In light of President Obama’s recent tour of Africa, Cornell University has made two experts available to discuss the implications of the visit.
Nicolas van de Walle, chair of Cornell University’s government department, is an expert in comparative politics who focuses his research on democratization and the politics of reform in Africa.
He says:
“Obama's first trip to Africa in four years was long overdue. Once viewed as a basket case, the region now boasts half a dozen of the world's fastest growing countries, and, with over a billion people, it represents a huge potential market.
“China has aggressively courted the region, and now boasts twice the American level of trade with the region. Yet American policy to the region has focused mostly on limited humanitarian and security concerns and has long lacked ambition or vision.
“Obama's visit seems unlikely to change this state of affairs, as it has skirted new initiatives and has largely focused on symbolic actions, such as visiting the prison in which Nelson Mandela was long held prisoner, or Goree Island in Senegal, from which African slaves left for the Americas. Perhaps this accounts for the much more muted response of Africans for this visit, compared with four years ago, when the President was received with unbridled enthusiasm.”
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Muna Ndulo is a professor of law and director of the Cornell Institute for African Development.
He says:
“Obama, while acknowledging the positive good economic news coming out of Africa, reminded Africans that a lot still remains to be done and the progress thus far remains fragile. He reminded Africa that economic development is achieved through the productive employment of labor and full utilization of natural resources.
“Development cannot be achieved without substantial outlays of capital. It requires a healthy, well-nourished and educated population that is able to effectively participate in the economy. And it requires technology and the development of competitive goods, which Africa can sell to the rest of the world.
“For investment to flow and for trade to flourish, Africa needs good governance. That is, governments that are based on the rule of law, uncorrupt and gender equal.”
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