Beginning with a Positive Note

In order not to start the mission of this blog on a negative note, I want to begin with the most respected African leader today, Nelson Mandela. He is probably the only contemporary African leader who has shown remarkable independence from foreign manipulations and who also seems to have the best interest of his people at heart in both his life as an anti-apartheid activist and a politician.

Before he was sent to prison in 1964, he had this to say: “During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

While he struggled to live up to this claim even as the president of South Africa, most contemporary African leaders have, with the help of their foreign partners, actively fought against this noble vision.

For important discussions on contemporary African political and economic life, take a moment to watch the following videos:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8543712.stm This is based on a discussion with important African leaders recently organized by the BBC

http://www.criticalafricanstudies.ed.ac.uk/index.php/cas/article/view/11/13 This is based on a very important book by the noted Africanist, Patrick Chabal. His book Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument (1999) is followed by Africa: The Politics of Suffering and Smiling (2009). In the video, he introduces the second book.