Free At Last? / Edition 1

by Michael Clough

Overview

With the end of the Cold War, the United States has an unprecedented opportunity to create a new policy toward Africa freed from the constraints of East-West geopolitics.
In Free at Last?, Michael Claugh provides a comprehensive overview of U.S.-Africa relations from World War II to the present: he surveys past American initiatives to illustrate how U.S. policy, intent on containing Soviet expansion, benefited African rulers at the expense of African civil society. He also discusses the declining importance of U.S. strategic and economic interests in Africa and how this is counterbalanced by the growing interest of American constituencies focused on such issues as humanitarian relief, human rights, and the environment.
Clough proposes abandoning traditional, government-to- government diplomatic approaches in favor of a radical new strategy modeled on the successes achieved in combating famine in Ethiopia and ending apartheid in South Africa. Offering an unconventional look at U.S. policy, Free at Last? is absorbing and essential reading for anyone concerned with both U.S.- Africa relations and the future of U.S. policy toward the Third World.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780876091043
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	06/01/1992
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 6.00(d)

About the Author

Michael Clough is Senior Fellow for Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
1.	Introduction	1
2.	Geopolitics and Africa	5
3.	U.S. Economic Interests in Africa	14
4.	African Images and African Realities	20
5.	U.S. Domestic Constituencies	26
6.	Changing American Realities	40
7.	Changing International Realities	54
8.	The Limits of U.S. Economic Power in Africa	63
9.	The Global Reach of American Society	68
10.	A Dismal Balance Sheet	76
11.	Models of Success	101
12.	Strengthening Civil Society in Africa	110
13.	A New U.S. Policy Toward Africa	117
	Notes	125
	Index	136