21
Oct
One of the most remarkable phenomena of Contemporary International Relations is the fact that Africa became object of a new global race, like in the end of the 19th Century. In the beginning of the 21st Century, however, the most dynamic protagonists of such movement are the emerging powers, and not the European metropolises. Such process occurs in a frame of economic and social development in Africa, besides a diplomatic protagonism, which represented an unexpected feature for many. Africa, in marks of globalization and the end of the Cold War, experienced a second “lost decade”, with bloody internationalized civil wars, epidemics (HIV/AIDS, cholera and the Ebola virus, among others) and economic marginalization.
Nonetheless, without due importance given by European powers and the U.S., South Africa, Nigeria and Libya, soon followed by other nations, became more active, and China, India and, shortly after, Brazil started interacting with greater economic and political intensity with the African continent. In addition, they were followed by other emerging powers, such as Turkey, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Malaysia, amongst others. The effects did not take long, with Africa presenting, since the turn of the century, economic growth rates above the global average. Such phenomenon was accompanied by new diplomatic initiatives and social transformations, which altered the political elements of governance. Although the relative weight of change had limited impact, it was quick enough to be able to rework the hate speech presented by the North towards Africa.
Emerging countries in Africa
The end of the Cold War represented the disengagement of foreign powers and the abandonment of large amount of weapons in the hands of weak governments and insurgent groups without access to power. The struggle for scarce resources, survival and the settlements of previous times produced slaughters from Liberia to Rwanda. The tragedies of the 1990s were not totally compensated for the (ambiguous) end of South African Apartheid, seeming to vindicate the Afro-pessimistic, with conflicts also involving neighboring countries (Schmidt 2012).
Then, Western attentions turned to the fast-developing Asia, particularly China, without giving due importance to the Chinese increasing presence in Africa. The War on Terror (real or idealized) promoted by the Bush Administration since 2001 kept the alienation in respect to the bonds that were forged between Asia and Africa and to the strong internal inflection that occurred in the evolution of the African continent itself.
Access the full Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations paper here: http://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/austral/article/view/45812