Africa in World Affairs

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Africa in World Affairs
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AFRICAN IN WORLD AFFAIRS

• The Cold War
• The Non-Aligned Movement
• Africa and the United States
• Africa and the Soviet Union
• The Organization of African Unity

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INTRODUCTION

• Africa has become a player on the world stage
• Strategically desirable areas
• Cape of Good Hope, Horn of Africa, Strait of
  Gibraltar
• Desirable resources - Minerals and cash crops
• Relations with former European countries
• Close after independence
• Had to safeguard their investments
• Friction did exist
• Rhodesia, Guinea, Nigeria

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THE COLD WAR

• African leaders felt a need to support one side
  or the other
• US courted countries that were close enough to
  democracies
• Authoritarian v. totalitarian
• Soviet Union exploited socialism

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THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT

• Groundwork laid in 1955 at an Afro-Asian
  conference in Indonesia
• Way for third world countries not actively
  supported the USA or the USSR to have a voice on
  the world stage
• Opposed above ground nuclear testing, untested
  drugs, dumping of toxic or nuclear waste on
  African soil
• Championed the cause of liberation movements
• SWAPO, PLO

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THE UNITED STATES AND AFRICA

• US never had colonies in Africa
• Post WWI, the US took a non-interested approach
  to Africa
• Abstained on a crucial vote on the 1960 U.N.
  Declaration Granting of Independence to Colonial
  Countries and Peoples
• President Kennedy began to spark interest in
  supporting African policies
• Vietnam War took attention away from Africa
• Consistently supported Western countries on
  Africa policies
• Rhodesia, Mozambique

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THE UNITED STATES AND AFRICA

• Jimmy Carter began to focus on human rights in
  Africa
• Andrew Young ambassador to the UN
• Pushed for independence in Namibia, Zimbabwe and
  South Africa
• 1981 North-South summit in Cancun
• G-7 v. poor nations
• Demand for more market share, lower tariffs,
  better prices for their goods
• Some progress made through World Bank loans and
  USAID support
• Preconditions for loans

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THE SOVIET UNION AND AFRICA

• Keen on shaping the ideologies of African
  countries just as the US was
• After independence, African leaders were
  receptive to new ideas and offers for help in
  restructuring their societies
• Gained foothold on the continent in the 1950s
  when it signed an arms deal with Egypt
• Supported opposition movement in Algeria and was
  involved in Ghana, Mali and Guinea
• Experienced one setback after another
• The end of the Cold War marked an ending to
  large-scale involvement in African affairs

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THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY (OAU)/AFRICAN
UNION (AU)

• OAU became the African Union on 9 Sep, 1999
• Main objectives
• Rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of
  colonization and apartheid
• Promote unity and solidarity among African States
• Coordinate and intensify cooperation for
  development to safeguard the sovereignty and
  territorial integrity of Member States
• Promote international cooperation within the
  framework of the UN

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AFRICAN UNION (AU)

• Organs of the AU
• The Assembly
• The Executive Council
• The Pan-African Parliament
• The African Court of Justice
• The Commission
• The Permanent Representatives Committee
• The Specialized Technical Committees
• The Economic, Social and Cultural Council
• The Peace and Security Council
• The Financial Institutions

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CONCLUSIONS

• Independent African nations got off to slow start
• Through world bodies like the UN and AU, the
  playing field is being leveled
• Domestic challenges still exists due to remnants
  of colonialism
• With the fall of apartheid in South Africa,
  Africa has come full circle and through the
  African Summit, the agenda is now on
  self-determination, human rights and democratic
  reforms