Africa Rising 21st Century

              Two recent op-eds in the Washington Times have compelled me to write about something I often discuss with colleagues: the lack of understanding of circumstances in African countries by those determining U.S. Africa policy.   This particularly impacts African politics.             Clifford May, Founder and President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, writing on April 28 about the late Chadian President Idriss Deby, lamented the lack of media coverage and public discussion about the nations and people of Africa, even as there is plenty of consideration for nations such as Cuba and Venezuela.             “Have you seen any television news reports about the more than a million Ethiopians now displaced by civil war, the United Nations peacekeepers who opened fire on protesters in the De...

             As the United States struggles to dig itself out of the tremendous economic and social hole created by the COVID-19 virus, there are those who look at Africa and say the nations of the continent have done far better than America or other developed countries in coping with this disease.   One of my Facebook colleagues posted a comparison of Africa with the United Kingdom.   He said the entire continent of 1.3 billion people has fewer COVID deaths than the UK with 65 million people.   On paper, that is true, but in reality, we have no idea how hard COVID has hit African countries. The McKinsey consulting firm estimated early on that while about 1% of worldwide infections were in Africa, the continent is the least able to access aid for those most in need. Testing lags far behind that in Asia or the West, suggesting that the epidemic likely had spread further than the official figures suggested.   As in the United States...

                 Africa has been blessed with abundant natural resources, but one might also say that the continent’s blessings have often become a curse.   The concept of a resource curse is one that has been explored quite a bit, including in a Congressional hearing I organized several years ago. While Africa’s mountains, rivers,  volcanoes , lakes, and  forests have divided communities and limited large-scale economic development, they also have helped by enabling the creation and spread of vast natural resources. Ancient forests over millions of years have produced fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal. The courses of rivers and the upheavals of surface features have produced deposits of metals such as uranium, iron, copper, zinc, and tin, as well as rock minerals such as phosphates, quartz and calcite, which all have varied uses. In Africa's rocks and soil, aided by volcanic acti...

               When Americans think of democracy, we see it as a means to unite people across regions and supposedly across ethnic lines to govern our country, although the latter is less true than it should be.   Black and white people as a whole think very differently in America, as do Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans.   We share some commonalities, especially within regions, but there remain significant differences on the whole.   Still, when someone from Harlem, New York, moves to Raleigh, North Carolina, he or she likely would be met with curiosity and some amusement, but not likely outright hatred because of where you’re from.   In Africa, ethnic regionality is much more likely, and it makes constructing a workable democracy very difficult.             I have lived in Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois, and a couple of places in the state of Maryland.   ...

               Over my years working on Africa – both in and out of government service – I have seen criticism of what many have described as a deficient U.S. policy toward Africa.   To some extent, our government’s Africa policies and actions certainly have not been successful, and in some cases were disastrously unsuccessful no matter how well-meaning.   Nevertheless, on the whole our government’s policies have been improving and have enjoyed measurable success in several aspects.             I was asked in a recent television interview what the U.S. Government should do to create and sustain a successful policy toward the nations of Africa.   I believe such a policy should touch on four elements that are all interconnected.   First and foremost is human rights.   Without human rights being honored by African governments, no other element can succeed.   Due pr...