LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Autumn 2009

by Michael Jennings

Sir,

Africa has in the past decade enjoyed sustained growth and a higher global profile. And donors have pledged to increase aid, reduce poverty and improve Africa’s representation at international forums, including this year’s G20 summit in London. Dig a little deeper, however, and it becomes clear these changes reflect the strategic interests of outside powers rather than a new global order that gives Africans more clout. Africa’s problems arguably stem not from neglect, as Ernst Stetter suggests, but from the wrong kind of world attention.

African dependence on factors outside the continent’s control means it is still largely dictated to rather than heard. Africa relies on a handful of export sectors, making it vulnerable to world price and demand fluctuations.

African countries are told to diversify. Yet they usually lack the political power to create the necessary conditions. South East Asia’s “economic miracle” did not result from free trade and globalisation; it required internal protectionism and external financial support, from the U.S. in particular. Would the West tolerate African nations taking a similar approach? A successful outcome to the Doha Round of world trade liberalisation talks would have been the best chance to establish the pre-conditions for diversification and export growth. But the Doha Round is moribund. Today’s global agenda is set by bilateral agreements which fragment trade relations and undermine a unified African position.

As Stetter acknowledges, Africa’s experience of outside intervention in the field of governance is also troubled. Many commitments have been made to strengthen democracy and good governance, but there are still flagrant cases of woefully corrupt and ‘kleptocratic’ rule. African politicians must accept greater responsibility at national and regional levels. But we must recognise that global interests often protect authoritarian governments in the name of stability. This is evident both in China’s policy of non-interference and the reluctance of western governments to take a stand. Consider the muted response to Paul Kagame’s rule in Rwanda and to Meles Zenawi’s government in Ethiopia.

Africa has a great deal to offer the world, and Stetter tells only part of the story when he focuses on markets and natural resources. All the talk about the strategic interests of the U.S., Europe and China should not deflect attention from Africa’s greatest asset: the potential of its people. If the world is going to tap that potential – and prove to Africa that it really matters – then advocates of globalisation must show ordinary Africans how they will benefit, not just their leaders and foreign investors.