Africa in a Questionable Globalization_by Thierno Guèye_UPMF-UQAM

8/12/2019 Africa in a Questionable Globalization_by Thierno Guye_UPMF-UQAM

1/31

Africa in aQuestionable

GlobalizationBy

Thierno Guye

[email protected]

M.Sc Relations and International Affairs

PhD (in process) Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

Jueves, 08 de mayo 2008


2/31

Globalization: a Definition Many viewglobalization as a source of, or contributing factor

to, conflict (Attali, 1991; Barber, 1995; Lerche, 1998; Scholte,1997; Waters, 1995)

Numerous case studies of the destabilizing impact ofeconomic and cultural forces, radiating from the West, on

local politics and culture in such places as Iran, Sierra

Leone, or Indonesia (among others). Yet, this is a one-sidedview of globalization and conflict, and the true relationship ismore complex and subtle.

Lerche (1998: 47) while conceding that globalization is often

disruptive and inequitable in its effects... and that it has ...posednew challenges for existing public institutions...; suggests thatithas also, paradoxically, opened avenues for the excluded

and marginalized to organize and protest against ...its

subordinating and homogenizing force.

Thierno GUYE"Africa in a Questionable Globalization" para la Universidad de Monterrey 2


3/31

Globalization: a Definition

The relationship between globalization and conflict is complexin ways not heretofore fully discussed in the literature.

Globalization, understood broadly, is an ac c eler at o r o f s o cial c h an g e, an d as s u ch , m ay ac t as a c ataly s t fo r

c o n f l i c t , a g g r a v a t i n g t h e t e n s i o n s i n a n y g i v e n s o c i e t y a n d

ev en c r eat in g n ew o n es . At the same time, it may also

catalyze and accelerate conflict resolution. p. 47-48

Globalization has come to mean many things to manypeople. In this regard, one author (Riggs, 2003) argues thatdimensions o f g l o b a l i z a t i o n c e n t r a l t o t h e c o n c e r n s o f

n o les s t h an s ev en ac ad em ic d is c ip l in es c an b e

d i s t i n g u i s h e d . p. 48



4/31


Economic perspectives on globalization view it to be rooted inchanges in technology and production processes. Theemergence of a global division of labor and a more open and lessregulated world economy are viewed as its products.

The globalization as economics thesis hastwo versions:

- The relatively benign thesis of globalization as economicsposits that with the growing complexity of and interdependence ofthe world economythere are emerging centers of consumptionand production that are no longer bounded by nationstates

(Reich, 1991; Ohmae, 1990, 1995; Friedman, 1999). For example,middle range information technology production centers have emerged in Dublin,San Francisco, Delhi, Singapore and Sydney, and financial, human, and intellectual

capital flow freely from one location to the next. Nation-states have little or no

control over this movement of capital, thereby losing the ability to regulate their

economies. This view to a large degree assumes globalization to be a natural andinevitable process having unintended, but generally positive, consequences.



5/31


- Themalevolent version of globalization as economics seestechnological change and capital mobility as producing a

number of undesirable effects (Castells, 1993). For instance,

companies can take advantage of local conditions and moveproduction facilities inresponse to changing local conditions

regardless of the impact of these changes on local

populations. A factory in Indonesia may be profitable today, but less sotomorrow. Perhaps it will be moved to India or Mexico, depending upon the

corporate financial ledger.Seen from this perspective, globalization is the latest stage inthe development of capitalism; a stage in which freely moving capital working throughmultinational corporations has succeeded in imposing its priorities on nation states and

local populations. In either case, the focus of globalization here is oneconomics, and it is portrayed as unidirectional. p. 48-49



6/31


Another strand of this literature critiques the positing of globalization as a natural and inevitable process. Some like RobertCox (1996), critique what they call an ideology of globalization thatpresents it as inevitable and beneficial. For them this ideologyunderplays the unevenness of the process (which is both

economically and politically driven) and the inequality betweenstates and actors who are caught up in it (Hurrell and Woods,1995). In reality, some peoples, localities, or institutions aremore affected by globalizing forces than others. Some areas

will benefit economically, others will not; certain groups will

feel invaded by alien cultural forms, whereas others will beuntouched. The great divide between those benefiting from

globalization and those hurting from it accentuates the

possibilities for conflict. p. 49



7/31

Africa Before Colonisation

7Thierno GUYE

"Africa in a Questionable Globalization" para la Universidad de Monterrey


8/31

Africa Being Occupied

8Thierno GUYE

"Africa in a Questionable Globalization" para la Universidad de Monterrey


9/31

From Colonised Africa



10/31

to Globalized Africa



11/31

Globalized World?



12/31

From Africa Announced Rise

TIME - 9 feb 1959 :

Africa- Sunrise on theGold Coast - KwameNkrumah



13/31


TIME - 16 feb 1959:

GUINEA- ViveL'lndependance



14/31




15/31

toAfrica Woes

TIME - By RussHoyle jan. 16, 1984:

Africa gone Wrong



16/31

toAfrica Woes

TIME - By LanceMorrow feb. 23, 1987:

Africa: An Essay (Picture:A Baby lion)



17/31

to a Renew of Hope

TIME - By JohannaMcGeary mars 30, 1998:

Africa Rising



18/31

to a Renew of Hope

TIME - oct 2008 ObamaRace (10 years later):

Why the Economy IsTrumping Race



19/31

to a Renew of Hope



20/31

to a Renew of Hope



21/31

Persistent Hope

TIME - By Alex Perrydc. 03, 2012:

Africa Rising

The continent is theworld's next great growthengine - but hundreds of millions are at risk of

being left behind

21Thierno GUYE"Africa in a Questionable Globalization" para la Universidad de Monterrey


22/31

Reasons to Hope



23/31

Reasons to Hope


R t H


24/31

Reasons to Hope

Global forces may bring anew set of actors to bear ona local situation, byfacilitating the expression ofa local conflict, contributingto its resolution, or evenchanging its character andoutcome in otherunpredictable ways.

Tidewell and Lerche, 2004,p. 49-50

Globalization, concentration,fragility:

Globalization generates afragility that affects cascadebut decreases the volatility andcreates an appearance of stability. Because of thisconcentration, we now

record fewer failures, but

when crises occur, it is amore global scale and they

hit us even more cruelly.Taleb, cole de Paris dumanagement, 20 oct 2008


R t H


25/31

Reasons to Hope

tragedy of small probabilities: More

an event is rare, the less we know

the chances it has to occur.Scientists using probabilities inparticular the value at risk, supposed torepresent the amount of losses thatshould not be exceeded with a giventime horizon on a given probability, arecharlatans.Their probabilities are atthe financial reality what Mickey

Mouse is to the real world: they

oversimplify it. Taleb, cole de Paris

du management, 20 oct 2008

Volatility and jump of Fish: Some

processes are volatile, others haveunpredictable "jumps". Thesephenomena are very different even ifreduced in probability curves, theydescribe quite similar motions. BenBernanke, chairman of the Federal

Reserve of the United States, is clearly

wrongwhen he announced last August"an era of great moderation and ageneral decline in volatility" for this

season. He did not see that it was

moving from a highly volatileenvironment in a more dangerous

situation, where events are both less

numerous, more unpredictable and

more severe. Taleb, cole de Paris dumanagement, 20 oct 2008



26/31

Reasons to Hope

The thousandth day of turkey:Thousand days, turkey receives foodevery day. Thousandth day, justbefore Thanksgiving, turkey does notreceive food. It's a surprise for her, butnot for the butcher. (). The problemof turkey is that the more time passes,the more she feels confident: Thedata are accumulating and the patternkeeps getting confirmed. This is theday when his department of risk tells

him the most stable position with thethreshold of the most comfortablestatistical significance, the butchercomes to find her. Taleb, cole deParis du management, 20 oct 2008

Predicting thepast: Some claim topredict the future based on the past.In fact, they predict the past, and notnecessarily on very robust criteria:"The man who won the lottery worea red shirt the day he played; lookwhat color clothing of the other winners."

Imagine an observer on the eve of the 1987 crash. The largest declineobserved previously observed was

10%. That year, in just one day, itwas 23%: the past does not predictthe future.Taleb, cole de Paris dumanagement, 20 oct 2008



27/31

Reasons to Hope

The fourth dial: In the case of acomplex decision in a universe with aGaussian distribution, there is noproblem either. But for the "fourth dial",that is to say, the case of complexdecisions with a thick tail distribution is

like in the subway: "Beyond this limit,your ticket is no longer valid. "Themethods do not work, science is nolonger science: there is no typicalevent in Extremistan" My audiencewas delighted because I had explained

that the statistics worked in three of four cases ... except that mostdecisions in the world of finance fallwithin the "fourth dial". Taleb, cole deParis du management, 20 oct 2008

Mathematics that we master: My

conclusion is that instead of"twisting" mathematics for

application to any case, we should

take risks when they are

compatible with the mathematics

that we control. The probabilitiesare perfectly applicable to casinosand quantum mechanics; but theycan not predict or typhoons or

attacks. Taleb, cole de Paris dumanagement, 20 oct 2008 (Mytranslations)

WE MAY ADD HUMAN INGENUITY

AND PLASTICITY WHICH ARE

ABLE TO MAKE MAJOR

PARDIGMS SHIFT AT ANY TIME !



28/31

To Be Continued

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!



29/31

To Be ContinuedLes conflits en Afrique dans les annes 1990 Carte des rgimes politique african democracies (2011)


To Be Continued


30/31

To Be Continued


Bibliography


31/31

Bibliography

Chidozie, Felix Chidozie (2013)Globalising The French Language: Neo-Colonialism Or Development?", International

Affairs and Global Strategy, Vol. 16

Eboreime, Matthew and Umoru, David

(2012) "Africas Immiserization and DecliningDevelopment Interventions in a GlobalizingWorld", Developing Country Studies, Vol. 2,

No.10Mlchior Mbonimpa (2000) La "PaxAmericana" en Afrique des Grands Lacs.Qubec, Vent dOuest

Nwankwo, O. B. C. (2013) "Africa inContemporary World Politics: The Dynamics

and Effects of Domination", DevelopingCountry Studies, Vol.3, No.9

Nyeme Tese J.-A. (Ed) (2000) Lamondialisation vue du Sud: Une approche

multidisciplinaire, Kananga : ditionsUniversitaires du Kasayi

Okeke Tochukwu I. (2013) Africa and the

Ascendancy of Modern China in InternationalSystem since 1971: A Historical Appraisal,

International Affairs and Global Strategy,Vol.7

Rodney, Walter (1972) How EuropeUnderdeveloped Africa, London: Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2007) The BlackSwan - The Impact of the Highly Improbable,

New York: Random House Publishing Group

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2012)Antifragile:Things that Gain from Disorder, New York:

New York TimesTidewell, Alan and Lerche, Charles

(2004): 47-49, Studies Globalization andConflict Resolution, International Journal of

Peace Studies, Vol. 9 n1


Africa in a Questionable Globalization_by Thierno Guèye_UPMF-UQAM

Documents

Transcript of Africa in a Questionable Globalization_by Thierno Guèye_UPMF-UQAM