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Britain in Africa (African Arguments) PDF

169 Pages·2008·0.91 MB·English
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About the author Tom Porteous has worked and travelled exten- sively in Africa as a journalist, UN peacekeeping official and UK diplomat. In the 1980s and early 1990s he was a freelance correspondent for the Guardian, the BBC and others, first in Cairo and later in Berlin and Morocco. In 1994 and 1995 he worked in UN peace operations in Somalia and Liberia. From 1995 to 2000 he was a programme producer, presenter and editor at the BBC World Service, working on Africa and the Middle East. From 2001 to 2003 he was the conflict manage- ment adviser at the Africa directorate of the British Foreign Office. He is currently the London Director of Human Rights Watch. African Arguments African Arguments is a series of short books about Africa today. Aimed at the growing number of students and general readers who want to know more about the continent, these books highlight many of the longer-term strategic as well as immediate political issues confronting the African continent. They get to the heart of why Africa is the way it is and how it is changing. The books are scholarly but engaged, substantive as well as topical. Series editors alex de waal, Social Science Research Council richard dowden, Executive Director, Royal African Society Editorial board emmanuel akyeampong, Harvard University tim allen, London School of Economics and Political Science akwe amosu, Open Society Institute breyten breytenbach, Gorée Institute craig calhoun, Social Science Research Council peter da costa, journalist and development specialist william gumede, journalist and author alcinda honwana, Open University abdul mohammed, InterAfrica Group robert molteno, editor and publisher Titles already published Tim Allen, Trial Justice: The International Criminal Court and the Lord’s Resistance Army Alex de Waal, AIDS and Power: Why There is No Political Crisis – Yet Raymond W. Copson, The United States in Africa: Bush Policy and Beyond Chris Alden, China in Africa Tom Porteous, Britain in Africa Julie Flint and Alex de Waal, Darfur: A New History of a Long War (expanded and updated edition) Forthcoming Jonathan Glennie, Aid and Africa: Getting it Right Peter Uvin, Life after Violence: A People’s Story of Burundi Published by Zed Books and the IAI with the support of the following organizations: InterAfrica Group The InterAfrica Group is the regional centre for dialogue on issues of development, democracy, conflict resolution and humanitarianism in the Horn of Africa. It was founded in 1988 and is based in Addis Ababa, with programmes supporting democracy in Ethiopia and partnership with the African Union and IGAD. <www.sas. upenn.edu/African_Studies/ Hornet/menu_Intr_Afr.html> International African Institute The International African Institute’s principal aim is to promote scholarly understanding of Africa, notably its changing societies, cultures and languages. Founded in 1926 and based in London, it supports a range of seminars and publications including the journal Africa. <www.internationalafricaninstitute.org> Justice Africa Justice Africa initiates and supports African civil society activities in support of peace, justice and demo cracy in Africa. Founded in 1999, it has a range of activities relating to peace in the Horn of Africa, HIV/AIDS and democracy, and the African Union. <www.j usticeafrica.org> Royal African Society Now more than a hundred years old, the Royal African Society today is Britain’s leading organization prom oting Africa’s cause. Through its journal, African Affairs, and by organ izing meetings, discussions and other activities, the society strengthens links between Africa and Britain and encourages understanding of Africa and its relations with the rest of the world. <www.royalafricansociety.org> Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council brings much-needed expert knowledge to public issues. Founded in 1923 and based in New York, it brings together researchers, prac titioners and policymakers in every continent. <www.ssrc.org> tom porteous Britain in Africa Zed Books london | new york University of KwaZulu-Natal Press pietermaritzburg, south africa in association with International African Institute Royal African Society Social Science Research Council Britain in Africa was first published in association with the Inter- national African Institute, Royal African Society and Social Science Research Council in 2008 by: in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Private Bag x01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa, [email protected] in the rest of the world, Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London n1 9jf, uk and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010, usa www.zedbooks.co.uk www.ukznpress.co.za www.internationalafricaninstitute.org www.royalafricansociety.org www.ssrc.org Copyright © Tom Porteous, 2008 The right of Tom Porteous to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accord ance with the Copy right, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. Cover designed by Andrew Corbett Set in OurType Arnhem and Futura Bold by Ewan Smith, London index: <[email protected]> Printed and bound in the EU by Gutenberg Press Ltd, Malta Distributed in the usa exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin’s Press, llc, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library us cip data are available from the Library of Congress isbn 978 1 84277 975 0 hb (Zed Books) isbn 978 1 84277 976 7 pb (Zed Books) isbn 978 1 86914 149 3 pb (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press) Contents Acknowledgements | viii Abbreviations | ix Introduction . . . . . . . 1 1 The players . . . . . . . . 5 2 The policy. . . . . . . . 53 3 Limits of leverage . . . . 100 4 Futures . . . . . . . . . 135 Notes | 147 Further reading | 150 Index | 153 Acknowledgements This book is not the product of academic research but of my experience as a journalist, diplomat and human rights activist working on Africa over twenty years. The book emerged from an article I wrote on British policy in Africa, published in International Affairs in March 2005. Richard Dowden, the Director of the Royal African Society, suggested that I turn the article into a book. I am indebted to him not only for his encouragement but also for his concise and insightful comments on the first drafts of the manuscript. I am also grateful to my other editors, Alex de Waal, Robert Molteno and Ellen McKinlay, for the time and effort they put into reading the manuscript and for their sharp and useful suggestions. Andrew Mawson, my colleague at Human Rights Watch, and Sally Healy, my former colleague at the FCO, were among several others who also very kindly gave up their time to read the manuscript and comment on it. Although I have greedily adopted many of the ideas and suggestions of my editors and other readers, I accept full responsibil- ity for the analysis presented here as well as for any errors of judgement or fact. Finally I acknowledge a debt of gratitude to my parents, to my sons, and to my wife, Niloofar. viii Abbreviations AU African Union BAE British Aerospace BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIA Central Intelligence Agency CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement (in Sudan) DfID Department for International Development DR Congo Democratic Republic of Congo EC European Commission EU European Union FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office G8 Group of Eight industrialized countries ICC International Criminal Court ICU Islamic Courts Union IMF International Monetary Fund MoD Ministry of Defence NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NEPAD New Partnership for African Development NGO non-governmental organization OAU Organization of African Unity ODA Overseas Development Administration OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development RUF Revolutionary United Front (Sierra Leone’s rebel movement) SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army UN United Nations ix

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Why has Africa become such an important priority for Britain's foreign policy? What interests and values is the UK seeking to uphold? Why has aid to Africa more than tripled over the past decade? How has the UK's involvement in the War on Terror affected its efforts there? In Britain in Africa, Tom
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