar of the world’s economic structure with its mass amounts of uncultivated land. Unfortunately, corruption and irresponsible governments hinder that progress. Foreign aid, while helpful, should be limited to a yearly amount because it allows the government to brush of responsibility and gives room for corruption; it creates a media bias, and doesn’t solve the foundational issues.
A majority of Africa is either ran by a democratic type of government or by dictatorship. The issue this presents is corruption and irresponsibility by the governments. “Africa's economic troubles are also, in large measure, self- inflicted. Since independence, politics has helped to stunt productivity. Africa's new leaders had as their models the centralized and coercive colonial states, whose raison d'etre was to raise revenue through the extraction of labor and produce.”(Whitaker) Many African government officials do not have a sense of obligation to the lands that they are supposed to be caring for. This allows drug cartels and gangs to run the trade systems coming in and out of the continent. These cartels begin to control the state’s economy and judicial systems by enforcing their own laws. “The effect of African poverty on the incubation of epidemic disease; the rise to power of warlords and mafias, operating outside the rule of law ...
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...licts and civil war rather than economic growth and national prosperity.” (Carson) This brings back the point of the corruption and ignorance in Africa is ruining many opportunities. The country cannot be saved if the problems aren’t fixed at the roots.
Works Cited
Whitaker, Jennifer Seymour. "Africa: Should the U.S. Care?" Great Decisions 1996: 62-71. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Carson, Johnnie. "Shaping U.S. Policy on Africa: Pillars of a New Strategy." Strategic Forum sept. 2004: 1-7. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Birdsall, Nancy, And Others. "How to Help Poor Countries." Foreign Affairs Vol. 84, No. 4 Dec. july: 136-152. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
May, Madeleine. "Africa Has Huge Growth Potential." Cape Times. N.p., 30 May 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Ron, James, And Others. "What Shapes the West's Human Rights Focus?" Contexts Vol. 5, No. 3 summer 2006: 23-28. Web. 3 Dec. 2013
"The Scramble for Africa." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 25 Dec. 1999. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Every year, more and more money is donated to Africa to promote democracy in order to get rid of the powerful coups in many countries through out the continent. While the coups are declining and democratic governments are being established, the economic growth and development of Africa is not anywhere it should be considering the abundant natural resources and coastline that the continent possesses. Even though countries, like the United States of America, donate millions of dollars they are a large reason why Africa is underdeveloped economically. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is the most devastating event in the history of the world. Nearly 14,000,000 men, women, and children were displaced, sold into slavery, and killed by the trade routes.(
While the United States has a long-standing foothold on the oil in Africa, China has been dominating the other natural resources available for the past 20 years (Bhorat 2013). Additionally, the current perception of President Obama in Kenya seems to have changed dramatically over the recent years. While much of the letdowns were due to high expectations on the Kenya’s population, the general consensus was that President Obama has not done much to help improve the current state of the Kenyan economy. The current programs in Africa are programs that were enacted or established by President's Clinton and George W. Bush (Mwangi 2013). This has allowed the Chinese government to move in and expand operations in the region.
Africa in all its existence to Europe has relied on others to decide what’s best for them. Africa is now in a Western style mode. This does not mean it should be there but it is now. The government has to start taking advantage of today’s capitalist economy. Money tends to keep people of all nations happier. With money everyone is guaranteed food, a home and a better chance at democracy.
"News." Africa Continues to Grow Strongly but Poverty and Inequality Remain Persistently High. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
...e senseless and heartless government, which ruthlessly destroys the peaceful atmosphere in the villages. Africa will only reach its potential when everybody realizes the importance of preserving the cultural traditions.
The "DBQ Project" What Is the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa? (2012): 257. pp. 177-177. Print.
45 Oona Hathaway, ‘Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?’ (2003) 112 Yale Law Journal
Williams, Robert E. "From Malabo to Malibu: Addressing Corruption and Human Rights Abuse in an African Petrostate." Human Rights Quarterly 33.3 (2011): 620,648,925. ProQuest. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
Africa has long been a nation of conflict and strife. Certain countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have a prolonged history of corrupt leaders, violence and lack of resources. These conflicts often can lead to spill over and create wars in their neighboring countries. When a weak state has internal conflict it often spreads to surrounding weak states as it did with many of the countries in central Africa. This type of crisis will often involve the entire world in a variety of capacities such as militaries, foreign aid and the global economy. Congo especially has proved to create problems that continue to persist in the modern world and much of that is due to leadership of Motubu Sese Seko. “The conflict [in Congo] produced tremendous carnage: as many as 3.8 million dead and many more injured or displaced. Both phrases of the war (1996-97 and 1998-2002) involved domestic militias, a massive foreign invasion, and shifting alliances – with Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe playing major roles. Even though the was has officially ended, peace remains elusive”(Atzili 2007 pg 141). One player’s internal conflicts spread through an entire continent and affected the whole world and caused enormous damage. All countries need to strive to maintain strong institutions to be a good global citizen and one of the keys to this is leadership.
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.
Growth in Africa is not enough for its people to grow, which is leading to poverty and hunger in Africa. Today Africa is one of the leading countries having poverty and economic problems. One half of the Africans live below the poverty line which leads to low human development in Africa. The main cause of poverty in Africa is a problem in its economic system and environmental factors. Because of poverty people of Africa remain hungry as they don’t have enough money to buy their food and their basic needs. Some of the African countries have less poverty rate than others due to good government and economic system in those countries. Most of the African is facing challenges to survive and keep their family healthy.
The role that globalization plays in spreading and promoting human rights and democracy is a subject that is capable spurring great debate. Human rights are to be seen as the standards that gives any human walking the earth regardless of any differences equal privileges. The United Nations goes a step further and defines human rights as,
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.