Who Owns Africa?

Why in spite of Africa’s abundant
natural and human resources its people are still poor

The independence of African countries from their European colonizers in the late 1950s and 1960s marked a shift in the continent’s political leadership. Nevertheless, the economies of African nations remained tied to those of their former colonies, raising questions of resource control and the sovereignty of these nation-states.

Who Owns Africa? addresses the role of foreign actors in Africa and their competing interests in exploiting the resources of Africa and its people. An interdisciplinary team of scholars examines the concept of colonialism from a historical and socio-political perspective. They show how the language of investment, development aid, mutual interest, or philanthropy is used to cloak the virulent forms of exploitation on the continent, thereby perpetuating a state of neocolonialism that has left many African people poor and in the margins.

Contributors: John K. Marah (State University of New York Brockport), Nene-Lomotey Kuditchar (University of Ghana), Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina (State University of New York Cortland), Tokie Laotan-Brown (Merging Ecologies, Athenry), Asher Lubotzky (Indiana University Bloomington), Seth N. Asumah (State University of New York Cortland), Kudakwashe Chirambwi (National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe), Phillip Murray (United States Military Academy West Point), Paul Chiudza Banda (Tarleton State University), Gift Wasambo Kayira (University of Malawi)

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Acknowledgments
IntroductionFrom the European Scramble for Africa to the New Scramble Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina
Chapter One The Political Economy of Contemporary Africa: Lessons from the Scrambles for Africa John K. Marah
Chapter Two Decoding the Realpolitik of African States: The Paradox of Foreign Policy Options in a Context of Imperial Scramble Nene-Lomotey Kuditchar
Chapter Three Doing Good: US Aid and Philanthropic Colonialism in Africa Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina
Chapter Four The New Scramble and Its Economic Impact on West African Women Tokie Laotan-Brown
Chapter Five “We Are Returning to Africa, and Africa is Coming Back to Us”: Israel’s Evolving Relations With Africa Asher Lubotzky
Chapter Six China in Africa: Rethinking Development, the Role of the Nation State, and Neo-Benevolent Imperialism Seth N. Asumah
Chapter Seven Governmentality of China in Africa: A New Scramble through Road and Belt Initiatives Kudakwashe Chirambwi
Chapter Eight China’s Incidental Empire: How Chinese Energy Demand Created an Informal Empire in Africa Philip J. Murray
Chapter Nine Malawi-China Relations: A Strategic But Weak Developmental Partnership Paul Chiudza Banda & Gift Wasambo Kayira
Conclusion Reflections on Neocolonialism and the New Scramble Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina
About the Authors

Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina

Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina is Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies and the Director of the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies at the State University of New York, Cortland.