Brookings Press Blog

A look into Africa: Robert Rothberg discusses governance and leadership

The principles of global governance, and what it means for the rest of us

In an interview with The Africa Group [pdf], Robert Rotberg underscores the importance of engaging developing regions such as Botswana, Ethiopia and Nigeria in the rising value of principles in the world order. Rotberg discusses the transformation of Africa and China, stating, “China will continue to have a profound influence in the development of Africa. Africa, however, needs to develop a multilateral, collective response to China’s involvement.” He adds that though Africa is not immune to the current global meltdown, there are still good opportunities in some sectors for African development. What this means is economic growth for Africa and for better relations between Africa and the rest of the world. But as China submerges itself into the African government, there is a chance that this evolving symbiosis will make Africa the poorest and most troubled continent, while it further powers China’s expansive economic machine.

In the book China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence, Rotberg and a team of renowned scholars tackle China’s interest in African oil, military and security relations, the influx and goals of Chinese aid to sub-Saharan Africa, human rights issues, and China’s overall strategy toward Africa. They outline Africa’s chance for poverty alleviation in the developing regions through a system that promises to do more than anything attempted by Western colonialism or international aid programs.

Rotberg further addresses the issue in his latest book, Corruption, Global Security, and World Order. In collaboration with a distinguished group of contributors, he discusses the global ramifications and implications of deeply embedded corruption in various nations.

Robert I. Rotberg is director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and president of the World Peace Foundation. Rotberg has authored and edited numerous books, on Africa and global governance including Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations (Brookings & World Peace Foundation, 2007) and Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: the Tribulations of Southern Africa 1960-2000 (World Peace Foundation, 2001).

- Learn more about China into Africa

- Learn more about Corruption, Global Security, and World Order

- Read the full interview with Mamao Mihretu of The Africa Group [pdf]

Beyond Humanitarianism: What You Need to Know about Africa and Why It Matters

New volume deconstructs the complexities of Africa

From Mugabe’s Zimbabwe to conflict in the Horn, Africa has moved off the back burner of U.S. foreign policy. In 2006 the Council on Foreign Relations published a Task Force report that, according to the U.S. Department of State, “raised the profile of Africa among policymakers.” Now the Council and Foreign Affairs, its signature journal, bring us Beyond Humanitarianism, a citizen’s guide to deconstructing the complex issues and conflicts on the African continent.

Frequently, discussions of Africa have a limited approach and center primarily upon internal conflict. Beyond Humanitarianism moves beyond this conventional framework. It serves as a primer on the issues that are in the news—as well as those that are not. It also provides an excellent introduction to debates about the future of the continent and the U.S.-Africa relationship.

Beyond Humanitarianism initiates a dialogue on issues that are under the radar but demand the attention of both policymakers and citizens. For example, one chapter highlights the existing and potential influence of Africa’s large youth population. In addition, leading members of the task force examine individual countries as case studies that provide insight about present economic conditions, electoral policies, institutions of democracy, and regional conflicts. The conclusion offers applicable ideas to craft the U.S.’s response, thereby helping engineer future relationships, which foster sustainability in political and economic arenas of Africa.

This book is part of the Caravan Project, which expands access to books by offering titles in a range of formats—traditional as well as audio, large print, and e-books.

- Learn more about Beyond Humanitarianism.

- Learn more about the Caravan Project.

Global Trade and Poor Nations

New book assesses the impact of reformed trade policies on the world’s poorest nations

Global Trade and Poor Nations presents the likely effects of global trade reform on seven of the poorest countries in the world. The contributors, led by editors Bernard M. Hoekman and Marcelo Olarreaga, take into consideration the reforms agreed upon under the auspices of the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round and investigate the economic changes that would likely arise. The seven selected nations (Bolivia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Zambia) represent a geographical and cultural cross-section of countries, allowing the analysis presented in the book to reach more than just one localized area of international trade policy. The researched showed that trade liberalization can potentially be a powerful catalyst for economic growth, which is crucial to mitigating poverty and sparking development.

The new book is published in conjunction with the Groupe d’Economie Mondiale at Sciences-Po, Paris and the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization (YCSG). YCSG strives to examine “the impact of our increasingly integrated world” on every level: individual, local, and national. The Center disseminates its cutting-edge analysis in the hopes of ultimately linking “academia and the policy world.” The current director of the YCSG, Ernesto Zedillo, who writes the foreword for Global Trade and Poor Nations, was preceded by current Brookings President Strobe Talbott.

- Learn more about Global Trade and Poor Nations.

- Learn more about the Groupe d’Economie Mondiale at Sciences-Po.

- Learn more about the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.

Worst of the Worst

New book from Brookings and the World Peace Foundation examines repressive and rogue nations

Repressive regimes tyrannize their own citizens and threaten global stability and order. Worst of the Worst identifies and characterizes the world’s most odious states and singles out which repressors are aggressive and, hence, can truly be called rogues. Robert I. Rotberg and his colleagues define the actions that constitute repression and propose a method of measuring human rights violations. They offer an index of nation-state repressiveness, classifying “gross repressors,” “high repressors,” and “aggressive repressors” or “rogues” on a ten-point scale. Based on arms and drug trafficking, support of terror, possession of weapons of mass destruction, and crossborder attacks, this valuable diagnostic tool will guide the international community in crafting effective policies to deal with injustice in the developing world. The repressors and rogues profiled include Belarus, Burma, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.

- Learn more about Worst of the Worst.

Essential Reading

Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa

Early this week, U.S. forces attacked alleged al-Qaeda forces in Somalia. This was the first American military action taken there since the ill-fated 1993 mission depicted in "Black Hawk Down." Will further actions be needed? For a detailed look at the threats and the realities of terrorism in that troubled part of the world—including Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Kenya and the Sudan—read Robert Rotberg's Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa (Brookings Institution Press & the World Peace Foundation).

- Learn more about Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa.