Is Africa Turning Against the West?
Is Africa Turning Against the West?

Author: Giovanni Carbone

Publisher: Ledizioni

Published: 2023-12-11

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13:

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In the past few years, the evolving global landscape has drawn increasing attention to the positioning of African countries on major international issues. Much emphasis has been placed on African voting and diplomatic stances in international fora, political rhetoric and protests, all seemingly pointing to a shift towards a more critical approach vis à vis traditional Western partners. At the same time, non-alignment, a notion that for some retained a merely historical value, has gained new impetus as a principle guiding a number of countries of the Global South, suggesting a break in the relationship with old and new partners. This report investigates the nature and reasons of the growing anti-Western sentiment in sub Saharan Africa, combining an analysis of the current international context with a look at the long term. Is the gap between Africa and the West really expanding? What are the reasons and the possible consequences? What can be done to turn criticism into a more profound, mutual understanding?

The Rise of China and India in Africa
The Rise of China and India in Africa

Author: Fantu Cheru

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Published: 2010-03-11

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 184813827X

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In recent years, China and India have become the most important economic partners of Africa and their footprints are growing by leaps and bounds, transforming Africa's international relations in a dramatic way. Although the overall impact of China and India's engagement in Africa has been positive in the short-term, partly as a result of higher returns from commodity exports fuelled by excessive demands from both countries, little research exists on the actual impact of China and India's growing involvement on Africa's economic transformation. This book examines in detail the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing presence of China and India in Africa, and proposes critical interventions that African governments must undertake in order to negotiate with China and India from a stronger and more informed platform.

African Politics
African Politics

Author: Ian Taylor

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-09-20

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 0192529242

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Africa is a continent of 54 countries and over a billion people. However, despite the rich diversity of the African experience, it is striking that continuations and themes seem to be reflected across the continent, particularly south of the Sahara. Questions of underdevelopment, outside exploitation, and misrule are characteristic of many - if not most-states in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this Very Short Introduction Ian Taylor explores how politics is practiced on the African continent, considering the nature of the state in Sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. Exploring the historical and contemporary factors which account for Africa's underdevelopment, he also analyses why some African countries suffer from high levels of political violence while others are spared. Unveilling the ways in which African state and society actually function beyond the formal institutional façade, Taylor discusses how external factors - both inherited and contemporary - act upon the continent. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Together We Stand
Together We Stand

Author: James Holland

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 904

ISBN-13:

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"When the Axis fores were finally driven from North Africa in May 1943, over 250,000 were taken prisoner, as many as had surrendered to the Russians at Stalingrad. It was a major victory and a crucial stepping-stone to the future invasion of Italy and France." "Yet, just a year before, the Allies had been facing one disaster after another. In North Africa, the Eighth Army's terrible defeat at Gazala represented Britain's nadir. Slowly but surely, however, the Allies began to turn the tide. This crucial period was a time of learning for both America and Britain and, by the end of the Tunisian campaign they had finally gained material but also certain tactical advantages over Germany, particularly in the air war. As this book shows, the development of a tactical air force - principles that are still used to this day - were founded over the skies of North Africa." "And yet this is also a book about the men - and women - who found themselves caught up in this struggle, people drawn from all parts of the globe and brought together to make up these polyglot Allied forces: British and American, Nepalese and Punjabi, South African and Australian, Maori and Zulu, and from all ranks and all services."--BOOK JACKET.

The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa
The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa

Author: Alexandre Marc

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2015-06-19

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1464804656

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Since independence, the West African sub-region has been an arena for a number of large-scale conflicts and civil wars, as well as simmering and low-intensity uprisings. Contrary to perceptions, West Africa in its post-independence history has experienced fewer conflict events and fatalities from conflict than the other sub-regions on the continent. The turn of the millennium has witnessed the recession of large-scale and conventional conflict, and it has ushered in new and emerging threats. The specters of religious extremism, maritime piracy, and narcotics trafficking threaten to undermine some of the progress achieved in recent years. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa critically examines the key drivers of conflict and violence, and the way in which they impact the countries of the sub-region. In addition to emerging threats, these drivers include the challenges of youth inclusion, migration, sub-regional imbalances, and extractives, as well as challenges related to the fragility of political institutions and managing the competition for power, reform of the security sector, and weakness of institutions related to land management. The book explores how the sub-region, under the auspices of the regional organization ECOWAS, has become a pioneer on the continent in terms of addressing regional challenges. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa also identifies key lessons in the dynamics of resilience in the face of political violence and civil war drawn from CÃ ́te d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, that can be useful for countries around the world in similar situations. It incorporates knowledge and findings from leading experts and provides insights from academics and development practitioners. Finally, the book identifies possible policy and programmatic responses and directions for policy dialogue at the national and international levels.

The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950-1960
The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950-1960

Author: Ebere Nwaubani

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9781580460767

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He also gives a nuanced appraisal of the Cold War, demonstrating that it was not as important as popularly believed in determining U.S. behavior in Africa. The primary focus of the book is on West Africa, with case studies focusing on the Ewe, Ghana (including the Volta dam project), and Guinea. The broad issues discussed are framed in the larger context of sub-Saharan Africa, and against the backdrop of the larger debates about the nature of post-1945 United States diplomacy."--BOOK JACKET.

African Conflicts and Informal Power
African Conflicts and Informal Power

Author: Mats Utas

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Published: 2012-09-13

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 1848138857

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In the aftermath of an armed conflict in Africa, the international community both produces and demands from local partners a variety of blueprints for reconstructing state and society. The aim is to re-formalize the state after what is viewed as a period of fragmentation. In reality, African economies and polities are very much informal in character, with informal actors, including so-called Big Men, often using their positions in the formal structure as a means to reach their own goals. Through a variety of in-depth case studies, including the DRC, Sierra Leone and Liberia, this comprehensive volume shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent’s conflict areas. Moreover, it demonstrates that without a proper understanding of the impact of these networks, attempts to formalize African states, particularly those emerging from wars, will be in vain.

Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa
Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa

Author: Andrew W.M. Smith

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2017-03-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1911307746

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Looking at decolonization in the conditional tense, this volume teases out the complex and uncertain ends of British and French empire in Africa during the period of ‘late colonial shift’ after 1945. Rather than view decolonization as an inevitable process, the contributors together explore the crucial historical moments in which change was negotiated, compromises were made, and debates were staged. Three core themes guide the analysis: development, contingency and entanglement. The chapters consider the ways in which decolonization was governed and moderated by concerns about development and profit. A complementary focus on contingency allows deeper consideration of how colonial powers planned for ‘colonial futures’, and how divergent voices greeted the end of empire. Thinking about entanglements likewise stresses both the connections that existed between the British and French empires in Africa, and those that endured beyond the formal transfer of power.

Militants, Criminals, and Warlords
Militants, Criminals, and Warlords

Author: Vanda Felbab-Brown

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0815731906

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" Conventional political theory holds that the sovereign state is the legitimate source of order and provider of public services in any society, whether democratic or not. But Hezbollah and ISIS in the Middle East, pirate clans in Africa, criminal gangs in South America, and militias in Southeast Asia are examples of nonstate actors that control local territory and render public services that the nation-state cannot or will not provide. This fascinating book takes the reader around the world to areas where national governance has broken down—or never really existed. In these places, the vacuum has been filled by local gangs, militias, and warlords, some with ideological or political agendas and others focused primarily on economic gain. Many of these actors have substantial popularity and support among local populations and have developed their own enduring institutions, often undermining the legitimacy of the national state. The authors show that the rest of the world has more than a passing interest in these situations, in part because transborder crime and terrorism often emerge but also because failed states threaten international interests from trade to security. This book also poses, and offers answers for, the question: How should the international community respond to local orders dominated by armed nonstate actors? In many cases outsiders have taken the short-term route—accepting unsavory local actors out of expediency—but at the price of long-term instability or damage to human rights and other considerations. From Africa and the Middle East to Asia and Latin America, the local situations highlighted in this book are, and will remain, high on today's international agenda. The book makes a unique contribution to global understanding of how those situations developed and what can be done about them. This title is part of the Geopolitics in the 21st Century series. "

Putin's World
Putin's World

Author: Angela Stent

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2019-02-26

Total Pages: 495

ISBN-13: 1455533017

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In this revised version that includes an exclusive new chapter on the Russia-Ukraine war, renowned foreign policy expert Angela Stent examines how Putin created a paranoid and polarized world—and increased Russia's status on the global stage. How did Russia manage to emerge resurgent on the world stage and play a weak hand so effectively? Is it because Putin is a brilliant strategist? Or has Russia stepped into a vacuum created by the West's distraction with its own domestic problems and US ambivalence about whether it still wants to act as a superpower? Putin's World examines the country's turbulent past, how it has influenced Putin, the Russians' understanding of their position on the global stage and their future ambitions—and their conviction that the West has tried to deny them a seat at the table of great powers since the USSR collapsed. This book looks at Russia's key relationships—its downward spiral with the United States, Europe, and NATO; its ties to China, Japan, the Middle East; and with its neighbors, particularly the fraught relationship with Ukraine. Putin's World will help Americans understand how and why the post-Cold War era has given way to a new, more dangerous world, one in which Russia poses a challenge to the United States in every corner of the globe—and one in which Russia has become a toxic and divisive subject in US politics.