Sabbath Observers and the Punishment of Dissidents: African Leaders and the Western Battle for International Dominance

Year 2011, Volume: 10 Issue: 4, 65 - 86, 01.08.2011

Blessing Simura And Kudzaishe Marecha Blessing Simura

Abstract

Liberation leaders in Africa rose due to the promise of freedom and emancipation not only politically but economically. However, given the fact that independence in most states was acquired not through the barrel of the gun, Africa only attained political independence. Any attempt to change the economic status-quo was met with wroth from the erstwhile colonial masters as well as international institutions. Leaders who tried to push for economic emancipation where/are attacked with all the ammunition at the disposal and their economies are made to scream in order to scare others from such an act. The paper argues most African leaders, given the above scenario, tried to please the Western leaders more at the expense of the African peoples. The Western leaders have always continued to be driven by the desire to maintain their hegemony in international affairs and have to do anything that would make them retain the power. Due to the fact that such power is sometimes attained through the use of military invasion, other smaller states have decided to amass deterrent weapons to protect themselves. The paper notes that this has brought the world into an era of 'Realist Interdependence'. The paper concludes by analyzing the nature of the concept of the 'International Community' and concludes that while the concept should be inclusive, currently its meaning and application is selective and exclusionary in favour of the Western states.

Keywords

Independence, Liberation, African Leaders, International Community, Realist Interdependence