Africa quarterly special on emerging powers.pdf - SAFPI

A N A L Y S I Scontinent. How to avoid such scenarios should be theoverriding concern of <strong>Africa</strong>’s political and economic elite.The crucial challenge for <strong>Africa</strong> today is to see that the newscramble for <strong>Africa</strong> is managed to the benefit of <strong>Africa</strong>.The real danger to <strong>Africa</strong> today does not come from thecompetition among emerging powers in <strong>Africa</strong> but from thereal danger of confrontation between China and the UnitedStates in <strong>Africa</strong> and the more general threat of proxy wars andpolitical instability occasioned by the race for <strong>Africa</strong>’sresources. For <strong>Africa</strong> to develop its political elites must buildthe political will to pursue a comprehensive developmentagenda that benefits their citizens. Such a political will canemerge when the political elite are kept in check by a pluralpolitical system and/or an independent robust national civilsociety. Where this does not exist, as in many <strong>Africa</strong>ncountries today, these political elites easily become proxies forforeign powers and interests, whether traditional or emergingexternal powers.Besides, the <strong>Africa</strong>n political elite should have to be muchmore cohesive at the continental level if they are to be able touse the competitive international environment to theircollective advantage. Such cohesion could emerge frominitiatives towards greater continental unity and integrationand models of a pan-<strong>Africa</strong>n solution in the form of a UnionGovernment for <strong>Africa</strong> or a United States of <strong>Africa</strong>, whichmay be long-term aspiration. To start with, at least a charterof rights governing investments and engagements on thecontinent would be necessary. Such a Charter which wouldhave to be negotiated in the <strong>Africa</strong>n Union (AU), couldsupercede bilateral agreements and force all external, andperhaps even continental, powers to agree to a specific set ofbusiness and diplomatic codes of conduct. If AU could agreeto such a charter, it could be subsequently ratified in the UN,thereby extending and strengthening its institutionalisation,and enhancing the reach of its compliance.concluSionThe rise of China, India, Brazil and other emergingpowers is the definitive economic and political story ofour time. Nowhere is this more apparent than in <strong>Africa</strong>.The accelerated engagement of these powers in <strong>Africa</strong>in recent years presents both threats and opportunitiesfor <strong>Africa</strong>. China is the key emerging power which makesthe most extravagant claim of formulating a relationshipthat is strategic in its aims, equitable in its politicalengagement and founded on the notion of a commonconception of political history. However, some <strong>Africa</strong>n andother critics point to the manner in which China’s tradewith <strong>Africa</strong> replicates features of traditional Westerncolonial trade for <strong>Africa</strong>n resources in exchange formanufactured goods.Despite its longstanding political and socio-economicengagement, India’s recent active drive for acceleratedengagement in <strong>Africa</strong> is relatively new. There is littleevidence that New Delhi aspires to play the continent-widerole. In the case of Brazil, despite the pressure to deeepenits involvement in <strong>Africa</strong>, much of what has been done stillreflects Brasilia’s primary concern for integrating its <strong>Africa</strong>policy in the service of broader foreign policy objectives.Concurrently, the focus on Lusophone <strong>Africa</strong>, where Brazilarguably has an advantage over other external actors, ensuresa neat juxtaposition between the cultural-historicaldimension of Brazil’s <strong>Africa</strong> policy and its currentcommercial interests.As the leading emerging power in <strong>Africa</strong>, China seemsto be setting the pace and example for India and Brazil whohave, to varying degrees, adopted the elements of theChinese approach to <strong>Africa</strong>. Western domination, be itcommercial or otherwise, is waning in <strong>Africa</strong>; but theselective engagement of the United States and the residualpresence of European interests will remain a feature ofThe under-construction site of a stadium in Georgetown, Guyana, which is being built by India’s real estate company Shapoorji Palonji.26August 2011-January 2012