Africa and the Challenge of Globalization
نویسنده
چکیده
Globalization has always affected Africa. The slave trades in East and West Africa profoundly shaped the development of many African societies over hundreds of years. As late as 1923, a company (the British South Africa Company) was still the sovereign authority in one territory (Southern Rhodesia). Today, most African countries are extremely open to the international economy as exports plus imports constitute a very significant share of the total economy. However, African countries have palpably failed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the globalized economy of the twenty first century: they receive little foreign investment, fail to produce many processed goods for export, and are less “wired” than almost any other region of the world. However, despite their overall poor performance, African countries are becoming increasingly differentiated in all areas, including their ability to benefit from globalization. A few African nations are now poised to take advantage of the new international economy while, at the other extreme, there are a significant number of countries that are simply trying to preserve their basic institutions with little hope of successful engagement with the world. This paper will review the challenges posed by globalization to Africa, and develop a typology of African countries that will detail their relative ability to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by the international economy.
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