Introduction

In most accounts of the history of the twentieth century it is fair to say that references to Africa are often few and far between. Arguably this is because the prevailing image in the West of the continent is that it is one locked in an endless cycle of corruption, poverty and political violence, which brings misery to Africans but has little impact on international politics as a whole.

However, it is wrong to see Africa in this simplistic way, for the history of the continent involves some of the key themes of the second half of the twentieth century, such as the end of European imperialism, the debate about underdevelopment and the degree to which the Cold War paradigm dominated international politics. Indeed, few areas of the world have changed so drastically in a political sense since 1945. When the Second World War came to an end, Africa remained very largely under the control of European imperial Powers and with no prospect of independence being offered in the immediate future. Yet within the space of twenty years most of the continent had thrown off the shackles of direct colonial rule, and by 1994 the last vestiges of white minority rule had disappeared completely with the collapse of apartheid. In addition, Africa is important because it is seen so often in the West as a prime example of how Third World poverty perpetuates itself. This naturally raises the question of why this should be so. Has Africa simply been singularly unfortunate in its rulers since independence? Or are its problems the result of the global Cold

War and the machinations of international capitalism? Or is it that the factors that have led to endemic corruption and instability are inextricably linked to its colonial past?

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Source: Best Antony. International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Routledge,2008. — 638 p.. 2008

Introduction

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