Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective

This book reviews the various ideologies and policies that independent African states have used to enhance their power and status in the world through a range of political, security, and economic strategies of inter-African cooperation and integration. Against the background of the ideology of Eurafrica, which informs Europe’s and France’s evolving relationship with Africa, the author assesses the prospects of the counter-ideology of Pan-Africanism. Africa’s economic, political, cultural, and geostrategic relations with Europe—within the framework of the successive Lome Convention—and with France—within the framework of La Francophone and Franco-African cooperation system—are thoroughly examined.

An overview of the numerous inter-state and intra-state border, ethnic, religious, and political conflicts which have erupted throughout Africa since the end of the Cold War leads to an examination of various inter-African peacemaking and peacekeeping strategies and policies. These have evolved at the regional (Organization of African Unity) and sub-regional levels where African organizations aimed at economic cooperations and integration (such as Ecowas, IGAD, and SADC) are increasingly assuming a collective security dimension. The response of the international community to the challenge of humanitarian assistance to African refugees is also examined.

Against the background of contending notions of Afro-pessimism and Afro-optimism, the author considers various political and economic strategies of cooperation and integration. Throughout this engaging new book, Martin adopts a distinctly Pan-African approach. He argues that economic, political, and military unity among African states is necessary to enhance the power and status of African states in the contemporary world system.