The last comment (though it may not remain the last) by Av brings up a point that I was hoping to discuss when I got around to writing this post. Yes, most of Africa's conflicts are created by the colonial legacy. Lines were drawn and divisions were created that made, and make, no sense. Also, the West has never allowed the lines to be redrawn. Either because of language, or stubborness on the part of the West, Africa will remain non-functional.
There exists a "country" called the "Republic of Somaliland" in northern Somalia. It is a fully functioning state that is free from the chaos that has plague the more southern areas (Black hawk down and such). I believe it has even petitioned to become an independent state. But, that will never be allowed. I think the only real change in the make-up of countries in Africa has been Eritrea and Ethiopia splitting. If any countries were allowed to split and accepting by the United Nations, there would be a chain reaction of ethnic/rebel movements aiming to form their own countries in Africa. That may lead to more death and misery than the current system. It is interesting to think how the UN is causing a lot of misery in Africa.
An interesting article from the Financial Times (I should really link some of this, will in the future) describes how Africa simply lacks enough synergistic investment in small businesses. Companies can profit if given a chance at fair rates. But, what sub-tropical/non-temperate country has a successful manufacturing base. There are hints of it in Southeast Asia, but Africa, much of it, lacks the infrastructure or cheap labor force to be a manufacturing force. In short, a new dynamic needs to be created that is formed by an African for Africa. Why should African countries try to integrate into the "global" economy if they can stabilize without "us".
I don't know, maybe it could work.
next: the humanitarian failure aspect.
5 comments:
Who's fault is it that Africa lacks small business investment?
Could it possibly have anything to do with Mfama Oba who needs $20,000 to help get his deceased father's $30 million from a Nigerian bank and he promises to give me 30% if I cover the initial expenses?
I don't see how investments can rise without first tackling the problem of corruption.
I don't think that splitting up countries along more "realistic" divisions would necessarily cause an increase of violence. Violence occurs now because there is no legitimate way to represent oneself in many of the countries. If the countries were to come together and agree to peacable reform we could avoid violence (I know, not easy to conceive, but maybe -- "Ender's Shadow" final book "Shadow of the Giant" has an interesting theory as to how something like this is achieved).
The biggest problem with splitting many of these countries, similar to the problem in Iraq, is resource distribution. If you were to split these countries, many times one ethnic group/tribe will be outside the area that contains the natural resources that make the country money (oil, diamonds, etc.). Since there is no extensive development, those new countries will be even poorer than they were before (with the resources at least they had the potential to maybe see some of the money). It is not economically feasible for many of these countries to split (besides other problems).
Also there is the problem of majority groups that were politcally oppressed gaining power and taking out previous frustrations on the minority (or previously powerful minority trying to maintain some power -- again, see Iraq).
[I have more but I feel i should get back to work for a little while.]
africa is just a big mess. development wont occur on the local level without global input mostly because of govt corruption and rebel violence. hell, it doesnt even occur now with global funds [which dont trickle down].
reconfiguring the boundaries has the resource distribution problem that's already been mentioned and doesnt solve the real issue in africa--the culture of corruption.
a cheap labor force is there waiting but investment wont happen without stable governments & safety. people are also turned off by the dark continent's hiv epidemic/public health issues. microsoft already had invested heavily in india before hiv reached the epidemic proportions it has now there & is now stuck spending millions in public health measures via the gates foundation to try to protect its workforce. companies dont want to make that mistake.
how do u stem corruption & violence?
-benevolent dictators perhaps. [but who in africa trusts any dictator]
-strengthening democracy perhaps. [this again requires a lot of strong leadership at the top & ideally strong leaders at all levels.]
-un military forces to maintain peace and strengthen/enable governments to govern. [un forces already overstretched and generally not very effective.]
-hope the us invades?
ultimately, i think it will always come back to strong leaders willing to make a stand for change. [mandela for example]
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