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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. THE BASICS OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Forty-nine distinct “nations” (15 of which are landlocked): Irredentism, separatism, & nationalism.

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Presentation on theme: "SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. THE BASICS OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Forty-nine distinct “nations” (15 of which are landlocked): Irredentism, separatism, & nationalism."— Presentation transcript:

1 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

2 THE BASICS OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Forty-nine distinct “nations” (15 of which are landlocked): Irredentism, separatism, & nationalism Ethnically and religiously diverse: 1000 groups! Does this have to be a problem? Languages: Colonial legacy languages, Swahili, and 800 indigenous Lots of religious diversity A handful of states matter the most: Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya & the Congo

3 CAN WE REALLY TALK ABOUT ONE AFRICA POLITICALLY? Many different political systems but with similarities: Longstanding democracies: Botswana and Senegal Single-party democracies: Kenya, South Africa Entrenched Authoritarian Regimes: the Congo (formerly Zaire) and Zimbabwe Failed States: Somalia, Sudan, the Congo

4 CRITICAL JUNCTURES IN THE HISTORY OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN Muslim penetration from the North (7 th Century); today Islam is the predominant religion in 14 countries. Portuguese arrive (15 th Century): Slaves, Gold, Ivory… but only on the coast at first. European exploration and missionaries (18 th and 19 th C): Penetration comes late 1885 (Conference of Berlin) to 1912: The race for Africa and its division

5 WHY WAS THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE IN AFRICA DIFFERENT? Variations in colonial occupation and exploitation: Portugal, France, Britain, Germany, and Belgium Scientific racism (vs. Latin American genocide and “whitening” policies) Very weak & divided indigenous elite classes (usually an ethnic minority) Little nation or civic building Very little indigenous industry; exclusively dependent development (dependency theory…The first world learned its lesson with the US and Lat Am)

6 WHY WAS INDEPENDENCE IN AFRICA DIFFERENT? Remember, independence came late! Independence and nationalism because of borders The curse of natural resources Poor leadership and weak multi-party regimes Cold War dictators and single party authoritarianism (Angola and Mozambique) Africa’s third way of development (ideology and crony capitalism)

7 THE THIRD WAVE & SOME DEVELOPMENT HITS AFRICA (1990s forward) Take another look at the democratization chart:

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9 THE THIRD WAVE HITS AFRICA (1990s forward) The end of the Cold War, HW Bush, & aid conditionality The independence generation: changes in leadership and democracy The snowballing effect of theSouth African democratic transition (1994): 1990-1995: 36 military/authoritarian regimes reduced to nine Since 9-11: Aid, democratization, and counter-terrorism

10 UNFORTUNATELY, DEMOCRACY DOES NOT RESOLVE ALL PROBLEMS

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13 Increased ethnic violence and the decay of strong regimes that could promote state-led development Patronage and lootocracies still thrive Growth problems will continue with global slow down (commodity problem) The Chinese model comes to Africa The IMF and conditionality Aids: 25 million (5-7%) Africans with HIV in 2003


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