Contents TOC o “1-3” h z u .IntroductionScramble for AfricaAfrica after colonialism (the challenges faced by African states)4. The African Union5. Motives for foreign powers in Africa- new millennium5.1 China in Africa5.2 Europe in Africa6. Perception of the west on china in Africa6.
1 Perception of china on the west in Africa7. Advise to states and the AU8. Conclusion9. ReferencesINTRODUCTIONFor many centuries there has been an interest of the foreign powers on the African continent. This was more relevant in the 1800s to the 1900s, there however seems to still be an increasing interest by these foreign powers in the 21st century. The following essay therefore seeks to assess the motives and intervention of foreign powers in the new millennium Africa. Furthermore it seeks to advise the leaders of these African states in terms of how they should deal with these foreign powers.
The essay will make attempts in discussing this by firstly discussing the scramble for Africa to show what led to they having been interest of the African continent, the end of the colonial era will be discussed to indicate how much Africa has improved or not improved since the end of the colonialism era. Other concepts to be discussed by this essay will be the African union in terms of its formulation and purpose, furthermore the motives of foreign powers in the new millennium Africa, the motives of China will be used to further explore on this issue. The essay will also give perception of each foreign power on one another, and lastly advice will be given to the African heads of state and the AU in terms of how to control the foreign powersSCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA Linked to the Berlin Conference in 1884, the Scramble for Arica also known as the Race for Africa was essentially a process of occupation, colonization and annexation of the African continent by the European powers. The Berlin Conference led by Otto von Bismarck, was for the purpose of discussing how the European states would control and regulate the partitioning of Africa CITATION Mau18 l 1033 (Shisia, 2018). The scramble lasted from 1881 up until World War 1 in 1914 CITATION Ori12 l 1033 (Anon., 2012). By the year 1914 at least 90% of the African continent was under European rule, of which prior to the Conquest of Africa only 10% was controlled by the Europeans.
Only 3 African countries were free of colonial rule, these included Ethiopia, Liberia and Somali.AFRICA AFTER COLONIALISM- THE CHALLENGES FACED BY AFRICAN COUNTRIESAfter the attainment of independence from European colonial rule, African states were faced with numerous challenges. The first challenge was the issue of there been a lack of infrastructure: the European imperialists had prided themselves as wanting to bring about civilization and development to the African states. This however was not evident as the Europeans left the colonies with either little or no infrastructure. Despite they been roads and railway roads built, it was clear that they were built to facilitate the export of raw materials for the colonizers. The African countries were rich in cash crops and minerals however the lack of manufacturing infrastructure meant they were unable to process the goods for themselves ultimately growing their economy. Secondly there was inexperienced leadership: at independence there was a distinct lack of leadership and experience presented by the black African leaders.
The colonial government had placed the black African leaders at lower positions. The white colonial governments were placed at the higher positions where there was sufficient use of power. The transition to black Africans to national offices at attainment of independence meant there were individuals at all levels of bureaucracy with little training prior to been in office. There were challenges faced by many African leaders in terms of innovation due to a lack of experienced leadership. And lastly The Cold War which came after the decolonization of Africa, it posed to be another problem faced by the African leaders. The USA and the USSR were in an upheaval, and the African leaders were faced with the challenge in terms of which country they should align themselves to as well as the issue of factions. In Angola for example the factions contributed to a Civil war lasting for almost 30 years.The challenges faced by African leaders made it difficult for majority of the African leaders or states to establish a strong economic and political stability.
It also contributed to the upheaval faced by states between the late 1960s and the 1990s. It is also important to take note that some of the African states are still faced by numerous challenges even after so many years of independence.THE AFRICAN UNION Being one of the world’s most important intergovernmental organization. The African Union (AU) is composed of 53 African states and is based on the European Union (EU). The African countries work diplomatically with one another despite there being challenges in terms of language, religion and race. The main aims are to improve the economic, social and political situations for all the citizens of the African continent.
The formation of the AU was following the dissolution of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 2002. The OAU was initially formed in 1963 as a way to accelerate the process that of the European decolonization and gain independence for a number of the African nations. The aim was essentially to promote peaceful solutions for conflict, ensure sovereignty and raise the standard of living for the citizens. Criticism of the OAU was that it could not eliminate the poverty is said it would, the leaders were corrupt and seemed to be unconcerned with the welfare of the citizens. Furthermore it was unable to intervene in the civil war when they occurred. Since the development of the AU in 2002 however, there has been to a certain extent improved stability and welfare. There are also however challenges which the AU has faced, for instance poverty is still a large problem, the organization is in deep debt and like the OAU there are issues of corruption by a bulk of the leaders.
CITATION Ric17 l 1033 (Richards, 2017)MOTIVES OF FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN AFRICA- CHINA’S MOTIVESDespite majority of the African continent having attained independence from their colonial masters. There appears to still be a high interest shown by foreign countries to intervene in the African continent. In this instance, since 2002 China has shown increased involvement and investment in the African continent surpassing the USA as the biggest investor in 2009. The Chinese investment have bought about significant political and economic consequences. There has been an increase in foreign aid, debt cancellations and a boom in the China-Africa trade relation. The strategic Chinese interest in oil has proven that there is a mutually beneficial relationship for both China and African states. Aid without conditions has proven to be of a more alternative compared to the conditions placed by the Western powers CITATION Tul06 l 1033 (Tull, 2006).
Through the investment in the African continent which is known for politically instability, China has been able to boost the African states oil and the mining sectors in exchange for advantageous trade deals. The Chinese companies are diversifying their business pursuits in Africa in infrastructure, manufacturing and telecommunications.PERCEPTIONS OF CHINA IN AFRICA The re-emergence of China in Africa has raised numerous questions and created issues of concern. The re-emergence has been centered on two core issues; 1) what motives are behind the present engagement? And 2) what implications are there for Africa’s development? Many argue that the engagement is to repeat what occurred with the Western countries when they exploited African countries of their resources.ADVISE TO AFRICAN STATES AND THE AU
