The United States Policy towards Africa: A Dossier

Journal Articles

Disclaimer: The materials in this section are from sources outside the U.S. Government and should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein or as official U.S. policy.
 

THE RHETORIC OF GENOCIDE IN U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: RWANDA AND DARFUR COMPARED. Eric A.Heinze. Political Science Quarterly, Fall 2007, pp. 359-384. Eric A. Heinze compares the U.S. response to the crisis in Darfur to that of the Rwandan genocide ten years earlier. He concludes that prevailing domestic and international political realities during the debate over the Darfur crisis allowed U.S. administration officials to use the rhetoric of genocide as a substitute for taking more forceful action to stop the killings. READ MORE

 

McCormick, Ryan. THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ACT: THE PERILS OF PURSUING AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH U.S. TRADE LAW.  Texas International Law Journal, Spring 2006. pp. 339-384. Full text available via ProQuest
 

Six years after enactment, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) remains the cornerstone of U.S. economic policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. Ryan McCormick's note explores whether AGOA has served as a catalyst for African economic development. The author examines the legislative history that led to AGOA, the legal framework that resulted, and the economic consequences for African states. The author was a research assistant at the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Committee with jurisdiction over the African Growth and Opportunity Act, from 1997-1999.
 

Bryden, Matt. CAN SOMALIA SALVAGE ITSELF? Current History, May 2006. pp. 225-228. Full text available via ProQuest

Somalia's fractious political leaders bear direct responsibility for their country's plight. Their inability to unite behind a functioning central government means there is no hope for the rule of law, no way to provide assistance to those most in need, and no means to counter extreme ideologies and the terrorist acts they give rise to. Unless they can rescue a transitional government, nothing will arrest the vicious cycle of statelessness, violence, and agonizing decline in the country. Matt Bryden is director of the International Crisis Group's Horn of Africa project.
 

Eisenman, Joshua; Kurlantzick, Joshua. CHINA'S AFRICA STRATEGY. Current History, May 2006. pp.  219-224. Full text available via ProQuest

Over the past decade, China has quietly established relationships with Africa's political and business elites. In need of oil, resources, and allies, the country is more than willing to make friends with autocrats and provide aid without conditions. The country's growing role in Africa is a wakeup call for the United States because Chinese victory on the continent could come back to haunt the struggling residents of Maputo and other African capitals. Joshua Eisenman is a fellow in Asia studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, Joshua Kuruntzick is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment.

 

Laremont, Ricardo; Hrach, Greorian. POLITICAL ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA AND THE SAHEL. Military Review. January/February 2006. pp. 27-36. Full text available via ProQuest

Since 9/11, homeland defense is a particularly urgent issue for US military planners. Three serious threats to US security are found in West Africa and the Sahel. Here, Laremont and Gregorian reexamine the rigid concepts of "West Africa" and "North Africa" embedded in many European and American perspectives. Ricardo RenéLaremont is an associate professor of political science and sociology at State University of New York-Binghamton, Hrach Gregorian is president of the Institute of WorldAffairs.
 

Deng Francis M. SUDAN: A NATION IN TURBULENT SEARCH FOR ITSELF. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. January 2006. pp. 155-162. Full text available from publisher website

Sudan has been intermittently at war with itself since independence on June 1, 1956, with only ten years of precarious peace between 1972 and 1983. At the heart of the conflict is a crisis of national identity. Those who have been in control of the country define themselves as Arabs and also Muslims, and identify more with the Middle East than with black Africa, though they are essentially Arab-Africans. The outcome of Sudan's struggles is difficult to predict. Three questions are worth probing: What is the conflict about? To what extent does the comprehensive peace agreement address the root causes of the conflict? What are the prospects for a truly comprehensive and lasting peace in the Sudan? Francis Deng is a research Professor at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Uvin, Peter; Cohen, Craig and Bourque, Andre. REGIONAL SOLUTIONS TO REGIONAL PROBLEMS: THE ELUSIVE SEARCH FOR SECURITY IN THE AFRICAN GREAT LAKES. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Summer 2005, pp. 67-82. Full text available from publisher website

In the last decade, the Great Lakes region of Africa has been the quintessential "bad neighborhood." Genocide in Rwanda, civil war in Burundi, and a failed state of continental proportions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have resulted in the violent deaths or displacement of millions of people, and the dramatic impoverishment of tens of millions more. Even in Uganda, the country most often cited as the shining model for the region, President Yoweri Museveni’s government has been unable to find a solution to rebel-led insecurity in the north and west of the country, or to justify the army’s involvement in the DRC. Peter Uvin is the Henry Leir Professor in International Humanitarian Studies at the Fletcher School. Craig Cohen is a Researcher for the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Strauss, Scott. DARFUR AND THE GENOCIDE DEBATE. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2005, pp. 123-133. Full text available from publisher website

As western Sudan continues to suffer, much international attention has focused on whether to call what is happening there "genocide." Yet once the term was invoked, it did not trigger outside intervention. Terminology turns out to matter far less than was expected. And once more, the world has dithered while people die. Scott Straus is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.