There are many factors that influence the political reshaping of Africa. The strength of their outcome varies from country to country, and is not linear. As we can see, different countries tend to focus on different factors as being the most crucial in democratization processes. As it is impossible to thoroughly analyze all of them, those that are most often seen as the crucial ones in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa will be discussed, which are Soc-economic development and Post Cold war protest. In the mid 1980s Africa was struck by a period of famines, desertification, refugees, human rights violations, mutually destructive violence, health problems and economic decline. “among the economic factors, severe balance of trade deficits caused by weak world commodity prices, fluctuating interest rates which cause national debts to swell to unbearable limits, and a severe drop in international aid investment combined to create frustratingly high levels of social-economic hardship.”(Quainoo 6) The issues Africa was facing brought a great deal of doubt to it’s people’s faith in authoritarianism, and eventually led to many protest demanding democratization. …show more content…
With the end of the war and Africa’s poor standard of living it motivated people to protest and revolt against their governments to reform it’s self, they could no longer be silenced. The James C. Davies theory of revolution explains the post war protest for a reformed government. According to this theory people who have been living in poor conditions for a long period of time eventually will revolt especially when a glimmer of hope for a better more stable continent is
Although, the Civil war brought about change for Africans, along with this change it brought heart ache, despair and restriction of worship to the African...
"The wind of change is blowing through this [African] continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it" (Macmillan). This speech, made by the prime minister of England in 1960, highlights the vast changes occurring in Africa at the time. Changes came quickly. Over the next several years, forty-seven African countries attained independence from colonial rule. Many circumstances and events had and were occurring that led to the changes to which he was referring. The decolonization of Africa occurred over time, for a variety of complex reasons, but can be broken down into two major contributing factors: vast changes brought about in the world because of World War II and a growing sense of African nationalism.
A. Adu Boahen's African Perspectives on Colonialism neatly classifies African responses to European colonialism during both phases of invasion and occupation during the 19th century with precise labels according to their nature or time period. However, the reactions can also be loosely grouped into two diametric characterizations: peaceful and violent. Although creating this dichotomy seems a gross generalization and oversimplification of the colonial African experience, it more importantly allows for a different perspective- one that exposes the overwhelming success of the typically peaceful or pacifist reaction in contrast to the little gain and large losses of the violent response.
Africa is the second largest of the earth's seven continents, covering about twenty-two percent of the world's total land area. From its northern most point, to its southern most tip is the distance of nearly five thousand miles. Africa is both north and south of the equator. The Atlantic Ocean is located west of the continent, and the Indian Ocean is on the east. Width of the continent is also nearly five thousand miles. Although Africa is so large, much of it is inhabitable. Desert soils, which have little organic content, cover large areas. The Sahara Desert, in the northern part, covers more than one fourth of Africa, and the Kalahari Desert is in the southern part of the continent. These two deserts are a natural detriment to the African continent because they make it difficult to reach the inland where most of the people live. Although Africa is relatively close to Europe, travel by land over the Sahara desert is very prohibitive. Another topographical feature that also isolates the central region of Africa is the coastline.
...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.
Europe and Africa have been linked together in evaluating the state formation process. Both regions have similarities, strengths, weaknesses, and room for improvement. To this day both regions are far from perfect. Some light can be shed on this subject, by evaluating Europe and Africa’s state formation process, evaluating what party benefits, and briefly explaining two economic consequences of European colonialism in Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa is a resource-constrained region that suffers a top-heavy share of the world's burden of disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 12% of the world's population live in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the region suffers 27% of the world's total burden of disease.[1] To make the matter worse, the same region with a high burden of diseases still lags in health information technology (HIT). The HIT which is important in ensuring improved patient care.[2,3-7] Timely as well as accurate patient information is essential to meet the health care needs of any patient in any population.[6,8] Physicians and other care providers require high-quality information to make sound clinical decisions; however, their
In terms of political changes, European imperialism negatively affected Africa. Firstly, European colonization created enormous conflict between colonists and the African people. African resistance to “The Scramble for Africa” lead to the instability of Africa’s political structure. There was ineffective resistance of the African people against the Europeans. In an attempt to regain their independence, Africans took up arms against their colonial masters as soon as they perceived them to be at a disadvantage. In southern Africa, in The Republic of Namibia, the Herero people rose against German rule in 1904, killing over 100 German settlers and traders. German commander, General von Trotha, retaliated with a war aimed simply at extermination. This resulted in the decline of 70% of the Herero population.1 Nowhere else was colonialism quite so brutal, but almost everywhere it tended towards unrestrained brutality as soon as it was challenged.2 Warfare created considerable unrest among African people. Afterwards, the people of Africa came to the realization that the consequences of resistance against European colonists could be devastating. As well, the Europeans demonstrated that they had the technology and resources to gain control. Secondly, colonial expansion changed the face of Africa’s political structure. The Berlin Conference of 1884-85, attended by 13 European nations and the USA, set the ground rules for partition of Africa. When the conferenc...
West Africa is know for its rich trading empire, natural landmarks, for their beautifully designed cloth, and jewelry.
During the 1800 and 1900s, the scramble for Africa created several challenges for the continent as European powers began to take control over their territory. Colonization of Africa began as there were competitive rivalries within Europe that developed over political power, and the desire for new raw materials Africa had to offer. In particular, the colonization of Uganda created profound effects on African politics, society, and the economy. Throughout this essay, I will argue that arbitrary borders, economic inheritance, weak links between states and civil society, and formation of states elites during the colonial period changed Africa. I will also describe the long-term impact of these four changes in the development of Africa and support
In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful it could become and the more powerful it would be seen as by other countries. Other reasons for the desire to control African land included the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa, such as diamonds, gold, and as time progressed, rubber. It also provided new markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a larger profit. The Europeans had many motives for imperialism in Africa. Yet the true motives were often shielded as they tried tom present themselves as humanitarians when in reality they were making Africa a terrible place to live with brutality and harsh treatment of the African natives. The ways of the Europeans had many physical and emotional costs for the people of Africa. The imperialism process also took a toll on the people of Europe. The European imperialistic colonization in Africa was motivated by the desire to control the abundant natural resources an...
Political instability and regime change in Nigeria will be observed in this paper. The resource curse has greatly weakened Nigeria as it has led to the numerous regime changes, the hindering of the nation’s democratization, corruption in the government, as well as, civil conflict. According to Samuels in Case Studies in Comparative Politics, Nigeria began as a group of states and empires, which were conquered by the British Empire who ruled Nigeria through indirect rule with varying degrees of rule in North and South Nigeria (Samuels, 323-326). Since they were granted independence in 1960, three republics have been created and each has ended by military rule, which led to the creation of the fourth, and current republic in Nigeria. In the current regime, Nigeria’s GDP is ranked 108 out of 156 and has been decreasing, lower than some of the non-oil-producing nations in Africa (“Nigeria”).
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, was one of the most controversial books in the world at the time of its release. The book seeks to argue that European exploitation and involvement in Africa throughout history. This is the cause of current African underdevelopment, and the true path to the development is for Africa to completely sever her ties with the international capitalist economy. Rodney describes his goal in writing the book in the preface: “this book derives from a concern with the contemporary African situation. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future” (vii). Rodney writes from a distinctly Marxist perspective by arguing that the inequalities inherent in European capitalism and required exploitation of certain countries in order to sustain capitalism.
Why with years of outside encouragement are most African nations still underdeveloped and at a standstill for progression? In the classic book, Democracy and Development in Africa, Claude Ake examines the two terms in the title and what they mean for the countries of Africa. Authoritarian rule, racism, and sheer ignorance to the African culture are where Claude Ake claims the problems for Africa’s developmental issues.
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.