Nation-Building & Democracy inAfrica & the Middle East

Decolonization

Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference (1884-5) "The Berlin Conference was Africa's undoing in more ways than one.

The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African continent. By the time independence returned to Africa in 1950, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily." (H.J. de Blij and Peter O. Muller, Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts (1997) p. 340).

In 1884 at the request of Portugal, German chancellor Otto von Bismark called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and end confusion over the control of Africa. Bismark appreciated the opportunity to expand Germany's sphere of influence over Africa and desired to force Germany's rivals to struggle with one another for territory.

Berlin Conference

At the time of the conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional and local control. What ultimately resulted was a hodgepodge of geometric boundaries that divided Africa into fifty irregular countries. This new map of the continent was superimposed over the one thousand indigenous cultures and regions of Africa. The new countries lacked rhyme or reason and divided coherent groups of people and merged together disparate groups who really did not get along.

Fourteen countries were represented by a plethora of ambassadors when the conference opened in Berlin on November 15, 1884. The countries represented at the time included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.

Berlin Conference

The initial task of the conference was to agree that the Congo River and Niger River mouths and basins would be considered neutral and open to trade. Despite its neutrality, part of the Congo Basin became a personal kingdom for Belgium's King Leopold II and under his rule, over half of the region's population died.

At the time of the conference, only the coastal areas of Africa were colonized by the European powers. At the Berlin Conference the European colonial powers scrambled to gain control over the interior of the continent. The conference lasted until February 26, 1885 - a three month period where colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the interior of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic boundaries already established by the indigenous African population.

Following the conference, the give and take continued. By 1914, the conference participants had fully divided Africa among themselves into fifty countries.

Berlin Conference

Major colonial holdings included: – Great Britain desired a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost

succeeded though their control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, and Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana (Rhodesia). The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast).

– France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West Africa) and Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).

– Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo).

– Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.– Italy's holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.– Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East

Africa).– Spain claimed the smallest territory - Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).

Democracy – 4 requirements

Free elections– More than 1 political party; universal suffrage

Citizen participation– High levels of educ/literacy; freedoms of speech, press &

assembly

Majority rule w/ minority rights– All citizens equal before the law; shared national identity;

individual rights

Constitutional govt– Clear laws on which govt is based; educ about how govt works;

national acceptance of majority decisions; policy that no one is above the law

Africa

Like Asia, African nations were unwilling to return to colonial rule after WWII. Problems with nation-building in Africa:– Borders drawn by Europeans for their colonial

needs not for ethnic groups– Resources drained by Europeans– People of Africa not experienced with self-rule

Ghana

Kwame Nkrumah – educated in US; led independence movement; became 1st prime minister/president

1966 while visiting Vietnam, army seized power 2000 1st free elections held Kenya – Jomo Kenyatta, leader of independence

movement – educated London; 1963 became 1st pres. – Nairobi (capital) major business center in Africa

Congo

1960 independence from Belgium Power struggle between two groups (one

asked USSR for aid) Mobutu came to power & renamed country

Zaire; police state; economy should have been fine (mineral wealth) but Mobutu & his cronies robbed the country of billions

Overthrown in 1997; civil war status; no free elections

Algeria

French colony – 1 million French; 9 million Arab muslims 1945 French troops fired on Algerian nationalists; thousands

died in fighting Independence 1962; French settlers fled Ahmed Ben Bella – 1st pres. – land reforms, education

plan, export oil 1965 – overthrown 1988 after economic depression, civil war between

Islamic militants & govt 1997 elections excluded reps from Islamic party; calls for

peace talks; thousands have died

Angola

Portuguese colony- no health, education or economic system

1960s 3 groups struggled to take power – each supported by diff. superpower

Portuguese leave in 1975 w/out formally naming a govt

Communist group seized power Cease-fire 1989 Civil war 1995 – 2000s

Rwanda

German colony, then Belgium colony after WWI The Hutu and Tutsi - two different ethnic groups

of Rwanda based on economic factors – not DNA Agricultural people were considered Hutu Property/cattle-owning elite were considered Tutsi. Belgians had everyone carry an identity card

indicating whether they were Hutu or Tutsi. Tutsis were used by the Belgium govt to run the

colony, as they had been the kings to rule the lands for hundreds of years.

Rwanda –Civil War

Hutu-led revolt in 1959 to establish an independent Hutu-state by 1962, after killing thousands of Tutsis in the process.

1990, Tutsi-led Rwanda Patriotic Front launches a civil war leading to the 1994 genocide– Hutu extremists killed nearly 1 million Tutsis and

moderate Hutus RPF ended the genocide with a military victory for

the Tutsis

Rwandan genocide - 1994

Approx. one million men, women, and children were massacred.

Radio Machetes

Rwanda Today

84% Hutus; 15% Tutsis Parliamentary Republic, gained

independence from Belgium in 1962 Economy is based on subsistence agriculture

– Coffee & tea– Tourism…especially for mountain gorillas

South Africa

Small minority white population – ruled SA Afrikaners (white ruling class) determined to keep

control of SA after independence 1950s laws of APARTHEID – separated blacks &

whites (segregation) Protesters against apartheid laws created ANC -

African National Congress ANC demonstrators were brutally repressed 1962 – leader of anti-apartheid movement – Nelson

Mandela arrested

Nelson Mandela

Mandela served 27 yrs in maximum security prison; wife & children not allowed to see him; his son & mom died – not allowed to attend their funerals

1989 – new white President FW de Klerk elected – wanted to transform SA & end its isolation in the world

1990 ANC was legalized; Mandela released 1994 – Mandela elected President of the Republic of SA Bishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize 1984) worked to

free Mandela & end apartheid World pressures/economic boycotts led to end of apartheid

Mandela & Bishop Tutu

South African democracy today

1996 – new constitution guarantees equal rights to ALL citizens – right to travel freely

Discrimination is forbidden; rights of children are protected

Protects rights for adequate housing, education & healthcare

Women – right to vote & run for political office Few women have been elected Still job & wage discrimination Rural areas – families still choose a woman’s husband

Problems in Africa today

Economic– One crop economies; resources spent on

building up military instead of on education, infrastructure, industrialization, hospitals

– High populations cripple economies – occasional droughts/disease kill millions of people

– Poverty is worse in rural areas– Economic problems lead to political unrest –

civil war

Health problems

AIDS (acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome) epidemic – 2/3 of all people worldwide infected with HIV live in Africa– Impact on children & families – 12 million+

children are orphans because both parents died of AIDS

– Govts do not have enough resources to combat HIV/AIDS

– Uganda has been most successful because Pres. Confronted AIDS immediately & started health & sex education

Political problems

Many African nations that started out as democratic govt after independence have fallen to military dictatorships or one-party states

– Conflict among ethnic groups Nigeria 1960s – Northerners started killing Ibo group – Ibo fled to

Eastern Nigeria & tried to form a separate nation – 2+ yrs of bloody civil war; Ibo lost

Rwanda/Burundi – Hutu & Tutsi people Burundi – Tutsi; Rwanda – Hutu but both groups lived in both countries

1994-Genocide in Rwanda as Hutu majority started ethnic cleansing campaign against Tutsis – Watch Hotel Rwanda!!

– Cold War problems: USSR supported Ethiopia; US set up military bases in Somalia

The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights

After WWII - United Nations wanted to set standards for human rights for all nations of world 10 Articles

– all people born free & equal– no discrimination– right to life, liberty, security– no torture– equality before law– no arbitrary arrests/detentions – genocide

Decolonization of the Middle East after WWII

Syria– Syria attained independence from the French in 1936

French/British protectorate through WWII– Damascus – oldest capital in the world

Lebanon – prosperity - tourism, agriculture & banking capital of the Arab world

Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990 Immediately following the end of the war, there were

extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict - civilian and military

casualties, extensive damage to infrastructure, and massive population displacement (mostly people fled to Syria

ceasefire went into effect on August 14, 2006.

Revolution in Iran

Oil revenues – rich country – allied

w/ US 1970s Iranians dissatisfied with their ruler – Mohammad Reva Pahlavi (Shah) – secular, Western govt Muslim religious movement led by Ayatollah Khomeini

rose to power – return Iran to anti-Western ways Protesters against Shah shouted ‘death to the shah, death to

the Americans’ Iran-Contra Affair – sell arms illegally to Khomeini and send

$ to Contras in Nicaragua – Reagan authorized CIA to do this illegally

The Shah is forced out - 1979

Jan 1979 Shah left Iran April – Khomeini seized control & declared Iran

to be an Islamic republic – Shah’s supporters executed/fled

Iranian revolutionaries seized US embassy in Tehran – 52 Americans taken hostage – held almost 2 yrs

1989 – Khomeini died; new govt opened society; today Iran has gone back to a closed society – people have very few freedoms

The birth of Israel

•For centuries, Arabs & Jews & Christians have considered Palestine their “holy land”

•Zionism – a movement that argued for a Jewish homeland

•Palestine colonized by GB•Balfour Declaration 1917

GB would allow Jewish people to establish a homeland BUT it could not interfere with civil & religious of non-Jewish people

1920s & 1930s – many Jews immigrated to Palestine to escape persecution in Europe

After WWII & Holocaust – world felt sympathetic toward Zionist cause

1948 – UN resolution divided Palestine into 2 states – Arab & Jewish

May 1948 – David Ben-Gurion – 1st prime minister of Israel

Arab reaction to Israel

Betrayal of promises made by British govt – nation of Palestine was NOT created

Muslim majority population robbed of their lands – hundred of thousands forced to move, had to live in refugee camps, thousands died

Palestinians who refused to leave came under Israeli rule

Several Arab nations invaded Israel to try to stop its creation – failed

Most Arab nations do not recognize Israel’s right to exist

Egypt

Early 1950s - Gamal Abdel Nasser President 1956 – took control of Suez Canal

– Major waterway linking Mediterranean Sea & Asia GB, France, Israel joined to take back Suez canal –

Suez War US & USSR supported Egypt! – wanted more

involvement in Middle East – oil Nasser led a Pan-Arabism movement but oil-rich

countries did not want to share their oil wealth with other countries

Arab (Palestinian) - Israeli dispute intensifies

1967 – Nasser blockaded Israeli ships from Gulf of Aqaba – Six Day War

Israel launched pre-emptive war against Egypt, Syria, Iraq & Jordan

Most of Egyptian air force destroyed Israeli army occupied Sinai Peninsula Israel seized territory on West Bank of Jordan

River, occupied Jerusalem, took Golan Heights – strategic military area

One million more Palestinians now lived under Israeli rule

A checkpoint in Gaza

Anwar Sadat

Nasser assassinated in Cairo Anwar el-Sadat became president of Egypt 1973 – Sadat led a new attack on Israel to

try to get occupied land back 1974 – United Nations negotiated cease-fire Sadat assassinated because of peace with

Israel

Assassination of Anwar Sadat - Cairo

Peace in Middle East?

November 1967, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 242.

Two conditions for establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.– First, it called for the "withdrawal of Israel armed forces

from territories occupied in the recent conflict.“– Second, it called for the "termination of all belligerency

and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." 

►Israel did not withdraw from the occupied territories. The Six Day War led to the Yom Kippur War in 1973

Israel - peace with Egypt and returned the Sinai. Peace with Jordan, but did not return East Jerusalem

– site of 3rd holiest shrine in Islam. Israeli occupation of this holy site continues to fuel strong

resentment against Israel in the entire Muslim world. A generation of Palestinians has grown up in the West

Bank and Gaza under Israeli occupation. No hope for the future, some Palestinians have resorted

to carrying out suicide bombings since September 2000. The bombings have killed hundreds of Israelis and

brought on Israeli retaliation, killing thousands of Palestinians. This cycle of violence shows no signs of letting up.

GIVE 1, GET 2

Revolution in Iran Balfour Declaration Birth of Israel & Arab reaction Zionism Ayatollah Khomeini Six-Day War Sadat Nasser Suez Canal

What does OIL have to do with the Middle East peace crisis???

At 2003 consumption levels, the remaining reserves represent 44.6 years of oil and 66.2 years of natural gas.

China has just started using major amounts of oil; India is also using oil at high levels

US has always used the most oil and continues to use the most in 2006

Does the U.S. have the highest population in the world?

China - 1,313,973,713 India - 1,095,351,995 United States - as of Nov. 2006 - 300,176,035 Indonesia - 245,452,739 Brazil - 188,078,227 Pakistan - 165,803,560 Bangladesh - 147,365,352 Russia - 142,893,540 Nigeria - 131,859,731 Japan - 127,463,611 Mexico - 107,449,525 Philippines - 89,468,677 Vietnam - 84,402,966 Germany - 82,422,299 Egypt - 78,887,007 Ethiopia - 74,777,981 Turkey - 70,413,958 Iran - 68,688,433 Thailand - 64,631,595 Democratic Republic of the Congo - 62,660,551

U.S. oil consumption

OPEC

1960 – oil-rich nations formed – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Purpose – control the price of oil During 1973 conflict – OPEC increased price of oil

– shortages of oil/gasoline in West 1977 – Jimmy Carter sponsored Camp David

Accords – peace treaty between Egypt & Israel Other Arab countries angry at Egypt for signing

treaty

OPEC members

PLO

1964 Palestine Liberation Front – para military group formed to represent the interests of the Palestinian people

Leader – Yasir Arafat Used terrorist attacks on Israel to try to win back

territorial losses & establish a Palestinian nation

Intifada – uprising – escalation in protests – increased guerrilla warfare tactics

Peace talks

US sponsored peace talks Pres. Clinton 1993 – Israel agreed to give Palestinians some

autonomy in certain areas PLO recognized Israel Palestinian Authority – semi-independent territory –

Yasir Arafat – leader Ultimate goal of Clinton – a Palestinian nation &

Arab recognition of Israel Problem: some Israelis don’t want to give back

territory gained in 1967; some Arabs refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist

Terrorism used by BOTH sides

Terrorism – intimidate states & institutions to help solve their political goals

Bombings, hostage taking, plane hijacking Terrorism in other areas

– Ireland – Irish Republican Army– Afghanistan – Taliban– Sri Lanka – Tamal Tiger rebels

Middle Eastern terrorism against the West – WHY??

After WWII – US & W. Europe depended on ME oil US invested heavily in oil-wealthy nations & formed

alliances with wealthy Arab sheiks BUT – most Arab people remain poor and are angry at

their govts & US for not sharing the wealth Some Muslims fear that US involvement in ME would

weaken Islam (fear of westernization) Arabs resent US support of Israel Most Muslims around the world DO NOT support

terrorism

Iraq

Leader – Saddam Hussein 1979 – 2004 Border with Iran – tense border issues/tense religious

issues – IRAN power majority SHIITE muslim– IRAQ power majority SUNNI muslim **changed since

2004**Sunnis are only 20% of IRAQ’s population 1980 – Hussein attacked Iran

– Children used to clear mine fields– Poison gas used against civilians (esp. Kurdish people in

North) 1988 – cease-fire

Iraq invades Kuwait

1990 – Gulf War US (Pres. Bush #1) led an international force

that forced Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops from Kuwait – Hussein claimed Kuwait was oil drilling diagonally into Iraq territory

Large part of Iraq’s army destroyed US hoped an internal revolt would overthrow

Hussein, but he stayed in power 1990s UN weapons inspectors were

monitoring Iraq’s weapons programs

The Iraq War – 2003 - ???

GW Bush demanded a resolution from UN that Hussein give up all weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

Warned that US would go into Iraq alone if UN did not approve resolution

Oct 2002 – US Congress authorized use of force against Iraq

UN authorized resolution calling for return of UN weapons inspectors

Weapons inspectors returned to Iraq but Bush argued that Hussein was hiding WMDs from inspectors – inspectors asked for more time to evaluate situation

Bush requests UN go to war

Bush argued that Iraq posed “an immediate threat” and tried to link Iraq to the 9/11 attacks

France & Russia wanted to wait for inspectors to have time to do their job

US & GB along with minimal support from other countries prepared for war

Antiwar protesters around the world argued that war was unjustified – Iraq not involved in 9/11

March 20, 2003 – US led coalition attacked Iraq May 1, 2003 – Bush declared major fighting over –

Baghdad had fallen

The fall of Baghdad & trial for Hussein

No WMDs found

American/coalition forces have not found WMDs Jan 2004 – David Kay, Bush’s top weapons inspector –

“we’re very unlikely to find large stockpiles of weapons. I don’t think they exist.”

Kay – US intelligence provided “flawed” information to Congress & President

Initially, many Iraqis happy that Saddam was out Most Iraqis angered to learn that US & GB would be staying

in Iraq to set up a new govt Insurgency: different groups (Shiite, Sunni, Kurd) who

are fighting US & British troops in Iraq because they are afraid an American-designed govt will not represent their interests

Women in Islamic nations

In Muhammad’s time women had extensive political & social rights

Restrictions on women came later 20th century – some Muslim countries have

started to reduce restrictions on women – Turkey/Iran

1970s shift back toward more restrictions for women esp. in Iran

Women under Islam

War in Afghanistan

1980s - USSR invasion & withdrawal – Taliban came to power – militant Islamic party – women rights gone; no school for girls

Osama bin Laden – Saudi Arabian – one of wealthiest families in Middle East

1988 – founded al-Qaeda After USSR forced to withdraw bin Laden convinced

that superpowers could be beaten Believed that western ideas contaminated Muslim

society Outraged that Saudi govt allowed US troops in when

Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait

1998

Bin Laden called on Muslims to kill Americans Bombs at US embassies in Kenya & Tanzania –

224 people killed Pres. Clinton ordered cruise missile attacks on

Afghanistan & Sudan Oct 2000, al-Qaeda crashed a boat into USS

Cole while it was docked near Yemen UN demanded in 1999 & 2000 that Taliban turn

bin Laden in for trial – Taliban refused

9/11 Attacks

4 hijacked planes – target US economic heart & govt center

Pres. Bush called state of emergency – Congress authorized use of force

Oct 2001 – US & UN launched attack against al-Qaeda & Taliban in Afghanistan

Taliban forced out of power – new govt created Many Afghans celebrated collapse of Talliban – men no

longer had to wear beards; women no longer had to wear burkas

Today – UN peacekeepers; poverty; Taliban resurgence; cocaine production

September 11, 2001

Political Cartoon Assignment

A cartoon is a representational or symbolic drawing that makes a satiric, witty, or humorous point.

Target - politics & public affairs