ARTICLE: "Colonial-Era Ties to Africa Face a Reckoning in France: Secretive and Powerful Cell Suffers Blows As Controversies Grow," by David Gauthier-Villars, Wall Street Journal, 16 May 2007, p. A1.
France has long used its residual forces in Africa to make sure its former colonies continue to give it privileged access to raw materials and energy and precious commodities there--same old same old.
Now, with the scandals piling up and Sarkozy poised to clean some house, France's minor key SysAdmin role in Africa appears to wind down, leaving the continent to whom?
Already, the U.S., India and China are investing heavily in Africa, hovering around what's left of French-controlled riches on the continent.
Now, with Africom poised to stand up, we see the real shift from Old Core to New Core begin in Africa, with America naturally aligned with this era's frontier-integrating economies: India and China.
So yeah, shrinking the Gap is not some dream. It's right on schedule.
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Comments (2)
Any predictions as to which country in Africa will lead the way? Probably Kenya because of the Anglo-Indian connections (USA too if Obama becomes either Pres or VP), but I've also thought of Botswana and Tanzania as possilbities because of their proximity to South Africa and my impression that they have somewhat interesting political structures.
Posted by stuart abrams | May 16, 2007 12:10 PM
As your article hints, "SysAdmin" is a very generous term to apply to the history of the French presence in Africa.
Posted by Fred Zimmerman | May 17, 2007 12:22 PM