cover image AFRICA: A Continent Self-Destructs

AFRICA: A Continent Self-Destructs

, . . St. Martin's/Palgrave, $26.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-312-21966-6

This primer on contemporary Africa by a longtime observer of the continent is more effective for its sociopolitical background to the region's various catastrophes than for its proposed solutions to them. Schwab (Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo), a professor of political science at SUNY-Purchase, comprehensively details the disintegration of the immediate postcolonial euphoria into political chaos, impoverishment and health disasters. Schwab, who first traveled to Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1960s, covers the topic simply and offers brief, invaluable descriptions of several countries' circumstances. The information is no less tragic for its familiarity. The malaria rate in Africa has increased by 60% during the last 30 years, according to the U.N., and in some countries the AIDS rate exceeds 20% among adults. Schwab's observation that, in Burundi, the state "has ceased to exist," applies to various other sub-Saharan countries. Several events in the late 1990s placed the Ivory Coast, for instance, "on the edge of an abyss": a new administration banned northern Muslim Ivorians from running for president; 350,000 Liberian refugees arrived; and a coup installed a military dictatorship. Regarding the future, Schwab treads on shakier ground. He argues cogently that Western policy must focus on Africa's needs, and not solely on Western geopolitical interests. But he fails to offer concrete ideas for implementing such an approach. Some might fault Schwab for simultaneously criticizing Washington for the nature of its interventions and for not intervening enough, but regarding Africa's recent struggles, readers will gain much from this astute analysis. (Oct. 1)