The Place of Africa in the International Community: Prospects and Obstacles

摘要

This paper traces the evolution of Africa’s engagement from the pre-Cold war era to date demonstrating the ways through which Africa has attempted to gain a foothold in the international arena. The key question that we seek to answer is whether Africa has the political clout to change the dynamics of engagement in international institutions and whether that clout is enough in terms of influence and policy outcomes. For Africa to become an important actor in international politics, it must strategically use its numbers and the shared history to overcome the challenges of lack of economic and military power which forces it to enter into agreements with high and mid-level powers as well as multinational corporations that undermines their capacity to influence affairs at the global arena. This will most likely be achieved through pushing for the reform of the international system and integrating their approach of relation with external actors.