America post the Cold War
Abdullahi Boru Halakhe
2014-09-07, Issue <
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/issue/692> 692
Africa is at the centre of seismic global processes that will certainly
alter the current US-dominated world order. And America is in a panic.
Since the end of the Cold War, in which it became the sole Super Power, the
United States has preferred to go alone, on many issues where
multilateralism would have been better. America's single-minded
unilateralism has bred discontent across the globe.
For instance, the United States opted out of the Kyoto Protocol on climate
change, it scampered efforts at tightening, the 1972 Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention, it refused to ratify the statutes of the International
Criminal Court of Justice.
All these are issues that affect almost each country, albeit differently.
The American policy makers seem always surprised by the festering
anti-Americanism; their standard practice is "why do they hate us".
According to the Pew Research Global Attitude Project 16 March 2004, the
United States 'favorability ratings in France and Germany are somewhat lower
than last year and there has been a larger decline in Great Britain (58%
now, 70% last year). Young people in Great Britain, France, and Germany have
more negative views of America than do people in other age groups.' The
survey also revealed, 'Majorities in the Muslim nations surveyed hold
negative views of the United States.'
To the Bush II administration, the growing anti- Americanism only increased
its resolve to dig in. But his second term cowboy-slush and burn approach
only succeeded in exacerbated the already perilous acute situation.
When he was first elected, President Obama was keen to improve America's
standing globally, by reaching out to the world - improving the relations
with the United Nations, for which the Bush administration had utter
disregard, reassuring Muslim countries that America-Muslims relation was
ripe for rest.
In his Cairo speech 4 June 2009, 'The New Beginning' Obama acknowledged the
rift between the United States and the Muslim world when he said, 'We meet
at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the
world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current
policy debate' he added. 'Tension has been fed by colonialism that denied
rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which
Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard
to their own aspirations.'
He offered, 'I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the
United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and
mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not
exclusive and need not be in competition.'
But Obama's much heralded new beginning never materialised beyond the
rhetorical flourish.
Against such background, China continues to record astonishing growth
accompanied with increasing clout. Additionally, Africa, which customarily
attracts bad headlines, has turned the corner.
AFRICA IS RISING
After decades of malaise - famine, conflict and economic stagnation, over
the last decade Africa has recorded impressive economic growth.
There are plenty of statistics that capture Africa's recent economic growth:
the
African middle class (including lower middle and high middle) numbered about
313 million, or 34.3 per cent of Africans population, in 2010, according to
the African Development Bank (AfDB). This represents almost three times the
number of people that were considered middle class in 1980.
Seven of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies are currently in Africa,
with 70 per cent of the continent's population living in countries which
have enjoyed average GDP growth rates in excess of 4 per cent over the past
decade.
Alongside this remarkable economic numbers, Africa is also urbanizing at a
rapid pace. According to UN-HABITAT data, the proportion of Africans living
in urban areas grew from 32 per cent in 1990 to 40 per cent in 2010, and is
expected to rise to 47 per cent by 2025.
This remarkable Africa's rise has had two effects; multiple countries and
regions are courting Africa, and the continent is getting more confident
regarding its place in the global political high table.
ENTER THE BRICS
Africa's trade volume with India is projected to reach $70 billion by 2015.
Agriculture, natural resources and pharmaceuticals form a huge chunk of
India's trade with Africa. Last year India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas
Corp. bought a 10 per cent stake in a Mozambican offshore gas field from
American company, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., for $2.64 billion.
Following his elections in 2002, president Lula De Silva argued that Brazil
would forge an independent foreign policy. This involved deepening of the
South-South relations. In this regard, from 2000 to 2011, Brazilian-African
trade increased more than six fold, from $4.2 billion to $27.6 billion. In
that time, Brazil opened 19 embassies across the continent, bringing the
number of its African embassies to 37.
During his maiden Africa tour, Chinese premier Li Keqiang unveiled at least
$12 billion in extra aid for Africa. It includes $10 billion in loans and $2
billion for the China-Africa Development Fund, which facilitates Chinese
private investment in Africa. This brings total Chinese credit to Africa to
$30 billion, with an additional $5 billion in development assistance.
He also signed a series multi-million dollar deals, especially
infrastructure deals, with several African countries. The speed and the lack
of conditionalities attached to the contracts - the lack of transparency
aside - have emboldened many African countries to invoke 'Facing East'
whenever they feel slighted by the West.
The central plank of these countries relations with Africa revolves around
shared mutual respect, a history of colonialism as well as former aid
recipients. This is unlike the West's relations, which is based on
exploitation.
THE WEST
Despite formal independence, the relations between the West and African
countries have remained a one-way traffic - the West gets what it wants. The
lack of alternative global power options, combined with their dire situation
forced Africans to accept this one-sided arrangements. The emergence of
China coupled with Africa's economic growth has seen the relation being
redefined. It is not uncommon to hear African countries saying, they shall
'Face East' when exasperated by the West.
The emergence of China has seen a sea change of Western attitudes towards
Africa.
The sea change in the Africa-West relations, outside the counter-terrorism
lens, which is the predominant prism, is seen when president Obama visited
African in 2013. During his trip, Obama announced $7 Billion Africa power
initiative which cover five African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania,
Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria.
This will be followed by the inaugural US-Africa Leaders Summit, with some
fifty heads of state expected in Washington, DC, and extensive
nongovernmental and private-sector events on the sidelines.
Outside the bilateral engagement, president Obama also initiated Young
African Leaders Initiative 28 July 2014. During the announcement, the
president also said tha the United States also intends to double the number
of annual participants in the Mandela Washington Fellowship to 1000 by the
summer of 2016.
All these maneuvers are part of larger calculated efforts at countering the
deepening South-South relations, especially China which is miles ahead of
the West, in its engagement with Africa.
One of China's vehicles is the BRICS initiative.
BRICS Vs. THE WEST
Goldam Sachs economist Jim O'Neil coined the acronym BRIC in a 2001 paper
titled 'The World Needs Better Economic BRICs.' The distinguishing
characteristics of these group of countries are promising emerging markets
and potential economic growth and development.
However, at the political level, BRICS common denominator is to erode the
West's hegemonic influence globally. They view globalisation, which is
hugely underwritten and aggressively pushed by the West as a threat to the
concept of state sovereignty.
The preservation of state sovereignty therefore is the glue that holds these
countries together. And the global symbol of globalization is the World
Trade Organization. During the 2003 rounds of trade talks in Cancun, three
BRICS (India, China and
Brazil), with the assistance of other emerging countries joined forces to
scuttle the Doha round agreement that the Europeans and Americans had
secretly prepared.
This blockade stemmed from these three countries' refusal to ratify a
reduction in American and European agricultural subsidies that was
considered patently insufficient by emerging countries.
THE NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK
The Bretton woods institutions have been the conduit through which Western
countries push their neoliberal policy agendas mostly disguised as the
solution to Africa's economic problems. However, the consequences of some of
these policies have been severe economic consequences for Africa.
However, last month in Fortaleza, the five BRICS nations agreed to establish
a development bank. They also set up a $100 billion swap line, a deal that
gives each country's central bank access to emergency supplies of foreign
currency.
The new BRICS bank, which will fund infrastructure projects, will have
initial capital of $50 billion, each country will pay in $10 billion, which
gives each country an equal say. While the bank will be based in China, the
presidency of bank will be rotational, this will be a clear departure from
the post-war America led arrangement at the World Bank where the presidency
has been reserved for Americans and the IMF where the European takes the
presidency. This is at the exclusion of the rest. The voting rights at the
bank are based on fixed countries contribution quotas. For instance, the
BRICS nations account for more than a fifth of global output, have just 10.3
per cent of quota. European countries, by contrast, are allocated 27.5 per
cent for just 18 per cent of output.
With a planned capital base of $50 billion, rising eventually to $100
billion, the New Development Bank will be small compared to the World Bank
($232 billion in capital) or the Asian Development Bank ($165 billion in
capital). This effort, however modest will form part of the chain of efforts
in countering the deeply flawed western-centric post 1944 world order.
Received on Sun Sep 07 2014 - 18:01:57 EDT