Product Description

Locating Africa on the global stage, this book examines and compares external involvement in the continent, exploring the foreign policies of major states and international organizations towards Africa.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #223702 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review

'Not only provides a detailed analysis of the of the policy-making process related to Africa in seven countries of the North (US, Britain, France, China, Russia, Canada and Japan) but also focuses on the role of key international organizations (World Bank, IMF, United Nations and European Union) in shaping the presents and future of the continent.' - Bruck Fikru, Harvard University, in International Affairs

'This very useful collection of essays on the relationships between Africa and the rest of the World take issue with popular constructions of growing African 'marginalisation.' - Anthony Butler, University of Cape Town, in Political Studies Review

From the Back Cover
Africa has long been considered marginal to the world in both economic and political terms. This important volume seeks to rectify this, arguing that over the centuries there has been a continual flow of both ideas and goods between Africa, Europe, Asia, and later the Americas. Indeed, Africa has never existed apart from world politics, but has been unavoidably entangled in the ebb and flow of events and changing configurations of power.
Africa in International Politics examines and compares external involvement in the continent, exploring the foreign policies of major states and international organisations towards it. Drawing on critical approaches from International Relations, International Political Economy and Security Studies, the book sets out a framework for understanding Africa's place in world politics and provides detailed analyses of the major external states and international organisations currently influencing African politics. At the same time, Africa is viewed as a player in its own right whose behaviour and agency acts to define, in many cases, the policies and even identities of external agents.
This book provides the first comprehensive, critical and up-to-date analysis of the policies of the major external actors towards Africa after the Cold War. The chapters focus on the policies of the United States, the UK, France, China, Russia, Japan and Canada, as well as the European Union, International Financial Institutions and United Nations peacekeeping.

About the Author
Ian Taylor is a senior lecturer in African politics at the University of Botswana and a visiting research fellow in the Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Paul Williams is a lecturer in security studies at the University of Birmingham, UK.