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AFRICA AND
THE WORLD
Bilateral and Multilateral
International Diplomacy

Edited by Dawn Nagar


and Charles Mutasa
Africa and the World
Dawn Nagar • Charles Mutasa
Editors

Africa and the World


Bilateral and Multilateral International Diplomacy
Editors
Dawn Nagar Charles Mutasa
Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa

ISBN 978-3-319-62589-8    ISBN 978-3-319-62590-4 (eBook)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62590-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017953376

© Centre for Conflict Resolution 2018


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in
this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher
nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material
contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher
remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional
affiliations.

Cover Image: © Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo


Cover Design: Samantha Johnson

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature


The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Acknowledgements

The editors, Dawn Nagar and Charles Mutasa, are grateful to all the
contributors to this book and to all the staff and Board at the Centre for
Conflict Resolution (CCR), Cape Town, South Africa, who in their dif-
ferent ways have made the publication of this book possible. We would
like to thank the publication and editing team in particular for their tre-
mendous support. We would like to especially thank Jason Cook for
copyediting the manuscript so meticulously.
Most importantly, we are indebted to the Embassy of the Kingdom of
Norway, who provided the funding for this publication. In addition, we
are grateful to the people and the government of Sweden, for their
­consistent support of the work of CCR.

Dawn Nagar and Charles Mutasa

v
Contents

1 Introduction: Inspirations and Hesitations


in Africa’s Relations with External Actors     1
Charles Mutasa

Part I Bilateral Relations: Traditional Powers    25

2 Africa and the United States: A History


of Malign Neglect    27
Adekeye Adebajo

3 Africa and Russia: The Pursuit of Strengthened


Relations in the Post-Cold War Era    51
Rosaline Daniel and Vladimir Shubin

4 Africa and China: Winding Into a Community


of Common Destiny    71
Liu Haifang

5 France and Africa    95


Douglas A. Yates

vii
viii Contents

6 To Brexit and Beyond: Africa and the United Kingdom   119


Alex Vines

7 Africa and Portugal   143


Clara Carvalho

Part II Bilateral Relations: Non-Traditional Powers   167

8 Africa and Italy’s Relations After the Cold War   169


Bernardo Venturi

9 Brazil-Africa Relations: From Boom to Bust?   189


Adriana Erthal Abdenur

10 A Renewed Partnership? Contemporary


Latin America-Africa Engagement   209
Danilo Marcondes de Souza Neto

11 Africa and India: Riding the Tail of the Tiger?   245


Kudrat Virk

12 Africa-Japan Relations in the Post-Cold War Era   269


Scarlett Cornelissen and Yoichi Mine

13 Africa and the Nordics   287


Anne Hammerstad

14 Africa, the Islamic World, and Europe   315


Roel van der Veen

Part III Multilateral Relations   333

15 Africa and the Middle East: Shifting Alliances


and Strategic Partnerships   335
Hamdy A. Hassan and Hala Thabet
Contents 
   ix

16 Africa at the United Nations:


From Dominance to Weakness    359
James O.C. Jonah

17 Africa and the International Criminal Court     371


Dan Kuwali

18 Can the BRICS Re-Open the “Gateway to Africa”?


South Africa’s Contradictory Facilitation of
Divergent Brazilian, Russian, Indian
and Chinese Interests    403
Patrick Bond

19 Europe-African Relations in the Era of Uncertainty     433


Gilbert M. Khadiagala

20 Africa and the World Trade Organisation     455


Mariama Williams

21 Sub-Saharan Africa: The World Bank


and the International Monetary Fund     477
L. Adele Jinadu

22 Conclusion    501
Dawn Nagar

Index    523
List of Acronyms

AAF-SAP African Alternative Framework to Structural


Adjustment Programmes for Socioeconomic
Recovery and Transformation
ABC Agência Brasileira de Cooperação
ABE Africa Business Education
ACDEG African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and
Governance
ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights
ACIRC African Capacity for Immediate Response to
Crises
ACJHR African Court of Justice and Human Rights
ACP African, Caribbean, and Pacific ACP group of
states
ACP African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries
ADF African Development Fund
AFD Agence Française de Développement
AfDB African Development Bank
AFISMA African-led International Support Mission in
Mali
Afri-Can Japan Citizens’ Network for TICAD
AFRICOM Africa Command
Afrocom Coordination Committee on Economic
Cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa
AFSI Aquila Food Security Initiative

xi
xii List of Acronyms

AGA African Governance Architecture


AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act
AIDA Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa
AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
ALBA Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our
America
AMISI I AU Mission in Darfur
AMISOM African Union Mission in Somalia
AMU Arab Maghreb Union
ANC African National Congress
ANGOSAT Angolan National System of Satellite
Communications and Broadcasting
AoA Agreement on Agriculture
APF African Peace Facility
APPER Africa’s Priority Programme for Economic
Recovery of 1986–1990
APRM African Peer Review Mechanism
APRRP African Peacekeeping Rapid Response
Partnership
APSA African Peace and Security Architecture
AQMI Al Qaida au Maghreb Islamique
ASA African Studies Association
ASA Africa–South America Forum
ASCM Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ASF African Standby Force
ASPA Summit of South American-Arab Countries
AU African Union
AU-ECA African Union Economic Commission for Africa
BAAP Buenos Aires Action Plan
BATUK British Army Training Unit Kenya
BIS Bank for International Settlements
BITs bilateral investment treaties
BMATT British Military Advisory Training Team
BME Black and Minority Ethnic
BNDES Brazilian National Development Bank
BPS TEA British Peace Support Team
List of Acronyms 
   xiii

BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa


CAR Central African Republic
CARD Coalition for African Rice Development
CARICOM Community of Caribbean States
CCCE Caisse Centrale de Coopération Économique
CCECC Chinese Civil Engineering Construction
Company
CCFOM Caisse Centrale de la France d’Outre-Mer
CCR Centre for Conflict Resolution
CDC US Centres for Disease Control
CDSP Common Defence and Security Policy
CET common external tariff
CFA Communauté Financière Africaine
C-FTA Continental Free Trade Area
CGFOME General Coordination for International Actions
Against Hunger
CIA US Central Intelligence Agency
COBRADI cooperation for international development
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
COP Conference of the Parties summit
CPA Cotonou Partnership Agreement
CPLP Community of Portuguese-Language Countries
CRA Contingent Reserve Arrangement
CRRs Transformation Country Review Reports
CSDP Common Security and Defence
CSOs civil society organisations
CSSF Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund
DAC Development Assistance Committee
DFID Department for International Development
DFIs Development Finance Institutions
DGCID Direction Générale de la Coopération
Internationale et du Développement.
DKK Danish kroner
DPKO UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
DTI South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry
EAC East African Community
EACTI East Africa Counter-Terrorism Initiative
ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States
xiv List of Acronyms

ECDPM European Centre for Development Policy


Management
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EDF European Development Fund
EEAF Argentina’s Forensic Anthropology Team
EEC European Economic Community
EGA Environmental Goods Agreement
E-HORN East Horn of Africa Election Observers Network
EMBRAPA Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
ENI Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi
EPAs economic partnership agreements
EU European Union
EUAVSEC EU Aviation Security Mission
EUBAM EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya
EUCAP EU Civilian Capacity Building Mission
EUCAP Nestor Somalia EU Civilian Capacity Building Mission in Somalia
EUCAP Sahel EU Civilian Capacity Building Mission in
Nigeria EUCAP Sahel in Nigeria
EUCAP Sahel in Mali EU Civilian Capacity Building Mission in Mali
EUCAP Sahel in Mali
EUFOR EU Force to protect civilians
EUPOL EU Police Mission
EUROSUR Frontex European Border Surveillance System
EUROSUR
EUSEC EU Security Sector Reform Mission
EUTM Mali EU Training Mission in Mali
Exim Bank Export-Import Bank of China
FAC Fonds d’Aide et de Coopération
FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office
FDI Foreign direct investment
FIDES Fonds d’Investissements pour le Développement
Économique et Social
FIFA International Football Federation
FIOCRUZ Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
FNLA Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
FOAR Argentine Horizontal Cooperation Fund
FOCAC Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
FRELIMO Mozambique Liberation Front
FTAs free trade agreements
List of Acronyms 
   xv

G5 South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China


Group of Five
G8 Group of Eight
G20 Group of 20
G77 Group of 77 states
G90 Group of 90 states
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GCA Global Coalition for Africa
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNI Gross National Income
GNP Gross National Product
HIPCs heavily indebted poor countries
HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
IBSA India, Brazil, and South Africa
IBSAMAR Brazil military cooperation and trilateral naval
exercises
ICC International Criminal Court
IDA International Development Association
IFTF Trade-Related Technical Assistance
IFU investment funds for developing countries
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s
IIRSA Regional Infrastructure of South America
IMATT International Military Advisory and Training
Team
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPEA Institute of Applied Economic Research
IS Islamic State
ITA (WTO) Information Technology Agreement
ITA (Italy) Italian Trade Agency ITA
ITC International Trade Centre
JAES Joint EU-Africa Strategy
JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation
JETRO Japan External Trade Organisation
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
JSPS Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
xvi List of Acronyms

LAC Latin American and Caribbean nations


LAS League of Arab States
LDCs least developed countries
LGBTT lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
transvestite
LPA Lagos Plan of Action
LRA Lord’s Resistance Army
MCA Millennium Challenge Account
MDC Movement for Democratic Change
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MENA Middle East and North Africa
MERCOSUL Southern Common Market
MFN most favoured nation
MINURSO United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara
MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilisation Mission in the Central African
Republic
MINUSMA Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation
Mission in Mali
MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
MISA African-led International Support Mission to
the Central African Republic
MOFA Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MONUSCO United Nations Organisation Stabilisation
Mission in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo
MoU memorandum of understanding
MPLA People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
MPs members of parliament
MRTAs mega-regional trade agreements
MTN Mobile Telecommunication Network
NAM Non-Aligned Movement
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NAVFOR EU Naval Force
NDB New Development Bank
NDF Nordic Development Fund
NEN New Economic Neighbourhood programme
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
List of Acronyms 
   xvii

NERICA New Rice for Africa


NGOs non-governmental organisations
NHS National Health Service
NKR Norwegian kroner
NLC Nacala Logistics Corridor
NTBs non-tariff barriers
NTC National Transitional Council
OAS Organisation of American States
OAU Organisation of African Unity
ODA official development assistance
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development
OECD-DAC Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development-Development Assistance
Committee
OIC Organisation of the Islamic Conference
OIF Organisation de la Francophonie.
ONUMOZ United Nations Operation in Mozambique
OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
P5+1 USA, China, France, Britain, Germany, and
Russia
PAIGC African Party for the Independence of Guinea
and Cape Verde
PALOP Portuguese speaking African Countries
PARLACEN Central American Parliament
PEAP Poverty Eradication Action Plan
PEPFAR President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PIDA Programme for Infrastructure Development in
Africa
PMDB Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
PNF National Fascist Party
PRC People’s Republic of China
PRGF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PSC Peace and Security Council
PSDB Brazilian Social Democracy Party
PSI Pan-Sahel Initiative
PwC Pricewaterhouse Coopers
xviii List of Acronyms

RCEP Regional Comprehensive Economic


Partnership
RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme
RECs regional economic communities
RENAMO Mozambican National Resistance
RMs regional mechanisms
SACU Southern African Customs Union
SADC Southern African Development Community
SADR Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
SALs structural adjustment loans
SANDF South African National Defence Force
SAPs structural adjustment programmes
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
SDR special drawing right
SEC Securities and Exchange Commission
SEK Swedish krone
SHEP Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and
Promotion
SICA Central American Integration System
SIDS small-island developing states
SMEs small and medium-sized enterprises
SMMEs small, medium, and micro enterprises
SOEs state-owned enterprises
SPS sanitary and phytosanitary measures
SRE Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
SSR security sector reforms
SWAPO South West Africa People’s Organisation
TAAG Angolan national airline
TBs tariff barriers
TDCA Europe-South Africa Trade Development
Corporation Agreement
TFA Trade Facilitation Agreement
TICAD Tokyo International Conference on African
Development
TIKKA Turkish Cooperation and Development
Agency
TISA Trade in Services Agreement
TPP Trans-Pacific Partnership
TRIMs Trade-Related Investment Measures
List of Acronyms 
   xix

TRIPS Trade-Related Intellectual Property System


TSCTI Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative
TWN Third World Network
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNECA UN Economic Commission for Africa
UNEFI UN Emergency Force in Sinai
UNEP UN Environment Programme
UNFCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNGA United Nations General Assembly
UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola
UNMOGIP United Nations Observer Missions of unarmed
military officers: in India and Pakistan
UNODC United Nations Office Against Drugs and
Crime
UNSC United Nations Security Council
UNTSO United Nations Observer Missions of unarmed
military officers: in the Middle East
UPA Union of the People of Angola
USA United States of America
USAID US Agency for International Development
VEB Vnesheconombank
WAEON West Africa Electoral Observers Network
WEF World Economic Forum
WHO World Health Organization
WTO World Trade Organisation
YALI Young African Leaders Initiative
ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union
ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union
ZOPACAS Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South
Atlantic
ZTE Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment
List of Figures

Fig. 6.1 UK remittance flows into Africa from leading


developed countries, 2014 ($ billions) 121
Fig. 6.2 UK’s share of Africa’s bilateral trade, 2016 (percentages) 123
Fig. 6.3 UK FDI positions with Africa, 2005–14 (£ billions) 124
Fig. 7.1 Objectives of the Community of
Portuguese-Language Countries 155
Fig. 7.2 CPLP members’ integration in regional organisations 156
Fig. 8.1 Italian embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2017 176
Fig. 8.2 Italian diplomatic network abroad, 2016 177
Fig. 8.3 Italy’s official development assistance, 1970–2015 181
Fig. 8.4 Italy’s bilateral and multilateral official
development assistance, 2015 182
Fig. 8.5 Italy’s export partner share, 2015 183
Fig. 11.1 India-Africa trade, 2001–16 250
Fig. 11.2 Regional shares of India’s imports, 2005–06
and 2015–16 253
Fig. 11.3 Regional shares of India’s exports, 2005–06
and 2015–16 254
Fig. 14.1 Europe’s mental map of Sub-Saharan Africa 317
Fig. 15.1 Turkey’s top five trading partners in Sub-Saharan Africa,
2006 ($ millions) 345
Fig. 15.2 Turkey’s top five trading partners in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 2012 346
Fig. 15.3 Total trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and
Arab States, 2008–14 347

xxi
xxii List of Figures

Fig. 15.4 Total trade between Israel and Sub-Saharan Africa,


2001–15 349
Fig. 18.1 Power cascades from the metropole to the periphery 405
List of Tables

Table 7.1 Imports to Portugal of assets and services from Africa,


2011–15 (€ millions) 159
Table 11.1 India’s top ten export partners in Africa in 2015–16 251
Table 11.2 India’s top ten import partners in Africa in 2015–16 252
Table 21.1 Past presidents and chief economists of the World Bank 480
Table 21.2 Substantive managing directors of the IMF since 1946 480
Table 21.3 Ten largest countries by voting power in World Bank
institutions by number of votes 481
Table 21.4 Special drawing right (SDR) quotas and voting shares for
top ten IMF members 482
Table 21.5 Select list of World Bank-funded projects in Africa,
May–July 2016 492
Table 21.6 International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans to Africa,
2012–2016495
Table 21.7 Arrangements approved and augmented by the IMF under
the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust in FY2016 in
millions of SDRs 496

xxiii
CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Inspirations and Hesitations


in Africa’s Relations with External Actors

Charles Mutasa

In the aftermath of colonialism, the Cold War dominantly defined


Africa’s international relations with the rest of the world. But with the
end of the Cold War (circa 1989–91), and particularly since the deadly
terrorist attacks of Al Qaida on America’s Twin Towers in New York on
11 September 2001, a myriad of issues, most importantly terrorism, migra-
tion, the quest for investors, and integration in the face of the emergence
of new world powers and alliances, seem to be exerting influence and
defining Africa’s relations with external actors. The notion of “Africa
Rising”1 has gained prominence and given an impression that, in addition
to being an investment opportunities destination, Africa is gravitating
towards sustainable economic growth and becoming a political force to
reckon with in the shifting post-Cold War global order.
The end of the Cold War marked an end of competition for African
proxies and allies between the superpowers—the United States (USA) and
the Soviet Union. This dynamic change also meant a change in the bar-
gaining power of African countries when dealing with these superpowers,
impinging on the continent’s international relations and more so on its
political, social, and economic development. Issues of globalisation and
liberalisation, which preceded the end of the Cold War, seem to have
intensified even after its end.2 This book by the Centre for Conflict

C. Mutasa (*)
Independent Consultant, Harare, Zimbabwe

© The Author(s) 2018 1


D. Nagar, C. Mutasa (eds.), Africa and the World,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62590-4_1
2 C. MUTASA

Resolution (CCR) in Cape Town, South Africa, presents 22 chapters


written by scholars from across the world giving serious analysis to the
relationship between Africa and other external players beginning from the
end of the Cold War. Given the different geographical positions and per-
spectives that the authors are writing from, both from the inside out and
the outside in, the book gives a balanced picture of Africa’s international
relations in the post-Cold War era.
This book provides a contemporary scholarly assessment of Africa’s
political, social, cultural, and economic landscape in the post-Cold War
period. It analyses African governments’ relationships with Western
powers such as the USA, France, and the United Kingdom (UK); with
so-­called non-traditional powers such as India, Latin America, and the
Islamic world; and finally with international organisations such as the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). In so doing, the book probes key issues pertaining to Africa’s
relations with global actors, providing a comprehensive trajectory of
Africa’s relations with 15 key bilateral actors and 7 multilateral actors in
assessing how the Cold War affected African states’ political policies,
economies, and security. Africa’s relations with the various global actors
are discussed in three broad categories: bilateral relations with traditional
powers—the USA, the UK, China, Russia, France, Portugal, and Italy;
bilateral relations with non-traditional powers—Brazil, India, Japan, the
Nordics, Latin America, Europe, the Islamic world, and the Middle
East; and multilateral relations—with the United Nations (UN), the ICC,
the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), the
European Union (EU), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World
Bank, and the IMF.

Africa’s International Relations


International relations between Africa and the most powerful states,
especially the USA and its allies in the West, and the Soviet Union and its
allies in the East, from 1957 to 1989–91, were determined by the Cold
War. During this period, the USA and the Soviet Union instrumentalised
the newly independent African governments in their conflicts with one
another. Both the West and the East pursued a policy of supporting African
countries that supported them ideologically—the capitalism of the West
and the socialism of the East. The Soviet Union provided political sup-
port, weapons, and military training to Marxist parties and governments
INTRODUCTION: INSPIRATIONS AND HESITATIONS IN AFRICA’S... 3

in Africa, while the USA was against seeing the establishment of such
governments on the continent. This had a profound and devastating
effect, as it made it necessary for African leaders of the time to value more
what the East or the West wanted than what was good for their own
people. The effects of the Cold War are still palpable today, more than
25 years after its end.
The civil wars in Angola, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC, Zaire) were mostly Cold War-driven. Take, for example,
Angola: the independence of Angola in 1975 was marked by the onset of
a civil war between the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA). The West was not keen to see the African Marxist movement of
the MPLA taking over power in Angola. UNITA was America’s key ally in
Africa during the Cold War and a recipient of substantial US Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) aid during the 1980s.3 On the other hand, the
Soviet Union, Cuba, and Yugoslavia offered what African liberation move-
ments and governments wanted to ensure that the MPLA assume office in
Angola. Without Soviet and Cuban support, the MPLA would not have
defeated UNITA, which was backed by the CIA and apartheid South
Africa at the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988.4 It was the presence of
Cuban troops supporting the MPLA government that prevented the
apartheid regime and its UNITA proxies from taking power.
Although Africa has had diverse global relations with different players
over the years, much of independent Africa’s external relations seem to
have more to do with its legacy of colonialism. Its former colonisers have
continued to directly or indirectly dictate what needs to take place on the
continent. Besides, bad governance, aid dependence, and under-­
development seem to be the lure for some of the awkward international
relations in which the continent finds itself. It seems not much critical
thinking and collective planning in terms of sustainable regional develop-
ment has been done by African leaders, apart from working together to
dismantle colonialism and apartheid. After the Cold War, there came
another phase in which the West pushed the good governance and democ-
racy agenda in Africa through programmes rolled out with the aid of insti-
tutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO.5 During this
phase, most African countries struggled to catch up with the policies of
structural adjustments, deregulation, and liberalisation, for which they
were arguably ill-prepared. Massive poverty, unemployment, and migration
to the North dominated the period.
4 C. MUTASA

Another phase of external influence after the Cold War followed the
period of good governance and structural adjustment—by the 11
September 2001 attacks on the USA and the consequent global war on
terrorism. Although Africa itself is unlikely to be classified as an exporter
of terrorism, the weakness or lack of internal security controls over its ter-
ritories from Islamic militancy and threats of terrorism makes it a possible
harbour, link, and viable route for terrorists.6 This makes it necessary for
the West not to neglect Africa if it is to succeed in its war against terrorism.
Besides, the problem of poverty on the continent creates a conducive envi-
ronment where terrorists and terrorism flourish. After the 11 September
attacks, the USA identified East Africa and the Horn, especially Djibouti,
Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, to be at great risk from terrorist
organisations.7 US intelligence also claimed that a number of North
Africans, especially from Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, were identified as
fighting with jihadists in the insurgency in Iraq.8
Just as during the Cold War, today African governments that support the
international fight against terrorism (with their votes at the UN and in their
policies and operations at home) are strongly supported by the international
powers. A similar scenario seems to be unfolding with the EU seeking to end
its refugee crisis by halting African migration into Europe. All these issues
point to the fact that, in the post-Cold War era, Africa cannot be genuinely
independent and sovereign without taking control of its own internal secu-
rity. The challenge of providing and feeding its own with less dependence on
other continents remains a key issue. As long as Africa still relies on others,
especially the West, for its fight against terrorism and political and economic
development, it remains subdued and weak in the global arena.

Theoretical Perspectives
The experiences of Africa and the scholarship generated in this book con-
tribute to a greater practical understanding of the main theories on inter-
national relations, giving a critical analysis of Africa’s relations with various
external actors. A number of theoretical perspectives ranging from realism,
neorealism, Marxism, and the Westphalian model, among many other
theories, help explain why African governments relate to external actors
the way they do.
Classical realism has built its concepts of international relations on the
literature of the Melian dialogue and Thucydides’ account of the
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. The Melian dialogue
INTRODUCTION: INSPIRATIONS AND HESITATIONS IN AFRICA’S... 5

provides an understanding of how powerful states create and join


institutions in self-interest, based on their domestic concerns. Thucydides
argues: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they
must”,9 and Gideon Rose notes that “Foreign policy behaviour and for-
eign policy choices are made by political leaders and elites, and so it is
their perceptions of relative power that matter, not simply relative quanti-
ties of physical resources or forces in being.”10 One of the key character-
istics of realism is that it cannot accommodate any non-state actors within
its analysis. Realism perceives international relations as comprised of com-
peting nation states and postulates that aggressive competition between
states can lead to war.11
Given its pessimistic view of human nature, realism also claims that the
international system is regulated through international law and distinct
institutions. Richard Nossal asserts that each state pursues its own interests
and should always be on guard against other self-interested (state) actors
in international relations.12 As is demonstrated in this book, the pursuit of
national interests, both during and after the Cold War, by external actors—
in particular, superpowers such as the P5+1 (the USA, China, France,
Britain, Russia, and Germany) on the UN Security Council—has been
paramount. The engagements of such superpowers with Africa have been
shown to be very much linked to their parochial needs to propagate their
capitalist or socialist ideologies and to benefit from Africa’s natural
resources through exploitative practices.
Liberalism points us to the optimistic view of human nature which
stresses the idea of negotiations and cooperation between states which help
avert wars. It puts emphasis on individual rights, which form the basis for
a modern civil society, democratic state, and capitalist economy in a post-
Cold War era.13 According to Kelvin Dunn and Tim Shaw, African states
are weak, especially with regard to global politics.14 Some of the major
causes of their weakness are their bad governance, weak economies reeling
from the effects of colonialism and basically their dependence on primary
commodities, their lack of representation on the UN Security Council, and
donor dependence. Marxist approaches to international relations, on the
other hand, emphasise the conflict between the strong and the weak, the
exploiters and the exploited, the oppressors and the oppressed, within and
among societies. In this volume, Africa’s external relations with both bilat-
eral and multilateral actors display a lack of a skilled, coherent, united, and
informed approach in negotiating deals, especially trade and investment, at
both the African Union and member-state levels.
6 C. MUTASA

The Westphalian model of international relations assumes the existence


of functioning states across the globe. The state is the unit of analysis, which
becomes a challenge in places where a functioning state does not exist.15
The Westphalian model is premised on two major principles—sovereignty
and equality of states. It emphasises the supremacy of the nation state in the
international system, taking a state-centric approach to international rela-
tions.16 However, a major gap in the theory is that it fails to recognise the
large scale of informal transborder movements, thus reducing the complex-
ity of the world to a monocultural and statist notion of international rela-
tions that fails to recognise transborder sociocultural relations.17 It turns a
blind eye to the multiplicity of players that deal with external relations.18 As
recent developments discussed in this volume demonstrate, on the African
continent the state is not the sole determinant of international relations.
There are transboundary challenges of informal groups such as terrorists,
and developments on the border that seem to defy the control of the state.
For example, the influx of refugees into Europe has left the EU hopeless in
its continuous struggles in dealing with migration that is infused with ter-
rorism.19 Informal transborder relations in Africa exceed formal interna-
tional relations by state actors. This scenario challenges the use of state as a
major unit of analysis in Africa. Be that as it may, Hadley Bull sums it all up
by saying: “The international society while precarious [does] provide
important elements of order in the international system.”20
A key challenge in Africa’s international relations, especially in the post-­
Cold War era, is the continent’s dynamic composition, comprising 55 sov-
ereign states with divergent foreign policies that in many cases are difficult
to reconcile. For instance, the continent’s approach to EU economic part-
nership agreements (EPAs) exposed the continent’s failure to agree on a
common response. In many situations, the African Union’s role as an
international actor on behalf of African countries is complicated by the
difficulty of promoting consensus among African states and then main-
taining that consensus in the face of often divergent national interests.
Since African Union (AU) member states have not ceded their sovereignty
to this supranational body in the face of disagreements, each member state
often resorts to going its own way.
The unifying theme of this book is the need for the AU and its individ-
ual member states to seek a more appropriate characterisation of their rela-
tions with external actors, to be proactive, to improve the effectiveness of
their unity, and to be well-coordinated and innovative in determining their
own destiny, rather than leaving it in the hands of external actors to pave
INTRODUCTION: INSPIRATIONS AND HESITATIONS IN AFRICA’S... 7

their future. There is huge potential and resources for Africa to determine
its own future, choose whom to relate with, and make its international
relations mutually beneficial to escape dependency.

Part I: Africa’s Bilateral Relations with Traditional


External Actors
The first part of this book focuses on the bilateral relations between Africa
and external actors. In Chap. 2, “Africa and the United States: A History
of Malign Neglect”, Adekeye Adebajo argues that the hegemonic policy of
the USA towards Africa during the Cold War ignored Africa’s basic demo-
cratic principles and socioeconomic development. He goes further to anal-
yse the post-Cold War securitisation of policy under the US presidencies
of Bill Clinton (1993–2000), George W. Bush (2001–08), and Barack
Obama (2009–16).
Adebajo underlines three major points here. Under Clinton, through
his administration’s “enlargement” policy, the USA claimed to be increas-
ing democratic governance in Africa, while in practice it supported auto-
cratic governments in Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Second, under
Bush, the major focus of the USA was the war on terror, during which
Africa, especially its Muslim communities, saw a dark side of US policies,
while the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was more benefi-
cial to the USA than to Africa. The lowering of tariff barriers for many
African goods was a good start, but it needed to be widened. The most
positive thing for Africa under Bush was the President’s Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which helped provide treatment for over 1.7
million HIV/AIDS sufferers in Africa between 2003 and 2008. The
Obama administration brought with it a lot of hope for Africa, but not
much changed, as it continued with the securitisation agenda of the Bush
administration, through military expansions in countries such as Kenya
and Uganda and the establishment of drone bases in countries such as
Chad and Ethiopia.
In Chap. 3, “Africa and Russia: The Pursuit of Strengthened Relations
in the Post-Cold War Era”, Rosaline Daniel and Vladimir Shubin note
that Russia’s engagement with the continent dates back to its support for
national liberation struggles in countries such as Mozambique, South
Africa, and Zimbabwe. The Soviet Union supplied military equipment
during these liberation struggles. Besides, the Soviet Union/Russia has
always traded with African countries in the form of arms deals and other
8 C. MUTASA

military equipment. Daniel and Shubin further argue that the end of the
Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union meant that Russia was
unable to continue its engagement with the continent because of its weak-
ened economy. In the past decade, Russia’s engagements in Africa have
revolved around mineral trade, with 20 major Russian companies engaged
in mining the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors across Africa. In 2015,
Russian exports to Africa were reported to be $7.3 billion, compared to
$2.3 billion-worth of African exports to Russia.
In Chap. 4, “Africa and China: Winding Into a Community of Common
Destiny”, Liu Haifang examines the growing influence of China on the
continent, which has made it Africa’s largest bilateral trading partner in
the post-Cold War era. Issues of concern regarding China’s engagement
revolve around the use of Chinese labour in its projects rather than the use
of local African labour.21 Criticisms of African governments’ engagement
with China include environmental degradation and destruction of local
textile industries in preference for cheap Chinese products. Nonetheless,
China is believed to be offering an alternative to Western conditionalities
and interferences in local governance in exchange for development aid and
preferential treatment in trade deals. China uses what it regards to be a
“non-interference” policy, which has been appealing, as African govern-
ments often find it difficult to meet the expected international human
rights standards and governance systems and thus find it easier to deal with
China than the West. China has the potential to reduce Africa’s depen-
dence on Western countries. However, a major challenge facing the Sino-­
Africa partnership in the post-Cold War era is that Africa seems to lack a
long-term strategy for engaging China.
In Chap. 5, “France and Africa”, Douglas Yates reveals that France after
colonialism and during the Cold War used military, financial, and politico-­
cultural means to maintain its hegemonic grip on former colonies in
Francophone Africa. Military and economic pacts signed between France
and former colonies gave it a continued “sphere of influence” on the con-
tinent, making it difficult for countries like Nigeria to lure Francophone
states into the regional integration scheme of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS). This French stance was challenged
after the end of the Cold War, as many events, including the Rwandan
genocide of 1994 and the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko, forced France to shift
its approach to use the UN and the EU as its points of intervention.
France’s image, though, was damaged between December 2013 and June
2014 when allegations of sexual abuse of children by its troops were
reported in the Central Africa Republic (CAR).
INTRODUCTION: INSPIRATIONS AND HESITATIONS IN AFRICA’S... 9

With the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, Britain has shown
marginal interest in its former African colonies. Relations between Africa
and the United Kingdom came to be more determined by trade than
politics, as the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)
and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) faced significant budget
cuts. The UK is interested in evolving mutually beneficial relationships
with African states in order to deliver greater prosperity and increased
security for both the UK and Africa. In Chap. 6, “To Brexit and Beyond:
Africa and the United Kingdom”, Alex Vines argues that British foreign
policy over Africa in the Cold War era seems to be one driven by guilt
over colonialism, migration worries, and fears of terrorism, but with
greater trade interests mainly with South Africa. Nonetheless, the Labour
government of Tony Blair brought in a radical shift, which to a large
extent rekindled British interest in Africa, climaxed by the Commission
for Africa and the multilateral debt-relief initiative for Africa of the 2005
Group of Eight (G8) Gleneagles summit. The Conservative-Liberal
Democrat coalition and its successor Conservative government built on
this, through rebooting trade and investment promotion, and rebuilding
the UK’s diplomatic network in Africa. Britain is engaged in UN peace-
keeping, contributing to deployments in South Sudan and Somalia. It is
also engaged in some military capacity-building, but only in selected
African countries, such as Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. With Brexit,
the UK is forced to do away with most partners and left to prioritize a few
which are of strategic importance to Britain’s trade relations with Africa.
Vines predicts therefore, that there is likely to be greater de-prioritisation
of Africa in British policies, as the Theresa May administration is begin-
ning to shift its concentration on to Brexit negotiations and a few key
African partners—South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana—behind.
In Chap. 7, “Africa and Portugal”, Clara Carvalho discusses Portugal’s
foreign policy, which is exclusively directed towards the Portuguese-­
speaking African countries—Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa
(PALOP)—marked by aid and cooperation, trade and economic exchanges,
and political and strategic mediation. Portugal’s relationship with
Lusophone Africa has been greatly determined by its accession to the EU
in 1986, and the end of civil war in Angola and Mozambique. Carvalho
critically assesses the role of the Community of Portuguese-Language
Countries (CPLP) as an effective forum for implementing economic and
development policies in Africa during the post-Cold War era, given the
mixed interests of Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and other PALOP
countries. The author notes that Portugal’s influence in Africa was eclipsed
10 C. MUTASA

by Brazilian interests, especially during the administration of Luiz Inácio


“Lula” da Silva. However, Carvalho cautiously concludes that Portuguese
influence in Africa in the post-Cold War era continues to depend on
Portugal’s ability to keep Lusophone African countries on the EU agenda
and on promoting a trade and not aid strategy.
In Chap. 8, “Africa and Italy’s Relations After the Cold War”, Bernardo
Venturi notes that Italy’s influence in Africa has been more strongly felt in
North Africa than in sub-Saharan Africa. Italian interaction with North
Africa has been based on mutual respect in politics, inter-cultural commu-
nication, and mutual economic benefit. From the beginning of decoloni-
sation to the end of the Cold War, Italy had not shown much interest in
sub-Saharan Africa. Italy’s presence in the region decreased considerably,
especially when compared with its presence in other African countries,
relegating it to a secondary role in terms of the country’s economic foot-
print on the continent. In 1992, after the Cold War, Italy was credited
with peace-brokering and ending the civil war between the Mozambique
Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and the Mozambican National Resistance
(RENAMO), with the peace agreement signed in Rome. Thus, Italy’s
renewed interest in sub-Saharan Africa grew gradually after the Cold War.
Venturi further notes that more was done to improve relations between
Italy and sub-Saharan Africa after the mid-2000s, as the Romano Prodi
regime (2006–08) gave greater attention to Africa, prioritising the conti-
nent for development cooperation. Prior to this, Prodi had helped pro-
mote the Africa-EU summit in March 1999.
The main game changers in African-Italian relations in the post-Cold
War era have been those who took over the Italian leadership from 2013.
For instance, Emma Bonino as minister of foreign affairs was instrumen-
tal in planning the country’s first Italy-Africa ministerial conference, in
May 2016, which was attended by top-ranking institutional officials.
Since 2014, a South Africa-Italy summit has taken place on an annual
basis, with the business sector being particularly active at these meetings.
Italian exports to African countries comprise six product categories:
machinery and mechanical appliances; mineral fuels, mineral oils and
products; electrical machinery and equipment; iron and steel; vehicles and
parts; and articles of iron and steel. Fifty percent of these go to South
Africa, followed by Morocco and Tunisia, and then Ethiopia.
Despite the increasing rapport, it is worth noting that migration issues,
Islamophobia, and terrorism seem to be tainting relations between Africa
and Italy, with the latter fighting to keep out illegal African migrants.22
Nonetheless, Italy’s good relations with North Africa position it to be a
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"It looks," she began in a trapped voice, "as though we're stuck. If
that bird is really our grandson, we might as well give in. Come here,
Peter, and hold my hand."
He took her hand gingerly.
"You may kiss me, Peter."
"Thanks," he said dryly, "I'll keep your offer open until a more
propitious date. Meanwhile, Miss Baker, I'll continue to feel slightly
angry at being told what to do; when to do it; and with whom. Even
though the Book of Acts is complete down to the final decimal."
Marie laughed cheerfully again.
He looked at her curiously. She stopped laughing. She leaned
forward gracefully and offered him her right hand again. "Shake,"
she said.
He shook.
"Now," she said seriously, "let's at least be friends. I'm not inclined to
take to being hurled at any man's head. I might add 'either.' But if this
Book of Acts is the complete thing it seems to be, we'll find it out
soon enough. But," she said leaning back against the divan, "I won't
marry any man I do not love. And I happen to love Tony."
Peter nodded. "I happen to love Joan Willson," he said. "Until I
change, we'll let it continue that way."
"O.K.," chuckled Marie Baker. "Gin Rummy!"
"Right," said Peter reaching for a deck of cards.

Graydon looked at Hedgerly across the top of his glass. "If you're
from the future," he said, "you could do some real chipper things."
Hedgerly nodded. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "You
believe that I have the advance dope on the stock market and other
items for speculation."
"Well?"
"I have. Of course, my time happens to be some sixty years after
now, understand?"
"Perhaps, what are you driving at?"
"I'm trying to tell you," said Hedgerly, "that if I help you amass a
fortune on speculation, this will be known fact by my time."
"So?"
"So," said Hedgerly, "the only thing I've done—the only thing that is
historic fact—is that which I'm going to do for proof. Just one thing."
"Go on."
"I'm going to write something on this envelope. Then I'm—Wait. We'll
do it. I came prepared."
He wrote a sentence on the flap of the envelope and handed it to
Joan. "Keep it carefully," he told her.
"Now," he said to Graydon, "There will be a big nine-event day at
Bay Meadows tomorrow. I have here a listing of nine horses. You will
put a sum of money on these nags and you will become famous as
the first man ever to win a complete nine-horse parlay."
"Interesting if true," said Graydon, looking over the list. "We'll know
tomorrow."
"We'll go out to the track tomorrow," said Hedgerly.
"What about Marie and Peter?" asked Joan.
Hedgerly smiled. "True love," he said, "never runs smooth. Peter and
Marie are busy playing Gin Rummy now, and both of them agreeing
that they'll have none of this. But propinquity—"
The low growl in Graydon's throat stopped him cold. Perhaps his
history told him to stop.
The roaring hum of the generator made speech difficult but not
impossible. Marie, with pencil in hand, was interestedly recording the
data that Peter was calling to her. His lips brushed her ear
occasionally because it was necessary to get the figures across
through the din. The brush of lip against ear was not unnoticed;
under the circumstances it was hard to ignore anything, even the
least minute of personalities. Finally he snapped the switch and the
roar died.
"That's it!" he said exultantly.
"It's beyond me," said Marie, looking dazedly at the solid bank of
figures she'd written down.
"That's because you've never been exposed to the stuff before.
Come on—I'll show you."
He snapped the safety switch and watched the last dying flicker of
the radiation counter above the control panel. Then he pressed a
button and a huge door creaked open. He led Marie along a zigzag
hallway, explaining, "Radiation products, like all Chinese Devils,
travel only in straight lines."
Then, inside of the shielding, she saw the generator.
"This made that terrible racket?" she asked.
He nodded.
"I'd hate to be inside here when it's running," she said nervously.
"Me, too," he grinned. "But I daresay the radiation would kill you long
before the noise did."
"Oh!" she gasped, getting the implication of the dangers of nuclear
physics in one gulp.
"This," he said, "is brand new. In the center is a small, thin-walled
brass container filled with radon gas, and suspending a cloud of
finely divided beryllium. This produces neutrons. Very slow neutrons
not worthy of mention compared to most nuclear reactions. However
this is but a source instead of a complete deal.
"The neutrons emerge from the container in all directions, but are
urged into motion by a swift increasing pulse of gravitic force. It used
to be magnetic, but it is now gravitic. We've changed it over
according to my findings of recent work. Then with the neutrons
moving in a cloud, we alternate the gravitic field, varying it from
attraction to repulsion. Just like a cyclotron uses radio frequency
energy in the Dee Plates, we use gravitic energy to accelerate
neutrons.
"Probably doesn't mean too much to you," he said with a smile. "But
for the first time in history we can hurl a beam of neutrons of any
desired range of energies at a target in any desired cross-section."
"It must be important," smiled Marie. "It is so complicated."
"Sophistry," he grinned. "Remember those 'nonsense engines' that
were full of spools, levers, gears and stuff: all working furiously but
producing nothing?"

"'A tale told by an idiot,


Full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing,'"

quoted Marie.
"Sort of like our friend Hedgerly," grinned Peter.
"Speaking of the devil," came a voice. Hedgerly came in through the
winding passageway, followed by Graydon and Joan Willson who
came last. Joan passed through the group until she could take
Peter's arm. "Peter," she said. "I'm wealthy."
"So?" he said.
"Hedgerly produced a nine-horse parlay at Bay Meadows. Mr.
Graydon ... Tony, that is ... put down a ten dollar bill on it in my name.
I'm now possessed of about sixty-three thousand dollars."
Ignoring the statement, Peter squinted at Joan and asked: "It's 'Tony,
that is' now?"
Graydon scowled faintly. "Let's all be stuffy," he said.
"Sorry, Graydon," said Peter. Graydon nodded. He thought he
understood. He tried to, anyway. As irking as the situation was to him
—having this character Hedgerly blithely hurling his fiancee at
Peter's head and callously telling everybody else that they might as
well give up trying to change Fate—he believed that Peter and Marie
both were more than irked at being hurled together. Peter was not a
boor, nor even stuffy.
Joan filled the silence. "That isn't all," she said. "Last night Hedgerly
wrote this in an envelope before he gave Tony the horses to pick. It
says: 'Graydon will place ten dollars on the parlay in Joan Willson's
name and she will win sixty-three thousand, four hundred seven
dollars and sixty cents.' That's what happened, Peter."
"Um," said Peter.
"Trapped," said Marie.
"Gypped," growled Graydon.
"Bought," muttered Joan.
"I've told you again and again," said Hedgerly, "that no matter what
you do, you're doing just what history says—note the past tense—
you did! Even to producing a means of controlling neutrons, Peter.
Now, of course, you'll continue here, though this being the
Theoretical Physics Laboratory, you'll let this information disperse.
The other boys will pick it up and develop it while you continue to
delve into the relationship between magnetism and gravitics."
"And suppose I do not?"
"Oh, but you did."
"Not," growled Peter, his voice reaching a crescendo, "if I go nuts
first!"
Hedgerly spoke quietly to Marie. "You take care of him," he told her.
"There's nothing like it for cementing a fond relationship."
"Must I give up my life work?" exploded Peter angrily. "I'd rather work
on this gadgetry than eat! I've got me a lead that may end up by
making me as famous as Faraday or Einstein and if I follow it, I'll end
up so far behind the eight-ball that it'll look like a split pea."
Marie leaned back against the frame of the generator and smiled at
him. "This," she said in a voice dripping with phony tones, "is a shock
to me. Men usually brave fire and flood to touch the hem of my skirt.
But you'd rather give up being historically famous than—"
"Shaddup," snapped Peter. "And let me think!"
"Think?" muttered the girl helplessly. "I think we're licked."
Peter nodded. "Licked, drawn, and quartered. Y'know, Marie, I've
tried to resent you. I can't. Probably because I know you're in the
same boat as I am."
She nodded. "Whatever he does, whatever we do, he's got the
answer and he gives it one hundred per cent. No man in his right
mind would ever have stood up to Tony and told him to reduce his
feeling toward me to platonic friendship. Not unless he knew
beforehand that Tony wouldn't half-kill him. But I am beginning to
understand. Even though what he says is odious, I must admit that it
does come to pass."
Peter looked unhappy. "This is a fine mess," he said. "It wouldn't be
half bad if Hedgerly and his confounded history were capable of
changing our feelings as well as our lives. But he blithely ignores the
fact that you and I are expected to marry—with both of us feeling
that we'd rather marry someone else, and know who. Then to top
that, not only is it going to be emotionally difficult in the first place,
but think of the emotional wrench we'll get when Tony and Joan—"
Peter stopped, swallowed hard, and then added: "I'm not speaking
too selfishly, Marie. I've not mentioned how they will feel. The whole
thing is a trumped-up mess."
Marie put her hand on Peter's arm. "I don't exactly love you," she
said with a shy smile, "but you are a very nice guy, Peter."
"Huh?"
"You're sensitive and gentle and thoughtful of other people's feelings.
I have a hunch that you could also be very hard and rough if the
need arose."
Peter smiled a little crooked smile and said: "All of which gets us
nowhere, does it?"
"No," admitted Marie. "But if I'm going to have myself hurled into an
'arranged' marriage, I'd rather it be with someone I respect."

Hedgerly leaned over the back of the divan in Peter's living room and
looked from Joan to Tony, one on each side of him. "What's so
wrong with it?" he asked. "People have been happy in prearranged
marriages for centuries. Sometimes the participants never meet until
they are introduced by the minister."
Tony looked up sourly. "Hedgerly," he said, "you may have traveled
back into time. But mister, you didn't come THAT far back!"
Hedgerly shook his head impatiently. "I fail to see why people rant
against their fate. It is written that Peter and Marie get married. It is
also written that they celebrate their golden wedding anniversary—
shucks, I was there as a kid and I know. They were very happy
together."
"So?" demanded Joan.
"So you might as well give up," said Hedgerly. "As I told Peter when I
arrived a few days ago, I've come to help him. The chances are that
things would have gone off all right if I'd not come. Peter and Marie
would have met, regardless. As for you and Tony, Joan, I might tell
you that you were very happy together, too. So you might as well
give up completely and accept the dictates of fate."
"I hate to go through the motions of a play for nothing," grunted Tony.
Hedgerly winked at Joan. "You'll find some of the motions are fun,"
he said.
The door opened and the other couple came in. Hedgerly looked at
them and smiled genially. "Have fun?" he asked. His tone was that of
an indulgent father.
Peter looked vague. "We've been sitting and talking."
"No better way of becoming acquainted," smiled Hedgerly. He
leaned back over the divan. "Let's go out and leave them alone," he
said in a low, quiet voice.
Tony shook his head. "I live in strict bachelor quarters," he said. "And
Joan couldn't have a visitor at this time of night. And I'll not go out
and sit on a park bench so that some bird can make time in a
comfortable living room with my fiancee."
Hedgerly shrugged. "This, then, is one time when four's company but
five's a crowd." He said goodnight all around and then left, knowing
that the two couples would talk for hours, and each word would bring
better understanding.
For this was it.
Hedgerly went to his hotel and called a private airport. "I want two
planes ready to be hired for a quick trip to Yuma," he said. There
was answer. "No, I'm not hiring both. I'm just telling you that there will
be another party inquiring. You'll see that they're satisfied. Let me
know when they do. I'm going in the second plane."
Then, because he knew he'd be up most of the night and early
morning, Hedgerly went to bed.
Back in Peter's living room, there was not a quiet discussion. It was
an armed rally.
"I'll speak plainly if I can," said Peter, striding up and down. "And
when I miss a point, someone can call me on it."
"I don't know what you're after," said Tony, who was holding Marie's
hand in a manner that should have disturbed Hedgerly's sleep. "But
I'm for it."
Peter smiled. "Hedgerly is supposed to be my grandson," he said.
"I'm to marry Marie. We are to celebrate a golden wedding. Fine and
dandy. Now look: The one weak point in Hedgerly's wild story is the
question of why he came back?"
"Because it is so written," suggested Joan.
"Fine," grinned Peter. "Now leaving all personalities out of this for the
moment, Marie, if you were introduced to me at a party, would you
be interested in me?"
"Perhaps," she said. "On the other hand, Peter, you're not a
spectacular chap. One must really know you before one can see
what makes you tick. Then they're not certain. I wouldn't know,
really."
"But how do you feel now?"
"Resentful! As much as I know and admit that you are a fine man,
Peter, I feel as though I were being forced into a duty that offered
little compensation."
Tony nodded and then said: "Look. I can sum this all up, I think.
Peter, you are welcome to enter my home at any time. You can even
be known and recognized as my wife's best friend."
"Just so," interjected Joan, "he doesn't get too friendly."
Peter grinned. "We're a long way off of the track," he said. "This is as
much a time-cliché as the fiction about the man who stabbed his
father. The joker is, what do we do about it?"
"What can we do?" asked Joan helplessly.
"All we have to do is to foul him up just once," said Peter. "If he
doesn't come back to annoy us, then Marie and I may never meet."
"In other words," said Tony, "the pattern is complete only when
Hedgerly comes back and interferes."
Peter nodded. "Either we live by accident and die by accident or we
live by plan and die by plan. If our lives are written in the Book of
Acts, then no effort is worth the candle. For there will be those who
will eternally strive to be good and yet shall fail. There will be others
who care not nor strive not and yet will thrive. Why? Only because it
is so written. And by whom? By the omnipotent God. Who, my
friends, has then written into our lives both the good and the evil that
we do ourselves! He moves us as pawns, directs us to strive against
odds yet knows that we must fail because he planned it that way. For
those, then, that fail there is everlasting hell.
"So," said Peter harshly, "I plan that this goldfish shall try to live in
air." He plunged his hand into the aquarium and dropped a flipping
fish onto the table. "I direct that this goldfish shall try to live. See, it
strives hard to live in an unfriendly medium. It fails—of course,
because the goldfish is incapable of following my dictate."
Peter's face took on an angry expression. "It has failed to obey me,"
he thundered. "Ergo it must be punished!"
He lifted a heavy letter opener and chopped down, cutting off the
head of the still-gasping fish.
"And that," he said bitterly, "is predestiny!"
"All of which proves—?" asked Marie.
"Hedgerly exists," said Peter. "But suppose Hedgerly exists only as a
probability. A probability that he himself has made high. You see,
there is always the probability that any man will meet any woman.
Suppose the outcome of this probability was strong enough for the
outcome—Hedgerly—to invent time travel, and then come back here
to insure the probability?"
"I think I see," said Joan with a twinge of doubt.
"Well, all we have to do is to be darned sure that his own particular
probability does not occur. Then he won't occur, and all of this will
not occur, and we—"
"Look," said Tony excitedly, "it may be grasping at straws, but it
seems to me that anything that is as certain as your friend ... your,
ah, grandson ... Hedgerly claims shouldn't require a lot of outside
aid."
Marie brightened, and then looked glum. "There's one thing that we
all forget," she said unhappily. "We're speaking of predestiny as
though we were a bunch of people going through the lines of a play.
That may or may not be so. Let's face it, predestiny means that we
may or may not know what our next move may be. We do not know,
and there seems to be no way of finding out. Therefore whether or
not our acts are all written need not take any of the fun out of life."
Tony faced her in surprise, "Just what are you advocating?" he
demanded.
She reached up and took his hand. "Tony, never doubt that I love
you. Yet Peter is a nice fellow, and had I met him first I'm reasonably
sure that we could have been happy together."
"All right," nodded Tony. "Granted that love is a matter of
coincidence, of the desirable factors of personality, propinquity, and
propitiousness, so what?"
Marie looked unhappy. "He ... Hedgerly ... did win a nine-horse
parlay, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
"He is here."
"Indubitably—and damnably!"
"Well," concluded Marie, "it is distasteful, but it seems ordained. And
when—like going to the dentist—you're faced with something
distasteful, there's little point in fuming over it. Do it—and forget it!"
Joan jumped to her feet. Then she sat down dejected. "Beating my
head against the wall," she said. "All right. I give up."
Peter thought for a moment. "Look," he said brightly, "sometimes
people must take chances. Sometimes people gotta ride close to the
edge in order to gain safety. I suggest that we all elope to Yuma and
have a double wedding!"
Tony advanced upon Peter with fire in his eye. "You're going to let
that character get away with this?" he demanded. "I'll kill him first."
"No," said Peter shaking his head. "That won't remove the truth of
his birth. What must be done is to prevent it in the first place!"
"By going through with it?" snorted Tony.
"We can all hope for a last-minute reprieve," said Peter. "And until
we're shotgunned into it, we can always have a double wedding with
the cross-couples getting married. Y'see, Hedgerly claimed there
hadn't been either a divorce nor a death-and-remarriage in the family
for generations. Now the thing we gotta do is to get married to whom
we want, and the only way we can even come close is to get close
enough to a preacher to have him do the job. All at once and no one
first. Finis, conclusion."
Tony nodded slowly. "Me, I've been half-psychopathically afraid of
any Gentleman of the Cloth ever since Hedgerly turned up," he said.
"So we can all go and be certain that the other is irreparably and
thoroughly committing nonretractable matrimony. Then pooh for
Grandson Hedgerly!"
Peter went to the telephone and dialed the number of the private
airport. Ten minutes later they were on their way to the port, and
when they arrived they looked carefully, but did not see the odious
one. They paid no attention to the other plane idling in the
background.

Hedgerly arrived as they took off into the blue. His plane was waiting
and he leaped in quickly and told the pilot to follow the other plane.
"What's the hurry?" grinned the pilot.
Hedgerly smiled a sly smile. "It's a very long tale," he said. "But the
summation of it all is that there are two couples in that ship who
intend to get married."
"Double wedding, huh?"
"Right. That's what they intend."
"And are you the irate father, the angry brother, or the jilted lover?"
grinned the pilot. He gunned the engine, and the plane roared down
the tarmac and lofted. The pilot wasted no time in following the other
plane. When the roar of the engine diminished for flying speed, the
pilot turned to Hedgerly, who was obviously waiting for a semblance
of silence before he spoke.
"I'm none of those," he said with a smile. "I'm merely a very
interested character whose future depends upon seeing the right
thing done."
"Such as?"
"Well, Party A wants to marry Party B while Party X wants to marry
Party Y. This must not be. However, it must be that Party A marries Y
whilst Party B marries X."
"Clear as a Raymond A. Chandler plot," grinned the pilot.
"Well, they've been trying to outwit me for quite some time,"
remarked Hedgerly. "Right at the present time, they're heading for
this double wedding. The trouble is that they're so befuddled and
worried about doing the wrong thing that that they'll pay no attention
to what the preacher is saying?"
"Who does?" laughed the pilot.
"It would be better for their little plot if they did," said Hedgerly with a
sly grin. "For, you see, I'm going to see that the preacher marries the
proper parties."
"How?"
"I know how. You see, I've known about this plan of theirs for quite
some time. And I know how it will come out. There will be a lot of
confusion once this double ceremony is over and they think they're
safe. While this confusion is going on, the preacher-man will be filling
out the wedding certificates. He will, of course, have forgotten the
correct names of the married ones. He will look up—and he will see
me. I will tell him that I arrived a little late for the festive event, but
can I be of help? Let's not annoy the happy people with details.
You're confused? Then permit me to supply the details."
"Yeah?" said the pilot, interested.
"Then I'll supply the necessary details to make certain that the
marriage certificate handed to Tony Graydon will state that he is
solidly wedded to Joan Willson: conversely, the certificate handed to
Peter Hedgerly will irrevocably state that he is to have and to hold
until death do him part from Marie Baker. Quod Erat
Demonstrandum!"
"Think there's a good probability of your getting away with it?"
"An excellent probability," stated Hedgerly. "This, chum, is it!"

Hedgerly arrived as the festivities came to a close. Quietly he slipped


into the back door of the cottage and walked through the house until
he came to the parson's study. There he waited until the gentleman
arrived, and then he said:
"I am a relative of one of the fellows involved, sir. I seem to have
been late for the big occasion, and I'd rather not interfere right at the
present."
The parson looked up and nodded genially, "Not even to kiss the
brides?"
"Later," grinned Hedgerly. "Doubtless the brides are being very well
kissed right now?"
"Thoroughly. I see your point."
"Yeah," drawled Hedgerly with a smile. "I've often thought it was a
strange way to start a fidelitous wedlock—for the bride to go around
bestowing kisses on all and sundry males."
"My point exactly. The man to kiss the bride is her new husband and
none other. You are a discerning man, sir. I don't know—"
"Hedgerly. A not-too-distant relative of Peter Hedgerly."
"Then you know the names of all of them?"
"Known then for years."
"Fine. Then you can help me with their names. Mind?"
"Not at all," smiled Hedgerly. "They are Peter Hedgerly, Marie Baker,
Anthony Graydon, and Joan Willson."
The parson put the names down and then turned to his desk. He
picked up a rather heavy script-pen and started to write the names in
on the dotted lines in a heavy ornate script. Finished, he arose and
said: "Come on, Mr. Hedgerly." He waved the certificates, saying: "I
like to write these things in with a heavy flourish. It seems to give
them more color or taste or whatever than merely scrawling the
names in common handwriting."
Hedgerly followed at a little distance. He wanted to see Peter's face
when the young man read the certificate and found out who he was
really married to. Furthermore, Hedgerly wanted to be there to point
out who was wedded to whom and why.
Peter accepted the certificate and put his arm around Joan with a
fatuous expression. Tony kissed Marie. They all started for the door.
Hedgerly ran forward, but the parson stopped him. "Hedgerly," he
said, "you made one mistake. Never, never, never, try to hurl any
woman at any man's head. They both resent it. And never, never,
count on anything as being certain. And always, when you're trying
to juggle the future, be certain of the true ancestry of those who have
a definite part of it. I'll offer you a lift, Hedgerly, for I'm going your
way, but not as far."
"But ... but—"
Parson Hedgerly smiled. "Two couples," he said, "happily married to
the right people—by their own son! Yeah, Hedgerly, you're not the
only one who has a good probability of being. But your probability is
slipping from decimal point to decimal point right now—and I doubt
that you are even a shadow of your present self by the time we finish
this trip back home."
THE END.
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