America and Africa Hillary (not Bill) on safari Aug 13th 2009 | JOHANNESBURG AND NAIROBI From The Economist print edition The secretary of state tries to walk all that mellifluous Barack Obama talk DOUBLE-acts are more common in light entertainment than high politics. But if Barack Obama delivered <strong>the</strong> punchline of his administration’s vision of Africa on his triumphant, albeit very brief, visit to Ghana last month— declaring that “Africa’s future is up to Africans”—Hillary Clinton has been trying to put <strong>the</strong> meat of detail on to <strong>the</strong> bones of his oratory. Journeying to seven countries in 11 days, her tour of <strong>the</strong> continent (<strong>the</strong> earliest point in any administration that a president and secretary of state have both visited Africa) took in America’s varying, and sometimes competing, priorities. Security and <strong>the</strong> dangers of Islamist terrorism were highlighted in east Africa, democracy in Kenya and Angola, trade in South Africa, oil in Angola and Nigeria, conflict in Congo and HIV/AIDS almost everywhere. It is a contradictory mix to manage. In Ghana, Mr Obama had spoken of <strong>the</strong> importance of democracy, of how “governments that respect <strong>the</strong> will of <strong>the</strong>ir own people...are more successful than governments that do not”, and <strong>the</strong> risks of concentrating wealth in <strong>the</strong> hands of an elite few. His presence in Ghana, ra<strong>the</strong>r than in Kenya, where his fa<strong>the</strong>r was born, was a recognition of <strong>the</strong> country’s peaceful changes of power at <strong>the</strong> ballot box. However, given <strong>the</strong> realities of America’s interests, Mrs Clinton could not afford such gestures. Angola has not held a presidential poll since 1992, when <strong>the</strong> second round was cancelled as <strong>the</strong> country’s civil war restarted. Last month <strong>the</strong> government, largely composed of former Marxist guerrillas, delayed <strong>the</strong> next such election for an 18th year when it extended work on its new constitution. Yet America has been investing a lot of diplomatic and political effort in Angola, not one of its traditional allies on <strong>the</strong> continent, because of its oil. Angola’s vast natural resources have seen it boom, with growth averaging 18% in recent years, even though many of its people still live in dire poverty. It is now <strong>the</strong> biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, it has become one of <strong>the</strong> most keenly contested diplomatic battlegrounds on <strong>the</strong> continent. Mrs Clinton arrived in <strong>the</strong> wake of a visit by <strong>the</strong> Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, in June and a steady stream of guests from Beijing. Unlike her Asian rivals, who never publicly criticise African regimes, Mrs Clinton at least spoke of <strong>the</strong> need for a “timely” presidential election to follow last year’s parliamentary vote. But o<strong>the</strong>rwise it will be business as usual. Francis Kornegay of <strong>the</strong> Institute for Global Dialogue, a think-tank based in South Africa, describes <strong>the</strong> Obama administration’s approach in Africa as “progressive realism”. “There’s no such thing as a human-rights foreign policy, we are in an age of competitive economic diplomacy in areas of <strong>the</strong> world where we have major concentrations of resources,” he says. In Kenya, with less at stake commercially, Mrs Clinton scolded <strong>the</strong> government for its failure to bring charges against any politician for inciting violence during <strong>the</strong> disputed election in December 2007. But she was short on specifics as to what Kenya should do next. She was also worryingly vague on Somalia, a perennial problem for America. A meeting with Somalia’s embattled transitional president, Sharif Ahmed, in Kenya ended with a photo-opportunity in which a nervous Mr Ahmed shook hands with Mrs Clinton in front of <strong>the</strong> Stars and Stripes. Mrs Clinton hinted that drones would return to <strong>the</strong> skies over Somalia if <strong>the</strong> Islamist radicals who now control most of <strong>the</strong> country launch suicide attacks against Kenya and elsewhere. American officials privately suggested that <strong>the</strong>y would increase <strong>the</strong> supply of weapons to Mr Ahmed’s feeble government. However, whereas that might be just enough to provoke those who see Mr Ahmed as nothing more than an American lackey and a turncoat, it won’t be nearly enough to stop Somalia’s fur<strong>the</strong>r descent into chaos and selfdestruction. Away from Mr Obama’s rhetoric, such are <strong>the</strong> real dilemmas and difficult choices for America in Africa. Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved. -59-
Correction: Bahrain Aug 13th 2009 From The Economist print edition On <strong>the</strong> map in our special report on <strong>the</strong> Arab world (July 25th) we showed <strong>the</strong> population of Bahrain as 2.8m, GDP as $43bn and GDP per person as $15,000. In fact Bahrain's population is 0.8m, GDP is $18bn and GDP per person is $22,800. Sorry. This error has been corrected online. Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved. -60-
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