Timothy M. Shaw

Discontinuities and Inequalities in African International Politics

The development of international politics in Africa displays both continuities and discontinuities. This. article questions two assumptions or myths about the African international system which involve continuities and discontinuities of both history and structure. Firstly, I suggest that Africa does have a tradition of interstate relations dating back to pre-colonial interaction and that analysis of contemporary statecraft should therefore be supplemented with an understanding of the established norms of African diplomacy. Secondly, I propose that the myth of the equality of African states should be replaced by a recognition of the growth of international stratification on the continent. These related propositions indicate that Africa is neither a new nor an egalitarian international subsystem, but rather that it has always been characterized by inequalities. So this essay is both retrospective and prospective: focussing on the origins and impact of international inequalities in Africa, and analysing the new diversity of actors, coalitions, and interests on the continent. Inequality among African states is a function of both their own resources and their international relations. Although we do not deal with the issue here, interstate inequality on the continent is also related to the growth of inequalities within African states. Moreover, the development of international politics in Africa is based on a series of paradoxes. These cluster around the basic

Regional Co-Operation and Conflict in Africa

The growth of both co-operation and conflict among the states of Africa is illustrative of the trend towards regionalism in world politics.1 The current international system contains a large number and rich diversity of actors. Most new countries are essentially regional states; although they are dependent on international exchange, their primary foreign policy concerns are concentrated at the regional level. The immediate issues which African states face are security and development within their region. The problems of strategic vulnerability and the possibilities for economic growth are both located at this level. The states of Africa have increased their military expenditures and development plans to incorporate regional threats and opportunities. Their tenuous independence has been protected and advanced through regional conflict and co-operation as well as through participation in the non-aligned coalition in international organizations and at world conferences.

Review: Africa: Southern Africa, Interdependence in Southern AfricaSOUTHERN AFRICA The Escalation of a Conflict: A Politico-Military Study Stockholm: SIPRI, 1976, x, 235pp, Sw.Kr.76.50INTERDEPENDENCE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Trade and Transport Links in South, Central and East Africa Economist Intelligence Unit London: Economist Intelligence Unit Special Report 32, July 1976, 93pp

mental respect. Most of the whites are not gentle people, anxious to do justice to blacks but prevented from doing so only by legitimate fears for their own survival. White privilege and white prosperity are central concerns and to protect both most electors have condoned and routinely endorsed at election time a massive system of official violence. While numbers of whites have expressed moral uneasiness at the resulting excesses, most have been depressingly easy to reassure. One should also emphasize, as Brotz does only peripherally, the outlook of the non-white leaders. It is clear that for most, even the moderates among them, the time for dialogue is rapidly passing.

Review: International Politics and Organization: Social Change, Charisma and International BehaviourSOCIAL CHANGE, CHARISMA AND INTERNATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Toward a Theory of Foreign Policy-making in the Third World KoranyBahgatLeiden: A.W. Sijthoff & Noordhoff International Publishers, 1976, xxiv, 460pp, US

different audience made up of advanced, practising researchers. Unfortunately, this book is also unlikely to be of much interest to them. And they do not, of course, need Sullivans appendix or his other attempts at simplification. Among students of the causes of war, those who are relatively sophisticated in the use of quantitative methods might better skip this book, and go directly to Dina Zinness Contemporary Research in International Relations. Teachers may find some usefulness in Sullivans various bibliographical references, though they cover only material published before 1974. Everyone else will be better off sticking with Kenneth Waltz. On the basis of Sullivans attempt, we can be sure it will be quite a while yet before we see Son of Man, the State, and War.