On the vast continent of Africa, there are fifty-three countries; of these only six are not located below the Sahara Desert. This leaves the Sub-Saharan region of Africa to encompass a total of forty-seven countries. Many of these countries south of the Sahara have been in state failure, either partial or complete collapse of state authority. This has led to an inability to provide for economic development and a source of security. These failed states have governments with little political authority or ability to impose the rule of law, and are usually associated with widespread crime, conflict, or devastating humanitarian crises. Africa's problems are myriad and intricate; the rulers in Sub-Saharan Africa have struggled to develop autonomous and cohesive states during the postcolonial era giving rise to the fact that almost half of the world’s failing states are located here. The reasons for this wide spread failure below the Sahara include the following: intervention of Europeans through colonialism and slavery, poverty and low rankings in the Human Development Index, along with political instability and the rushed attempt of the democratization processes.…
The African Studies Center and MATRIX Digital Humanities Center at Michigan State University, comp. Module 7B: African History, the Era of Global Encroachment. Exploring Africa. Exploring Africa. Matrix. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .…
Africa is a country filled with primitive tribesmen who have made insignificant contributions to history. Today most Americans pride themselves on being open-minded, politically conscious, and socially aware of world wide problems. Yet when discussing Africa, its history, and present state, most misconceptions as seen above are accepted without question. These myths have been developed over a century of time and have become imbedded in the minds of the Western world as a sad truth regarding Africa. In order to progress and move ahead as a society, the fallacies of Africa must be disproved and misconceptions need to be replaced by facts.…
“It is the human capacity to extend and limit compassion that gives racial ideology its fatal power, making identity into a knife that severs social relations and disembowels entire countries” (Hintjens, 2001). The history of colonialism, more specifically within Africa, has illustrated the fatal power of ethnic manipulation that Dr. Hintjens referred to. Neocolonialism impedes on both the sovereignty and the right of these post-colonial regimes to self-determination, as it has rendered it reasonably impossible for them to develop their government infrastructure (Janzer et. al. 2015). The exploitation, and often fabrication of ethnic identity by Western powers has led to a lack of nation building within contemporary African states. Though…
Objective: dedicated to racial pride, economic self-sufficiency, and the formation of an independent black nation in Africa…
Looking back in history, countries around the world go through tremendous changes that influence the future. Change is inevitable and countries have the ability to transform in order to stay competitive. Countries have the power to change for their own self benefit, and on the other hand, countries can change due to other dominating regions. Africa is a country that has fallen victim to both instances. Early on, Africa was a country that had new technology for farming and overall viewed as a powerful country. It is easy to say things can turn out different in any given situation, but at the same time, change is necessary for progress. In the past, Africa has been shaped by various countries in Europe which forever altered their outcome. Through stories like Things Fall Apart and other countries’ actions and involvement, Africa ended up with an outcome that most likely could not be changed.…
This paper’s central theme intends to address the African country of Kenya’s struggle and liberation from British imperialism. The first section will explore Kenya’s pre-colonial context to give a brief background of the country’s social and economic structure before colonialism. The second section will address the historical context and direct impacts of British colonialism. The third section will explore the social grievances, marginalization, and violence the country suffered to overcome British imperialism and to ultimately reach Uhru. The readings of Thionog’o, Schraeder, Rodeny, Anderson, and Fanon will be deeply discussed throughout this paper.…
Throughout the first part of the book, The African Past, the purpose is to look at African history through the eyes of many Africans and to learn about and appreciate it. The reader immediately learns about how Ghana controlled the trade and how Ghana’s wealth derived from gold and was though of as the middleman. Ghana’s name was an inspiration for the future. Next, we learned about Mansa Manu, who became more powerful than Sundiata had and established himself as an exceptional administrator. Once he passed, Mali had become one of the largest and richest empires in the world. Also, Aksum was a significant part of African history because it was one of the few African states that developed its own written language; Historians have been able to learn the “advanced form of agriculture practiced by the early Ethiopians” because of this (67). Through the second part, The Coming of the European, the reader discovers about personal horrors produced by the slave trade and the economic and social effects it had on Africa. Slaves were examined and embarrassed by having to strip naked while judged into categorizations of “good” or “bad”. The trade robbed the continent of more than fifteen million of its strongest men and women and Africans started turning against each other because they believed it was the only way to survive. During part three of the book, The Colonial Experience…
Although African countries are facing many severe problems including weak national identities and limited governmental capabilities, war might not be the only way to strengthen the state and develop national identities. When we consider the intense globalization undertaken by the world, collaboration by African unification provides another choice to reinforce the state and to progress a national identity.…
During the 1960’s, most African countries previously held by the Europeans were released from colonial rule. The Europeans didn’t put in place any government or infrastructure before they relinquished control. This vacuum of power led to an influx of totalitarian regimes and dictatorships followed by a pandemic of poverty across the continent. Many of these dictators aligned with the Soviet Union, who further exploited Africa’s vast natural resources with no compensation given to the local people. In the past half century, some of the Soviet aligned dictators and hierarchies have been toppled in violent civil wars and replaced by democratic elections. However this new concept of African “democracy” has not brought peace and prosperity with…
We must understand the differences in the African and European political experience in order to understand the difficulties faced by African leaders. In Herbst's book States and Power in Africa, First I will give an overview of the differences between the African and European advances toward becoming a nation state. Next the reasons why these differences are important to understanding the difficulties faced by African leaders will be discussed. Finally I will give an overview of possible alternatives to the current system of states in Africa.…
A powerful and peaceful land of trade and scholarship was established in Africa long before European ships even landed there. Great African Empires flourished from the wealth of Africa’s natural resources that marked its rich and lavish history. Though Europeans and Arabs, people who most benefited from the wealth of Africa, denied Africa its legacy, the magnificence of people of color is embedded in the history of powerful empires such as Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Cairo, and Zimbabwe.…
Dr. Kwasi Konadu’s course “Intro to Contemporary Africa” covers a wide range of topics relating to the continent of Africa. Throughout the course, students become aware of how the continent of Africa has arrived at this present time in history. From the beginning chapters about geography and historical context all the way to the final chapter on the trends and prospects for Africa, there are a few conclusions that students can soundly arrive at. As far back as scholars have researched, a range of different cultures have come into contact with Africa including European and Islamic cultures. A lot of the interaction has been forced upon the continent, and has been accompanied by violence, physical and otherwise. However, it is clear that the different cultures of people who have passed through and continue to reside on the continent has had effects, both positive and negative, on various aspects of the continent. Ali Mazrui is a Kenyan academic and political writer whose book The Africans: A Triple Heritage, which is actually a reader supplement to a PBS telecourse, covers this topic. Ali Mazrui’s argument that “modern” African politics, culture, and societies are a product of an Islamic, European, and indigenous African triple heritage is an accurate portrayal of the continent which African people should derive strength from, focusing on the positive aspects of each, in order to reach the transcontinental stability Africa envisions for herself.…
Title : The consequences of colonization: an interpretation regarding the nature and causes of the ongoing issues around nationalism, ethnicity and stately power in sub-Saharan Africa since decolonization.…
Although Africa did not evolve and develop on its own, the presence of the colonial powers was important. With the presence of large empires much like the British Empire, which at its peak covered one quarter of the world, it is easy to map the spread of colonialism. With the conquest of Africa by the colonial powers, it was to be devolved into colonies. This in a sense was one of the first signs of globalization becoming integrated into Africa. Over a decade onward, this is not necessarily reflected as a good thing. The majority of Sub-Sahara African nations exist outside the global market and as former colonies of the western industrial nations, have remained subsistent economies. Although rich in resources, they possess little or no capital.…