Published: 1 September 2008
Air & Space Power
Journal - Fall 2008
A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa by Howard W. French. Alfred A. Knopf (http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/home.pperl), 1745 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, 2004, 304 pages, $25.00 (hardcover); 2005, 280 pages, $15.00 (trade paperback).
A Continent for the Taking gives insight into the instability and corruption that have held Africa back from proper governance and sustainable development since the era of independence. The author, Howard W. French, argues not only that instability is the result of poor African leaders but also that despite the United States’ intermittent involvement on the continent, it has never had a sound Africa policy. French contends that although Washington isn’t culpable for most of Africa’s problems, “it would be dishonest to pretend there is no link between what has perhaps been the least accountable and least democratically run compartment of America’s foreign policy—African affairs—and the undemocratic fortunes of the continent” (p. 107). Catchphrases such as “Trade, Not Aid” and “African Solutions for African Problems” were used during the 1990s to mollify critics—both domestic and foreign—of America’s strategy (or lack thereof). The author sets out to show how these glossy slogans were a thin veil for the missteps of administrations that did not truly understand or care about Africa.Having spent several years of his young-adult life in Africa and then more years (1994–98) as the New York Times bureau chief, French is able to give a nuanced analysis of the role that indigenous politics, military forces, and foreign involvement play in the stability of west and central Africa. Early in the book, the author points out that trying to lump all of Africa together is to oversimplify; he therefore discusses only a portion of the continent. The title of the book is misleading for two reasons. First, the author’s in-depth analysis covers only Nigeria, Liberia, Mali, and the Congo. Second, although he may be able to reflect on his time spent in Africa in a positive light, his book’s “hope [for] Africa” is only implicit (if it exists at all). French compensates for any lack of breadth in the book through insight into and access to pivotal events in the area covered.
He argues that the United States’ steadfast support for corrupt and brutal dictators during the Cold War, motivated by our own strategic interests, had nothing to do with African democracy. In fact it worked to the countries’ detriment: harsh rulers maintained the appearance of stability for a short while but simultaneously sowed the seeds for future destabilization. American ties to leaders such as Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Mobutu Sese Seko (Congo, at that time Zaire), Idi Amin Dada (Uganda), Hastings Kamuzu Banda (Malawi), Samuel Kanyon Doe (Liberia), and Jonas Savimbi (Angola) left a disastrous legacy of mutinous civil wars and corruption.
French had incredible access to leaders at all levels of African government, and his interviews with them gave him a well-informed, strategic view of the situation. This strategic perspective is seamlessly interwoven with the author’s anecdotes of interactions with the citizens he encounters during his interviews and perilous travels throughout the continent. French tracks groups of Hutu refugees as they flee Rwandan Tutsi revenge killings. When he first interviews a Zairian Hutu doctor at a refugee camp in Tingi-Tingi, he never imagines that in tracking the remaining refugees’ escape through dense rain forests of Zaire, he would encounter the same man five months and 1,000 miles later in Luokolela. The devastation and killings that French witnessed provide a poignant background for his narrative. This same perspective, however, colors the author’s criticism of the Clinton administration’s failure to intervene in the slayings. For all of his intimately detailed discussions of the subversive politics in the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, and Mali, French rarely ventures deeply into Washington politics and downplays the American public’s reticence to intervene in Africa after the debacle in Somalia.
As the United States seeks to coordinate its varying economic, political, and humanitarian policy objectives in Africa through the stand-up of Africa Command, this book serves as a warning of the perils attendant upon working in an unstable and corrupt continent with shifting alliances and shaky infrastructure (whose very existence is questionable). Although more anecdotal than classically researched, A Continent for the Taking gives great perspective regarding the inextricable linkages that exist among the government, military, foreign and domestic economic interests, and international aid agencies in any given country in Africa. French’s writing style ensures an entertaining and easy read of this excellent book, which African experts will wish to add to their collection and which someone starting to delve into the continent’s conflicts could utilize as a fantastic primer.
Ashley Lowe
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academicenvironment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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