Al Jazeera (2015) - The New Scramble for Africa Flashcards
Aim for documentary
Asking, in Africa - Are Africans at last taking matter into their own hands, or is this just another scramble for Africa?
China in Africa
- Currently Africa’s biggest trading partner
- Kenya - specifically many Chinese workers, investors etc
- Chinese commentator: “Kenya/Africa is in the early stages of “taking off” (Rostow’s model narrative)
- African states to decide whether to look West (US) or East (China) in building their infrastructure
Modern barter with China (one perspective
- Exchange of secure supply of resources for a piece of infrastructure
- ONLY a Chinese positive feedback loop.
- Workers, loan, investment, plans, designs, materials, salaries banked - Chinese / in China. “Win-Win” narrative is propaganda
-Imperialism evolves - but the power relations remains. The weaker has an inability to resist, or a lack of other alternatives
Three perspectives on African growth
1) It is real - due to the numbers proving economic growth
2) It is fake - Africa’s growth is fueled by debt and mass sale of natural resources
3) Yes, Africa is growing, but who is benefitting? Only the elite linked to global finance and power.
War on terror in Africa
-Greatly exaggerated by USmilitary and African leaders
- Civil society movements has been labelled as terrorist by opposition for “terrorism rents” - getting money (and votes) from creating terrorists
- Became a self-fulfilled prophecy
- American advisors train African security forces to train Washington’s war on terror
African Intervention in Somalia
- US-backed Kenya invasion of Somalia, led to backlash / terrorist attacks in Kenya
- If you support the war on terror, you get aid and stay in power
- Africa’s security is set in Washington
(Bakkers, Noteboom article related)
AFRICOM programme (talk with the USlady who was peeing her pants)
1)Security Agenda
2) Economic Agenda
3) Political Ideology
4) Competition for global norms
Supporting military regimes against in countries with corruption - enforces the corruption or tries to destabilise it? Answer: both actually!
Francafrique
- System of interlocking military, economic and political influence between France and their previous colonies in Africa
- eg 14 national reserves in the France Central Bank’
Frankophone Africa
1) France got a hold on lots of their ex-colonised countries still
2) France invaded Mali in 2014 to remove Islamic extremists
3) Think of Francophone Africa as their backyard
4) Corrupt system of patronage - popular African leaders were assassinated in coups by ex-French Foreign Legionnaire
5) 50 years of independence = 16 coups in ex-French colonised countries
6) Kept governments who aligned with French interests in power (those friendly to share oil and mining industry)
French “justifications”
Two ways in the documentary
1) French diplomat lady was actually just honest after the American man pulled out names, numbers and places like no one has ever seen so she came with an American diplomat saying to her - “Shoot first, dear French people” which I think was absolutely outrageous
- does not even try to justify their control, but admit that they must “wound” or “kill” the economy of these countries before other countries do
2) Denial of military invasion and having power relations. The previous prime minister of France straight out said that they have “no more strategic interest in Africa”
Examples of how foreign military inventions create radical extremist violent groups (terrorists)
- US in Afghanistan created Al-Qaida
- US in Iraq created ISIS
- Israel in Lebanon created hizbollah
- Israel in Palestine created Hamas
- Ethiopia in Somalia created Al-Shabab
- France in Mali created JNIM
The outside narrative on African interests
1) French - build democracy
2) American - build security structure
3) Chinese - build economic infrastructure
All claim to “help Africans” - but are Africans benefitting?
Chinese investment in Africa discussion of pros and cons
+ African governments are free to make deals that they can live with
+ new infrastructural modernisation age
+ freedom from the “conditionality” regime of the West
- the western countries had the same modernisation narrative when they began colonisation
- no internal discussions cross-continent about Chinese interests
- neo-liberal age - how do you negotaite goods and services when there is a constant pursuit of outsourcing projects to private capital
Rise of African oligarchs
- group that recycle themselves
- oligarchs are a historical outcome of privatisation of public resources
- changing the face from French to Chinese to African does not change the exploitative, extractive policies or structure
- Must reverse, or transform, the nature of the game.
