Comments on: Soft Power

By: Youssef

Youssef — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

the true whore of the world?

By: Dan tdaxp

Dan tdaxp — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Youssef,

Thanks for dropping by. I edited that line for clarity. It now reads:

"The Gap, that prison of billions of persons, is the true whore of the world: capable of taking cash, incapable of love."

The statement is true. The Gap is the nightmare remnant of our world as it has been for most of history. When a gap country -- generally, a state in the Islamic world or Africa -- deals with the outside, little is created. Some part of the Gap is sold, rented, or traded, in exchange for cash. Little development is made, few public goods are created.

The best thing ever to happen to the Afro-Islamic Gap in the past five centuries was European colonialism. That imperialism, which decisively ended because of Hitler's bankrupting of Europe, dashed hope for generations of men for billions of lives.

America seems unable, and China unwilling, to put in the combination of blood and treasure required to lift up the Gap in the next few decades. That's too bad.

By: nykrindc

nykrindc — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

One of the main problems in Africa and former colonial powers is that events on the world stage have at times interrupted or stalled the necessary renegotiation of rights and privileges for the implementation of the social contract necessary for the state to gain legitimacy to govern. Like you argue, during the Cold War this renegotiation was stalled due to the battle between the USSR and the US both of which tolerated despots so long as they were allies and not enemies. Since then, these states have been plagued by the elites you talk about and more recently by the rise of China and its non-interference policy that allows these elites to benefit at the expense of their populations. In the same manner, the GWOT has also allowed them to contextualize simmering conflicts over the distribution of power among various factions in terms of our war on terror, further stalling efforts at such a renegotiation, making our current battle all that more difficult in the long run.

By: Dan tdaxp

Dan tdaxp — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nykrindc,

Well said.

One of the many problems of the Gap is that the tribe and clan are the primary political units, and the state is seen primarily as a method for extracting resources from other tribes and clans. Neither more nor less legitimate than a gun or machete, the State is seen as a tool.

By: Eddie

Eddie — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

A combination of Chinese self-interest and Old Core philanthropy could save certain nations (South Africa, Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Liberia) if their efforts are coordinated. What it would take for this is for a realistic approach to what is possible and what is necessary. With South Africa especially, the need for a concerted effort by the Core to save it from a descent into domestic economic chaos because of the wide chasm between unmet expectations and slow progress on many fronts is vital. If South Africa can be stabilized with aggressive cooperation and assistance, its stability and growth over the next decade would speak volumes for its neighbors, especially Zimbabwe when the Mugabe regime finally falters.

Boosting education infrastructure, police training, local-NGO building and small-business promotion can do a world of good for the "Gap". It is possible, and it would not cost as much in blood, treasure or even time as we think. We just have to learn and apply the lessons of the past.

By: Dan tdaxp

Dan tdaxp — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Eddie,

South Africa is definitely on the edge between the Core and the Gap. South Africa needs open markets -- then the rest are up to her. She has an old enough sys administration tradition to be useful and profitable, if she can keep it.