Africa and Globalization

Abstract

Africa and Globalization* ANSUDATTA Globalization has become the buzz of 'respectable', if snooty, ivory tower talk often couched in esoteric phraseology, or adulated pretentiously in flamboyant addresses at international forums. Yet the term seems to have several referents, with a yawning divide between those waxing eloquent over its 'virtues' and the 'noisy' demonstrators of Seattle, Davos, and New York. This essay has two objectives. It aims, in the flrst place, to examine the extent to which Africa has been incorporated in the global system and progressed along the development path, said to be a complementary and ancillary aspect of globalization. The second objective is to probe the element of reciprocity in the globalization process. Globalization shapes Africa like any other continent. But is this a one-way movement? Does not Africa have a role to play in globalization, to give the process its own distinctive imprint, a direction to suit the needs of millions of Africans? If such a thing has not been happening, what could be the reasons? The essay will explore the importance of the factors that are said to hamper Africa's potential impact on globalization. Some of the issues surrounding pan-Africanism, an instrument to project African identity on the international scene, are subjected to an in-depth analysis in the exercise. Africa's futegration into the World System The UNDP' s Human Development Report of 1999 seeks to set out the distinctive features of all that is currently subsumed under 'globalization'-new markets, new tools, new actors, and new rules. Under new markets should be mentioned the uninterrupted operation of foreign exchange and capital markets, the daily turnover of which is

Development in Africa

“…Globalization also contributed to the economic success of Sub‐Saharan Africa, though some have noted that globalization's contribution to development has not been matched by a corresponding contribution to poverty reduction (see, for example, Datta 2002; Stiglitz 2002). Capital seeks profit‐making opportunities, and the economies of poor developing nations often have greater growth potential than the economies of already industrially advanced nations.…”