Tongkeh Fowale
Articles by Tongkeh Fowale
January 27, 2009
Introduction
The excitement and jubilation with which Africa greeted Barack Obama´s victory as 44th President of the United States of America suggests the continent´s expectations of Obama. It also reveals the hidden passion and desire of the "forgotten continent" to be seen and heard. To have a ...
October 09, 2008
Introduction
Africa entered the 21st century with immeasurable optimism, hope and the promise of a bright future after decades of chaos. This new-found optimism in the hitherto "forgotten continent" was rooted on developments unfolding within Africa and on the international scene. "African re...
September 19, 2008
Listening to Chinese and African leaders pronounce so passionately about Sino-African relations, one gets the impression that the citizens of China and Africa now walk hand in hand in that kind of love, peace and harmony which is preached only by the Holy Bible. Advocates of this alliance have blo...
July 30, 2008
Introduction
There is nothing as glorious in the history of resistance to colonial oppression as seeing one man being able to successfully combine the will to resist, the ability to resist and the opportunity to resist, to finally win independence for his country. This is how heroes are creat...
July 22, 2008
The road to the east has been "heavily" traveled by African leaders since the beginning of the 21st century. It might be too early to judge how much salvation Asia holds for Africa, but every keen observer will agree without hesitation that the compass of African diplomacy is now facing east. Th...
June 07, 2008
Introduction
The struggle against oppression was the central thesis of Frantz Fanon´s revolutionary philosophy. And colonialism was the target of this fury. Fanon condemned colonialism in the most bitter terms and advocated violence in its most extreme form to confront this plague. In hi...
May 08, 2008
Introduction
If conference diplomacy, international summits and high level state visits were any solutions to underdevelopment, African problems, especially poverty would have ended abruptly at the beginning of the 21st century. This century opened with renewed interest in a continent that has ...
Third World Order VS New World Order. Sino-African economic cooperation, challenges to globalisation
April 08, 2008
Introduction
Africa´s rise to prominence in the geopolitics of the 21st century is explained largely by the renewal of great power interest in the region of the world once dismissed as the "forgotten continent." This great power concern reproduces the same power-play which is reminiscent...
March 20, 2008
"The battle for influence in the world between the West and China should not be Africa´s problem. Our continent is in a hurry to build infrastructure, affordable energy and educate our people…." These are the words of an irritated Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal who apparently smiles at Africa...
February 27, 2008
The African continent today is a showcase for poverty, misery, disease and all the taints and hallmarks of underdevelopment. Way back in 1983, futurist author Paul Kennedy described Africa´s future as being "extraordinarily gloomy." Paul D. Kaplan on his part concluded that Africa was "at the end of...
February 18, 2008
"A scar on the conscience of the world." This is how former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described Africa when he stood at the helm of the European Union. A week before his planned visit to Africa, US president George Bush has echoed a similar message of despair and frustration about Africa. "A...
February 04, 2008
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 were greeted with mixed reaction in Africa. This reaction ranged from outright condemnation of what President Thabo Mbeki called "dastardly acts," to street jubilation and celebration in northern Nigeria and Sudan. Such mixed...
January 30, 2008
Africa and Europe are continents held together by history and geography. They are also held apart by extreme levels of development and power. This diametrical relationship is explained by one historical phenomenon-colonialism. Colonialism did what the Slave Trade left undone in ravaging Africa. It f...
January 25, 2008
One of the most dramatic revolutions in contemporary African diplomacy is the consolidation of firm ties with China. Though this relationship dates back to the founding of the Peoples´ Republic of China in 1949, Sino-African cooperation has moved through major historical moments to its p...
January 15, 2008
Containment was the brand name for US policy towards Africa throughout the Cold War. It was inspired by economic, political as well as strategic considerations. Containment aimed principally at preventing communist incursions into Africa while protecting America´s vital interests in the cont...
January 07, 2008
The land crisis in Zimbabwe stands distinct from many other crises in Africa for many reasons. Firstly, the ramifications of this crisis have spilled across national, regional and continental boundaries. It is now a point of disagreement between the great powers – US, Britain, European Union (EU...
January 04, 2008
The invasion of Iraq by the US on 20th March 2003 is without doubt the most controversial debate in the US Congress in recent years. It occupies a central position in American politics and remains the main bone of contention between Republicans and Democrats. The progress report presented by Gener...
January 03, 2008
The fever of migration that has gripped the African continent for decades bears a striking relationship with the level of economic and political deterioration in the continent. Europe (and to a lesser extent), America continue to wrestle with the problem of African migration. The plight of African m...