Transcript Experiments in Political Order: Comparing African Nations

Experiments in Political Order:
Comparing African Nations and India
AP WORLD HISTORY
CHAPTER 23
“INDEPENDENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN
THE GLOBAL SOUTH”
Experiments in Political Order
 Efforts to create political
order across the developing
world had to battle many
conditions:
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Exploding populations
High (and unrealistic)
expectations following
independence
Lack of available resources to
meet these expectations
Diverse populations that had
little loyalty to the new central
state
Large areas with widespread
poverty and weak private
economies
Experiments in Political Order
 Wide range of political
systems were
established throughout
the developing world:
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Communist regimes
Multi-party democracies
One-party democracies
Military regimes
Personal dictatorships and
tyrannies
India’s Political Evolution
 In India = Western-
style democracy
practiced continuously
since independence
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Regular elections
Peaceful changes in
government
Multiple political parties
Civil rights and liberties
A woman voting in the 2008 state election
in India
India’s Political Evolution:
Why Democracy Worked
 Struggle for independence in India
was much longer than struggles in
Africa = gave Indian leaders time to
figure out how they wanted to
structure the new state
 The British gradually gave power
over to the Indians = over several
decades prior to independence in
1947
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Many Indians possessed administrative
and technical skills as a result
 Nationalist movement in India =
within one political party (Congress
Party)
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Committed to democracy
Rejection of Democracy in Africa: Why?
 Theory #1 = Africans just
weren’t ready for
democracy or lacked the
“ingredients” for
democratic politics
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Africa’s traditional culture =
based on communal rather than
individualist values  not
compatible with the
competitiveness of party politics
Lack of an educated electorate,
middle-class, and strong
capitalist economy
Rejection of Democracy in Africa: Why?
 Theory #2 = Democracy
was not an adequate
system for developing a
modern economy
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Competing political parties
(that don’t always agree) =
would slow down the
process of creating national
unity and developing a
modern economy
A little cell phone action…
Rejection of Democracy in Africa: Why?
 The following conditions that
existed within many initial
democratic governments in
Africa undermined popular
support for democracy:
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Example:
Genocide
in
Rwanda
in 1994
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Widespread economic
disappointment
Class resentments due to
increased inequalities and
competition for jobs, housing,
education, etc.
Ethnic conflicts, which sometimes
turned violent
Alternatives to Democracy
 Most common alternative =
government by soldiers
 By the early 1980s = the
military actively governed
about 15 African nations
 These militaries:
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Took power during times of crisis
Claimed the nation was in danger
and that only they could restore
order
Got rid of old political parties
and constitutions
Vowed to return power to
civilians and restore democracy
“at some point”
Military Leaders in Mali
Revival of Democracy in Africa: 1980s
 Failure of authoritarian
governments to fix disastrous
economic situations became
evident
 Variety of grassroots movements
began that demanded
democratic change in order to
better their lives:
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Nigerian Voter in 2011
Disaffected students, religious
organizations, urban workers,
women’s groups
 Encouragement from world
events  End of apartheid in
South Africa; fall of
communism; etc.
Experiments in Economic Development:
Changing Priorities, Varying Outcomes
AP WORLD HISTORY
CHAPTER 23
“INDEPENDENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN
THE GLOBAL SOUTH”
Obstacles to Economic Development
 Most societies = sharply divided
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by class, religion, ethnic group,
and gender
Explosive population growth
In most places = colonial rule had
provided only the most basic
foundations for modern
development (if anything at all)
Low literacy rates
Few people with managerial
experience
Weak private economies
Inefficient transportation systems
Little leverage with the wealthy
nations of the Global North
The Role of the State
 Most people expected that
state authorities would
take responsibility for
developing the economy
 Why?
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Private economies = weakly
developed
Entrepreneurs = didn’t have
funds to invest
Successful Soviet
industrialization under state
direction = hopeful
State control = could protect
people against the inequalities
that came with capitalism
The Role of the State
 In the late 20th century, the
support for state-directed
economies faded and more people
began to favor market economies
 Why?
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Collapse of the Soviet Union = the
world’s first state-dominated economy
Evident failure, mismanagement, and
corruption of many state-run
enterprises
International organizations (like the
World Bank) = pushed developing
countries in a capitalist direction
 The switch to market economies
led to rapid economic growth in
many nations (ex: China and
India), but it also created
inequalities and social conflict
Issues with Economic Development
 “Urban bias” = too much focus on
city-based industrial development
and neglect or exploitation of rural
areas and agriculture
 “Male bias” = encouraging men to
work in modern industries and
women to work in agriculture
 Debate over capital and
technology-drive projects versus
investment in “human capital”
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Capital-driven projects = dams,
factories, etc.
“Human capital” investment =
education, technical training, health
care, nutrition, etc.
Issues with Economic Development
 Benefits versus
drawbacks of foreign aid,
investment, and trade
 Every economic decision
(where to locate schools,
factories, etc.) was
political
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Always resulted in winners
and losers in terms of power,
advantage, and wealth
Varied Results of Economic Experiments
 Various reasons for such
sharp differences in
economic results:
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Cocoa Farming in Ghana
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Durban, South Africa
Geography and natural resources
Differing colonial experiences
Variations in regional cultures
Degree of political stability and
social equality
State economic policies
Population growth rates
Varying forms of involvement
with the world economy
Varied Results of Economic Experiments
Successful Economic Growth
Little to No Economic Growth
East Asian countries  ex: South
Most of Africa
Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong,
CHINA!
India  growing high-tech sector and
middle class
Most of the Arab world
Oil-producing countries  especially
since the 1970s when demand for oil
skyrocketed
Parts of Asia
Several Latin American countries 
ex: Chile, Brazil