The end of empire and the problem of neocolonialism - Africa's hope and misfortune - The roots of instability
4 important questions on The end of empire and the problem of neocolonialism - Africa's hope and misfortune - The roots of instability
What kind of leadership did the Western-educated Africans embrace?
- Western-educated African elites who led the drive for independence often had more in common with their former colonial masters than with their own impoverished citizenry.
- They did not embrace nationalism as a vehicle for dramatic social change, as in communist China, but sought instead to enhance their elevated status in a traditional social order.
When did Africa lose its economic relationship with the rest of the world?
- While the civil wars, ethnic conflicts, and military coups continued, the economies of these countries spiraled downwards. Meanwhile their populations burgeoned, civil order crumbled, and malnutrition and epidemics became commonplace.
- During the 1970s, as the oil shocks dampened Western economies and led to a fall in commodity prices worldwide, Africa's economic relationship with the rest of the developed world deteriorated even further, just as the population across the continent was exploding and as a new scourge, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, was beginning.
Why is the failure to create stable democracies not surprising?
- Higher grades + faster learning
- Never study anything twice
- 100% sure, 100% understanding
Who were politically active in Africa?
- The majority of poor and uneducated Africans were not politically active above the level of lineage-based communities.
- The Western nation-state was a meaningless abstraction to traditional peoples, and political loyalties outside of the village setting typically accented the divine power of monarchs.
- This hierarchical thinking was deepened by decades of colonial rule in which foreigners insisted upon unquestioned obedience, both to indigenous surrogates and to white administrators.
- In addition, the heavy-handed approach to dissent employed by the imperial powers did not inculcate values associated with the give and take of pluralist democracy.
The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:
- A unique study and practice tool
- Never study anything twice again
- Get the grades you hope for
- 100% sure, 100% understanding
