External Intervention In Africa

The 1960s and 70s brought forth a wave of decolonization in the Africa, but it did not mark the end of external intervention in the African continent. As Elizabeth Schmidt states, “the predicaments that plague the continent today are not solely the result of African decisions but also the consequence of foreign intrusion into African affairs” (1). Over recent decades, foreign intrusion in Africa has taken on multiple forms: from explicit political intervention, economic aid, and humanitarian relief, Western as well as Eastern countries remain a critical player in Africa’s political and economic growth and collapse, leaving many wondering if Africa’s colonial days truly ended during the decade of decolonization. External intervention, in …show more content…
Rather, the “Cold War powers strove to shape a new international world order” (Schmidt, 2) brought significant changes to African countries’ political and economic structures. As Crawford suggests, African political economies were influenced by international ideology and performance, as they chose between the Afro-capitalist, Afro-Marxist, and populist socialist models. During this period, countries such as Angola who aligned with Afro-Marxism, received large amounts of military, economic, as well as social support, as Cuba sent troops as well as teachers to the West African country. However, in African history, no two countries can better exemplify the impact that indirect external factors (mainly money) had on African alliances than the case of Somalia and Ethiopia, as both countries eagerly switched between Marxist and capitalist ideologies depending on which superpower fueled their regional …show more content…
The recent trend began in 1991 when Somalia suffered from crippling famine during the Somali Civil War, and attracted American involvement through the basis of humanitarian aid. Since then Western celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Michelle Obama have used their public platform to bring African crisis and need to the public, including George Clooney’s recent Op-Ed titled “War crimes shouldn’t pay in South Sudan” which urges international leaders to end the war in Sudan. But what much of the public doesn’t realize is even humanitarian aid often has debilitating effects on the African continent. During the Somali civil war in 1991, NGOs and for-profit humanitarian witnessed how external involvement on the African continent can inadvertently supply and support smaller militia groups – and in turn fuel an already devastating