WE MUST COME TO THE CONCLUSION TODAY THAT IN A SENSE, THE AFRICAN COUNTRIES AS A WHOLE, ARE THE MOST INTERNATIONAL OF ALL.IN THE SAME TREND MANY HAVE VULNERABLE ECONOMIES HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON THE EXPORT OF ONE , TWOOR THREE COMMODITIES SUCH AS: »IVORY COAST » IN « WEST AFRICA »(THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF « CACAO » WORLDWIDE, SINCE THE SEVENTIES AND HAS GOT NOWADAYS HUGE GAS AND OIL RESOURCES AS WELL! »CACAO » AND « COFfEE » ACCOUNT FOR ALMOST (90)PER CENT OF IVORIAN EXPORTS!IN THE SAME TREND, « COPPER » ACCOUNTS FOR(88) PER CENT OF « ZAMBIA ‘S EXPORTS! UNFORTUNATELY THOSE AFRICAN NATIONS ARE INDEBTED TO INTERNATIONAL BANKS SUCH AS (IMF) AND (WORLD BANK) AS WELL…STILL OTHERS,PARTICULARLY AMONG THE POOREST COUNTRIES OF THE SO CALLED FOURTH WORLD,CAN BARELY SURVIVE WITHOUT SUPPORT FROM INTERNATIONAL BODIES AND ASSORTED CHARITIES.AMONG THOSE AFRICAN NATIONS ARE « BURUNDI » RIGHT NOW IN A TURMOIL, « NIGER »,(THIRD LARGEST PRODUCER OF COPPER WORLDWIDE), « BURKINA FASO »(THIRD AFRICAN GOLD PRODUCER) AND MANY MORE..AS A MATTER OF FACT, NONE HAVE EVEN THE MODEST INSULATION FROM THE WORLD EXCONOMY PROVIDED BY THE LARGE,DIVERSIFIED DOMESTIC MARKETS OF THE UNITED STATES,THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND SOME ASIAN NATIONS SUCH AS: CHINA AND JAPAN.
-SO EVEN MORE THAN IN THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD,POLITICS IN THE THIRD WORLD MUST BE PLACED IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT.AND HERE LET’S COME TO THE FACTS AND BASIS:WHY DOES UNDERDEVELOPMENT PERSIST NOWADAYS?
-TO DECIPHER OR DECODE THAT RELEVANT QUESTION, TWO MAIN THEORIES EXIST SIDE BY SIDE!ON THE ONE HAND, THE LIBERAL THEORY ARGUES THAT OPENING UP THE ECONOMIES OF THE THIRD WORLD TO FREE TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD.ON THE OTHER HAND, THE DEPENDENCY THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE WHOLE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY OPERATES TO THE DISAVANTAGE OF THE THIRD WORD!DOWN THE LINE, TO SOME EXTENT,WHAT APPEARS BASICALLY AS « INTERDEPENDENCE » IN « LONDON », CAN BE SEEN AS « DEPENDENCE » IN (LAGOS) (NIGERIA), THE GIANT OF AFRICA FIRST PAN AFRICAN ECONOMY RIGHT NOW!IN CONSEQUENCE, THE ESCAPE FROM POVERTY AND MISERY PROMISED EVER SINCE BY LIBERAL ADVOCATES OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN THIS CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT OF GLOBALISATION, REMAINS A CRUEL ILLUSION!LIKE AN ADDICTIVE DRUG,THE ESCAPE ROUTE TURNS INTO A PRISON OF ITS OWN UNFORTUNATELY!
-FINALLY,ACCORDING TO DEPENDENCY THEORY THE ONLY CREDIBLE SOLUTION IS TO CHANGE THE ENTIRE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THIRD WORLD!POPULAR IN THE THIRD WORLD,INDEED DEVELOPED LARGELY BY SOME PAN AFRICAN REVOLUTIONARIES IN THE WHOLE OF AFRICA SUCH AS : »OSAGEFO KWAME NKRUMA », « JOMO KENYATTA », « AMILCAR CABRAL », « SEKOU TOURE »,MODIBO KEITA « GAMAL NASSER, « LUMUMBA » AND RECENTLY LAURENT GBAGBO IN « IVORY COAST »WHO IS CURRENTLY BEHIND THE BARS IN THE « ICC »(NETHERLANDS)!BUT THAT CRUCIAL REALITY NOW OFFERS A SHARP AND RELEVANT ANALYSIS BUT UNCLEAR SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT NOWADAYS!MEANWHILE,THE STRUGGLE OF THE PAN AFRICAN ECONOMIC FREEDOM CONTINUES IN THE THIRD WORLD TODAY!DOWN THE LINE,ACTIONS SPEAK GREATER THAN WORDS, BECAUSE WE NEED IN « AFRICA » TODAY STRONG LEADERS AND SOLID INSTITUTIONS AS WELL!
(YVES T BOUAZO)(CHIEF AND MANAGING EDITOR)(IMAGE/DOWNTOWN « ABIDJAN » , THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL CITY OF THE IVORY COAST(WEST AFRICA)