THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: THE COLLAPSE OF COLONIALISM AND THE FIGHT AGAINST BACKGROUND 1. 1. The growth of the anti-colonial movement. 2. Collapse of colonial empires. 3. 3. Decolonization in Africa. 4. 4. Social and economic problems of modern African states. 5. Cultural and civilizational regions. 6. Ways to modernize the countries of the “third world”. 7. Oil exporting countries. OPEC. 8. "Newly industrialized countries". 9. Russia's relations with the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia. ASEAN. SCO. Heb. Az. ES. Status and prospects.
Before World War II, about 1/3 of the world's population lived in colonies and mandated territories. The same share accounted for semi-colonial countries
The defeat of militaristic Japan, fascist Germany and Italy created favorable preconditions for the national liberation of the peoples of Asia and Africa. Growth of the anti-colonial movement
The defeat of Japan aroused the peoples of Indochina, Burma, Malaya, and Indonesia to the liberation struggle, who declared their independence upon the news of the defeat of Japan. The Red Army helped China drive out the Japanese occupiers. Growth of the anti-colonial movement
Germany, Italy and Japan, as a result of defeat in World War II, lost not only their colonies and empires, but also part of their territories. The victorious countries also lost their colonial possessions, although each of the metropolises tried to prevent this. Growth of the anti-colonial movement
Great Britain and France initially sought to preserve at least the remnants of their empires. Great Britain's fight against European rebels in Palestine in 1945 - 1948. British suppression of the guerrilla movement in Malaya in 1946 - 1960. British suppression of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in 1952 - 1960 French War in Indochina in 1946 - 1954 French War in Morocco and Tunisia in 1952 - 1956 French War in Algeria in 1954 - 1962 Growth of the anti-colonial movement
Portugal resisted decolonization the longest. She fought against rebels in Angola and Mozambique until 1974. Portuguese military column. Mozambique. Growth of the anti-colonial movement
57934 38035 13227 4471 Territory of the colonies (thousand km 2) 566297 565119 661491 671528 82466 34015 Population of the colonies (thousand people) 1918 1923 1938 1945 1960 19723999 9 38563 Collapse of colonial empires
0, 9342, 9 28, 2 29, 6 28, 6 9, 8 3, 332, 3 31, 2 30, 7 29, 8 2, 8 1918 1923 1938 1945 1960 1972 Territory of the colonies Population of the colonies. Colonies as a percentage of the area and population of the globe. Collapse of colonial empires
393832 398562 444691 431835 45990 10643 Population of the colonies (thousands of people) 1918 1923 1938 1945 1960 197233599 15124 14213 15713 5285 479 Territory of the colonies (thousands . km 2) Crisis and collapse of the British Empire
10650 11939 11894 12449 3612 152 1918 1923 1938 1945 1960 1972 Territory of colonies (thousand km 2) 55031 59936 69227 76425 12304 1760 Population of colonies (thousand people) )Crisis and collapse of the French Empire
The colonial empires created by Europeans since the 15th century, the main attribute of a great power, ceased to exist. Collapse of colonial empires
Neutral states Other allies of the USSR Other social. countries. US allies Colonies US zone of influence NATO countries OVDMIR countries BY THE BEGINNING of the 1960s
DECOLONIZATION IN AFRICA Africa somewhat later freed itself from colonialism. In 1956, France recognized the independence of Morocco and Tunisia. However, she had to leave Algeria after an eight-year war with the rebels of the Algerian Liberation Front (1954 - 1962)
1960 “Year of Africa” - declaration of independence of 17 states.
THE APARTHEID REGIME IN SOUTH AFRICA The most developed country in Africa, the Union of South Africa, left the British Commonwealth in 1961 and was renamed the Republic of South Africa (RSA).
In 1948, the Afrikaner (Boer) Nationalist Party came to power and proclaimed apartheid, a discriminatory system of separation of people of different races in South Africa. APARTHEID REGIME IN SOUTH AFRICA Bantustans in South AfricaAn announcement on one of the beaches of South Africa prohibiting residents of the country of non-white race from accessing the beach. 1989
Mandela, Nelson was born in 1918 to the family of the leader of the Tembu tribe. He studied law at the university, and since 1944 he became an activist in the African National Congress. In 1956 he was first arrested, but was soon released. In 1960 he created the underground military organization “Spears of the Nation” to fight against apartheid. The authorities began to fight against her. Mandela was arrested again and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years, 6 months and 6 days in prison. THE APARTHEID REGIME IN SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa remained the only African state where the local population was discriminated against. All liberated countries united in the fight against apartheid. South Africa fell into international isolation. Demonstration in South Africa during apartheid. THE FALL OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA
Gradually, an understanding of the need for political reforms became established among the white population. The leader of the supporters of change was Frederik de Klerk. apartheid reforms. THE FALL OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA Frederic de Klerk. President of South Africa 1989 – 1994
In 1990, he granted amnesty to Mandela. He headed the ANC. The South African Parliament began to repeal the laws that supported the apartheid regime. Nelson Mandela is free. THE FALL OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA
According to the Constitution adopted in 1993, South Africa is a democratic multiracial state. In the 1994 presidential elections, in which blacks took part for the first time, Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa 1994 - 1999, won. THE FALL OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa emerged from international isolation, was admitted to the Organization of African Unity and became an integral part of the world community democratic states. Member countries of the Organization of African States
RUSSIA - AFRICA
“Third World countries” is a term from the second half of the 20th century. , denoting countries not directly involved in the Cold War and arms race. "THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES"
Arab-Muslim region Maghreb 1. Libya 2. Tunisia 3. Algeria 4. Morocco 5. Mauritania CULTURAL-CIVILIZATIONAL REGIONS Azerbaijan Armenia Georgia Afghanistan Turkey Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Palestinian Authority Yemen Bahrain Middle East
Arab-Muslim region Maghreb 1. Libya 2. Tunisia 3. Algeria 4. Morocco 5. Mauritania CULTURAL AND CIVILIZATIONAL REGIONS Qatar Kuwait Lebanon UAE Oman Iraq Saudi Arabia Cyprus Middle East
Arab-Muslim region 1 MAGREB 1. Libya 2. Tunisia 3. Algeria 4. Morocco 5. Mauritania 2 34 5 CULTURAL-CIVILIZATIONAL REGIONS
Central and Southern Africa. CULTURAL-CIVILIZATIONAL REGIONS Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran Heterogeneous and poorly formed states
II. CHOOSING DEVELOPMENT ROUTES “West” or “East”, capitalism or socialism? Modernization or traditional society? Evolution (for example, in India) or leap (“newly industrialized countries”)? III. PROBLEMS OF INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT Underdevelopment, political separatism, social problems: poverty, hunger, disease. Problems of refugees in areas of interstate and ethnonational conflicts. IIIIII. PROBLEMS IN RELATIONS WITH LEADING INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES Economic dependence, external debt, problems of military-political influence of leading powers. PROBLEMS OF YOUNG STATES DURING THE COLD WAR
Ghana, Guinea, Egypt, Mali, Algeria, Congo, Tanzania, Burma, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, China, Vietnam, North Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Cambodia, Cuba. COUNTRIES OF SOCIALIST ORIENTATION in 1950 -1969
DIRECTIONS OF THE STRUGGLE FOR ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE (1970-1980s) Increase in prices for raw materials (creation of OPEC) Import-substituting industrialization (mechanical engineering) Market private property relations and multi-party system with a strong role of the public sector and regulation. CAPITALIST PATH OF DEVELOPMENT 1. Increase in income of oil exporting countries. 2. Energy crisis. 3. Difficulties in the economy. 1. Growth of external debt. 2. Undermining the international division of labor. 3. Contrasting the “third world” with the rest.
WAYS TO OVERCOMING BACKGROUND CAPITALIST PATH OF DEVELOPMENT Comprehensive development of export opportunities instead of import-substituting industrialization Encouraging the import of foreign capital Market reforms (privatization, price liberalization) ATTEMPT TO INTEGRATE INTO THE WORLD ECONOMY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES States that have low standards of democratic governments, free market economies, industrialization, social programs and human rights guarantees for their citizens. Developed economies Developing economies (medium development) Developing economies (weak development) IMF and UN classification
OIL EXPORTING COUNTRIES Arab states of the Persian Gulf, which are characterized by the preservation of patriarchal relations and absolute monarchies
NEW INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES New industrial countries for 2010 A group of developing countries whose economies over the past decades have made the transition from a backward economy, typical of developing countries, to a highly developed one.
MAIN NIS MODELS ASIAN MODEL LATIN AMERICAN MODEL Development of the national economy with a focus on the foreign market Development of the national economy with a focus on import substitution. Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile GENERAL FEATURES The highest rates of economic development, the leading industry is manufacturing, active integration, the formation of their own TNCs, not inferior to TNCs of the leading countries of the world , great attention to the development of education; the use of high technology, low-cost labor, possession of significant raw material resources, development of the banking and insurance sectors, the main calling card is the production of household appliances and computers, clothing and footwear.
ASEAN Declaration - 1967 ASEAN Charter - 2008 ASEAN - ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS Brunei Vietnam Indonesia Laos Cambodia Malaysia Myanmar Singapore Thailand Philippines
RUSSIA-ASEAN SUMMIT The successful construction of a new Asia-Pacific House meets the interests of all countries and their aspirations to develop a calm, creative life. Russia is open to such interaction, including the creation of various alliances.” D. A. Medvedev
SCO - SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION
Heb. Az. EC – EURASIAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY since 2000 Russia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan. Belarus An international economic organization created with the aim of forming common external customs borders of its member states, developing a unified foreign economic policy, tariffs, prices and other components of the functioning of the common market.
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OF TROPICAL AND SOUTH AFRICA NORTH AFRICA WEST AFRICA TROPICAL AND CENTRAL AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA The structure of the economies of these countries is dominated by the agricultural sector, although it is not able to meet domestic needs for food and raw materials. National capital is largely concentrated in the commercial sphere. This group of countries is characterized by the underdevelopment of the market mechanism, production and auxiliary infrastructure, transport network, communication system, banking, and electricity, which does not contribute to attracting foreign investment.
The annual population growth in Africa is 2.8%. Production of all types of food increases by only 1.9%. Food security 86% versus 98% in the 1960s. Low level of economic development. Survival through the help of the world community. PROBLEMS OF MODERN AFRICA TERRITORY OF AFRICA (million sq. km.) POPULATION OF AFRICA (million sq. km.) 19981960 6% 13% 
32% of the population are literate. 30 - 40% of children study in primary schools. There is no medical care. Average life expectancy is 49 years. PROBLEMS OF MODERN AFRICA
Level of development of developing countries GDP ($) per capita. 1994 1. Singapore 23360 9. Thailand 2210 2. Kuwait 19040 10. Tunisia 1800 3. Qatar 14540 11. China 530 4. South Korea 8220 12. India 310 5. Saudi. Arabia 7240 13. Haiti 220 6. Mexico 4010 14. Vietnam 190 7. Malaysia 3520 15. Ethiopia 130 8. Brazil 3370 16. Mozambique
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Reasons During the interwar years, the role of oil fields discovered and exploited by British companies in Iraq and Iran began to rapidly increase. Control over North Africa made it possible to “block” both water and land routes to India, Malaya, as well as to the British dominions - Australia and New Zealand. The same can be said about the routes connecting the Black Sea ports with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic.
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Mussolini’s reasons attracted a tidbit of “living space” and hopes for an easy victory... According to the Duce’s plan, activity on the African front was to become an important contribution of Italy to the geopolitical strategy of the Axis countries and to tie down significant allied forces in Africa. Since 1940, national socialist geopoliticians have comprehensively studied the project of a “little victorious safari in North Africa.” However, for Hitler this theater of military operations was of secondary importance. The British were well aware of the weakness of their position in this area. They feared an Italian attack on their strongholds in the Middle East, especially if it was supported by Germany.
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The forces of the parties at the beginning of the war In North Africa, Italy had two armies. The total number of troops was: 236 thousand people, 1800 guns and 315 aircraft. Almost all types of tanks and armored vehicles with which the troops were equipped were inferior to British tanks and armored vehicles in speed, weapons and quality of armor. The commander of the troops is the Governor General of Libya, Air Marshal Italo Balbo. By June 10, 1940, British troops, including parts of the dominions and colonies, in Egypt amounted to 66 thousand soldiers and officers (including 30 thousand Egyptians) - the Army of the Nile. The British air force in Egypt and Palestine - 168 aircraft. The commander-in-chief of British forces in the Middle East was General Archibald Percival Wavell.
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General Wavell adopted the tactic of harassing the enemy with counterattacks. In skirmishes on the border, during the first three months of the war, the Italians lost 3,500 people killed, wounded and prisoners, and the British only 150. Marshal Balbo also died at the same time: on June 28, Italian anti-aircraft gunners mistakenly shot down the plane he was flying on as it was landing in Tobruk . He was replaced by Marshal Rodolfo Graziani. War on the Anglo-French coalition was declared by Italy on June 10, 1940. However, the rapid defeat of France and its withdrawal from the war focused aggressive plans in the direction of Egypt. The first three months of military operations were of a positional nature.
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At the same time... 1940.06.22 - Surrender of France 1940.06.28 - Annexation of Bessarabia and North from Romania by the USSR. Bukovina 08.1940.01 - Hitler issued directive No. 17 on conducting a broad air war against England, the Battle of Britain began German patrol on the streets of Paris
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However, a lack of fuel, water and food stopped the offensive near the city of Sidi Barrani, where the Italians created a chain of military camps. On December 9, 1940, British troops under the command of Major General Richard O'Connor launched Operation Compass, which lasted until February 12, 1941. Within two days, all camps were destroyed. In the course of a further operation, the cities of Torbruk and Benghazi were taken on the territory of Libya, and the 10th Italian Army was defeated. 136 thousand soldiers and 7 generals surrendered. A threat looms over Tripoli. However, on February 10, 1941, British headquarters ordered a halt to the advance of troops at El Agheila. On September 16, 1940, Italian troops under the command of Marshal Graziani invaded Egypt.
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At the same time... 1940.09.23 - Invasion of Japanese troops into Indochina. 1940.09.27 - The Tripartite Pact was signed: Germany, Italy and Japan on a military alliance 1940.10.28 - Italian invasion of Greece 1941.01.19 - The beginning of the British offensive on Eritrea. 1941.02.03 - The German High Command orders the deployment of large-scale military preparations for a strike in the East. At the signing of the Tripartite Pact
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Germany decided to take advantage of the weakening of Italian forces in Libya in order to, by providing them with assistance, create a strategic bridgehead in North Africa, which would be necessary in the future to capture all of Africa. In addition, the seizure of Egypt and the Suez Canal was also in the interests of Germany. During February 1941, German troops were transferred to Libya and General Erwin Rommel took command of them. The hasty retreat of Italian troops was stopped in mid-February 1941. The Italo-German combined force began to advance back towards El Agheila and on February 22 met with British troops stationed at El Agheila and on the eastern border of the Sirte Desert. On March 31, the German command dealt a blow to the British, which turned out to be sudden. On the night of April 4, Italo-German troops occupied Benghazi without a fight, and on April 10 they approached Tobruk, which they blocked the next day, but failed to take the city. In mid-April, Rommel was forced to stop the offensive on the border of Egypt and Libya.
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At the same time... 1941.03.06 - Winston Churchill, in a speech on March 6, 1941, in connection with the sharply increased losses of the English merchant fleet, set the task of starting the Battle of the Atlantic 1941.04. - German troops captured Yugoslavia and Greece 05.1941.20 - German airborne landing on Crete. German motorcyclists on the streets of Belgrade
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In June 1941, the British command attempted to relieve Tobruk with large forces. On June 15, 1941, an attack by British troops began in the area of Es-Salloum and Fort Ridotta Capuzzo, recapturing several settlements from the Germans. However, a German counterattack on the night of June 18 pushed the British back to their positions. On November 18, 1941, British troops under the command of Claude Auchinleck launched their second offensive in Cyrenaica - Operation Crusader (Crusader), the goal of which was to push Rommel back to Tripolitania. Torbruk was released. The offensive stopped on December 31 in the El-Ageila area. The British were already celebrating their victory.
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At the same time... 1941.06.22 - Plan "Barbarossa" in action: German troops invaded the USSR 1941.08.14 - "Atlantic Charter" between England and the USA on the post-war structure of the world 1941.08.25 - Entry of Anglo-Russian troops into Iran. 1941.12.05-06 - The failure of the German offensive on Moscow. 12/1941/07 - Japanese aircraft raid Pearl Harbor 12/1941/08 - The United States and Great Britain declared war on Japan. June 22, 1941. German bombers over Soviet territory on December 7, 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
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However, the Italians managed to conduct a large convoy to Libya that delivered tanks and other weapons. On January 21, 1942, Rommel attacked British troops and drove them back to Torbruk. British troops fortified themselves on the line near Ayn el-Ghazal. Hot on the heels of the retreating British 8th Army, Rommel's troops invaded Egypt. The offensive was stopped 100 km away. from Alexandria near the town of El Alamein on July 1, 1942. Despite the reinforcements received (164th Light Division "Africa"), it was not possible to immediately break through the defenses of the 8th Army. Hot battles broke out. Until July 27, Rommel tried unsuccessfully to break through the Allied defenses. On August 15, General Harold Alexander was appointed to replace General Claude Auchinleck. The 8th Army was led by General Montgomery. From 31 August to 5 September, Rommel renewed attacks in the Alam Halfa area near El Alamein, but Montgomery successfully repelled them. From 26 to 27 May 1942, Rommel launched a new offensive, attacked British positions on the Gazala Line west of Tobruk, and broke through the British defenses. On June 20, German-Italian troops captured Tobruk.
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At the same time... 1942.01.20 Japanese troops cross Thailand, invade Burma 1942.05.26 - The Treaty of the USSR and England on an alliance against Germany is signed. 1942.06.04 - From June 4 to June 6, a naval battle took place at Midway Atoll. 1942.07.01 - Capture of Sevastopol by German troops 1942.07.17 - Battles for Stalingrad began. Stalingrad. Battle on the city streets
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On October 23, 1942, British troops under the command of General Montgomery went on the offensive against the Italian-German troops and in early November broke through the enemy defenses in the El Alamein area. On November 2, British troops broke through the enemy’s defenses after 3 days and the German-Italian tank army “Africa” was forced to retreat under enemy attacks. During the pursuit, British troops occupied the city of Tobruk on November 13. On November 8, 1942, Operation Torch (Torch) began - American-British divisions under the command of General Eisenhower, meeting only symbolic resistance from the troops of Vichy France, landed in Algeria, Oran and Casablanca. By the end of November, Anglo-American troops occupied Morocco and Algeria and entered Tunisia. By order of Hitler, on November 9, 1942, German troops began landing in Tunisia. On November 11, the Germans send troops into French territory controlled by the Vichy government. Meanwhile, the persecution of Rommel's group in Libya continues. Overcoming the minefields left by the retreating British troops occupied Tripoli on January 23, 1943 and in the first half of February stopped at the Maret line west of the Tunisian border with Libya.
Decolonization in Africa covers almost all of the post-war years. At first, all Arab countries of North Africa, except Algeria, gained independence. Most of the states of Tropical Africa gained independence in 1960, it is called the year of Africa. Further decolonization was more difficult. Portugal tried to the last to hold on to its colonies. In Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, an armed liberation movement began in response to this. Colonial wars eventually bled the mother country dry; in 1974, a revolution occurred in Portugal and the colonies became independent.
A difficult situation arose in Southern Rhodesia. There was a significant white minority living there, mostly farmers. The Whites declared the independence of Rhodesia in 1965. Neither Great Britain, to which Rhodesia belonged, nor the UN recognized this independence, and the Africans - the inhabitants of the country - began an armed struggle. Finding themselves isolated, the whites sat down with the Africans at the negotiating table in 1979. A new constitution was developed, in 1980, on its basis, elections were held and the independence of a new state, Zimbabwe, was proclaimed.
The last territory that did not have independence was the former German South West Africa, the mandate for which was transferred to South Africa after the First World War. South Africa first tried to annex this territory, then create a white minority government there. Africans began an armed struggle for independence in 1966. The UN officially revoked South Africa's mandate over the territory in 1973. Only in 1989, realizing the doom of attempts to maintain control over it, did South Africa begin negotiations with the Africans. This is how another independent African state appeared - Namibia.
The development of the Arab states of North Africa followed different paths. If Morocco and Tunisia consistently adhered to a pro-Western political orientation and course towards modernizing the country in line with a market economy, then in Algeria and Libya in the 60s supporters of socialist transformations came to power. Oil revenues since the 70s have given them the funds they need to do this.
The largest Arab country by population - Egypt - gained independence after the First World War, its rulers pursued a pro-Western policy. There were British troops in the Suez Canal zone, and the canal itself remained foreign property. In 1952, King Farouk was overthrown as a result of a military coup, and the country was led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. By challenging England, Nasser shook the imagination of the Arab world; in the same year he began preparations for another war with Israel, the common Arab enemy. But Israel launched a surprise attack and captured the entire Sinai Peninsula. England and France entered the war, trying to regain control of the Suez Canal. In response to this, the USSR declared its full support for Egypt. The US did not support its allies. The UN demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops from Egyptian territory. Nasser suddenly appeared in the eyes of the amazed Arabs as the winner of three states at once, including two great powers.
In 1958, the creation of the United Arab Republic consisting of Egypt and Syria was announced, with Nasser becoming its president. It was thought that other Arab states would join them in the future. Foreign capital was nationalized in Egypt, and since 1961 a course has been taken towards “building socialism.” Now the property of Egyptian entrepreneurs has already been nationalized, and they moved from agrarian reform to cooperation. At the same time, the political system was transformed into a one-party system.
However, further failures awaited Nasser. Also in 1961, Syria left the United Arab Republic. An even greater blow to Nasser's prestige was the defeat of the Egyptian army in Sinai in 1967, although again the attack by the Israeli army was provoked by Nasser himself, who blocked access to the Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea. He even announced his resignation, but then, at the “request of the people,” he remained as president.
The war caused enormous damage to Egypt; the Suez Canal, the country’s main source of income, ceased to function. The public sector was ineffective. The expanded bureaucracy absorbed all budget revenues. After Nasser's death in 1970, change became inevitable. His successor Anwar Sadat, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1973 to liberate Egyptian territory, was forced to admit this.
Sadat abandoned his ambitious plans to unite all Arabs, and the country became known as the Arab Republic of Egypt. Economic policy changed dramatically: private capital began to be encouraged, and many Egyptian entrepreneurs had their property returned. The doors were also “opened” for foreign capital.
Realizing that he could return the Suez Canal and Sinai only by reaching an agreement with Israel, Sadat broke ties with the USSR in 1976. In 1978, through the mediation of American President Carter, he and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to a peace treaty, signed in 1979.
The agreement caused a sharply negative reaction in the Arab world; Egypt was expelled from the Arab League. Sadat himself became a victim of an Islamic fanatic: in 1981, he shot him during a military parade. However, Sadat and his successor Hosni Mubarak managed to bring Egypt out of the crisis. Multi-party system was restored in the country. Egypt's ties with the Arab world gradually improved.
The development of the countries of Tropical Africa turned out to be fraught with the greatest difficulties. This is the most economically backward region in the world. By the time these countries gained independence, most of the population was concentrated in the traditional sector. The modern sector was small and in most cases had little connection with the traditional one. Modernization in these countries has led to the fact that the rate of destruction of the traditional sector has significantly outpaced the rate of creation of the modern one. The resulting “surplus” population did not find any use for itself. It accumulated in cities, creating belts of poverty around them. These people lived with odd jobs or at the expense of handouts from the state, which was afraid of a social explosion.
These problems have been exacerbated by dramatically increased rates of population growth. The new ruling elite of African countries, educated in a European manner, sought, first of all, to put an end to the most glaring signs of backwardness. It was unsanitary conditions, lack of access of the population to modern medicine. Huge amounts of money were spent on this. Help from international organizations was also sent there. As a result, it was possible to eliminate or limit outbreaks of epidemic diseases, such as malaria, relatively quickly. Vaccination of the population, sanitary and hygienic measures - the construction of water treatment plants and sewerage systems in cities, the use of disinfectants - all this led to a sharp reduction in mortality. But people continued to adhere to traditional ideas about the family, according to which the more children the better. The birth rate has increased. This created the conditions for unprecedented rates of population growth, for which Africa ranks first in the world.
In conditions where the majority of the population is poor and unsettled people, it is impossible to achieve civil peace - a necessary condition for a stable democratic society. This civil peace is all the more impossible due to the extreme ethnic diversity of African countries. After all, the borders of African states were established by the colonial powers; they are artificial. It was not nations that gained independence in Africa, but colonial territories. There are no single-national states south of the Sahara. At the same time, some large nations are separated by state borders. Thus, the Fulani people, numbering more than 20 million people, live in 6 states of West Africa and are not the largest in any of them. This, in particular, led to the fact that even after gaining independence in most countries of Tropical Africa, the official language remained the language of the metropolis; it was the only means of interethnic communication. But, as we know from the example of Europe, the destruction of traditional society and the emergence of an industrial one lead to the emergence of national consciousness and national movements. For Africa, therefore, modernization has resulted in an increase in interethnic and interethnic conflicts within African states. They often pose a threat to the integrity of these states. Thus, in 1967, the Ibo people in Eastern Nigeria declared secession and the creation of the independent state of Biafra; the civil war continued until 1969. Nigeria's territorial integrity was preserved. But the long-term war of the Eritreans for independence from Ethiopia ended in victory. Ethiopia was forced to recognize Eritrea as an independent state. The armed struggle between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples in Rwanda led not only to enormous casualties, but to the collapse of the state. Ethnic violence continues in Sudan, Liberia.
The complex ethnic composition of African states gives rise to another feature of political life—tribalism (from the Latin “tribus” - “tribe”). Tribalism means a commitment to ethnic isolation, in which case all socio-economic relations are refracted through ethnic ones. Political parties are created along ethnic lines, they try to do business only with fellow tribesmen, etc.
All this left an imprint on the political development of the countries of Tropical Africa. The absence of civil peace led to the failure of the first post-independence attempts to create democratic states. Soon, authoritarian regimes were established in these countries, relying, as a rule, on the army - the only real force. Political struggle in Africa for a long time took the form of periodic military coups and counter-coups. But all this, in turn, did not at all contribute to the formation of civil peace. Rather, on the contrary, violence, turning into the main means of maintaining power, gave rise to retaliatory violence.
In 1965, the commander of the army of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, seized power and soon proclaimed himself emperor. To carry out the coronation at the proper level in his poor country, he collected taxes for years to come, brutally persecuting all those who were dissatisfied. When he gave the order to shoot a demonstration of schoolchildren, it caused widespread outrage. French paratroopers landed in the republic (it was a French colony in the past) and overthrew him. In Uganda in 1971, General Idi Amin, the country's former boxing champion, seized power. He proclaimed himself president for life and bloodily suppressed any manifestation of discontent. During his reign, 300 thousand people died. Amin was overthrown only with the help of the Tanzanian army. After this, there was a civil war in Uganda for several years.
Political instability, in turn, made it difficult to solve economic problems. There were few domestic sources of investment, and foreign ones were simply impossible due to the unpredictability of most local rulers. In many countries, modernization was carried out in the form of “building socialism” (Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Congo), where, as a rule, foreign property was simply confiscated. The struggle for economic independence in these countries often took the form of abandoning the production of traditional “colonial” goods. Tanzania, which was the largest supplier of sisal to the world market, decided to get rid of it. As a result, the country lost a reliable source of foreign currency. Over time, the relative prosperity of those countries that have maintained or even increased their export potential has emerged. These are exporters of oil (Nigeria, Gabon), copper (Zaire, Zambia), cocoa (Ivory Coast), tea and coffee (Kenya).
In the 1980s, countries in tropical Africa faced particular difficulties. Their growth rates fell, and external debt increased. Urgent measures were needed to save the economy. All efforts were devoted to increasing export potential. With the assistance of international financial organizations, economic restructuring began. The experiments in introducing a planned economy and developing the public sector were over. The establishment of market relations began. Instead of restricting foreign capital, everyone switched to encouraging it. To date, these measures have led to some economic recovery.
Interethnic conflicts spill over state borders, giving rise to interstate clashes. To prevent border conflicts, African countries agreed to adhere to the principle of respect for existing borders, which was included in the Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
This state arose on the site of the only European settler colony in Africa. After the war, it turned into a fairly highly developed state with a developed mining industry. The political regime that developed in this country, however, sharply distinguished it from other developed countries. It was based on the idea of apartheid - the artificial separation of the white minority and the black majority. It was justified by the desire to preserve the national identity of these communities and to save white workers from competition from the cheap labor of the local population. Blacks and whites lived separately. The white minority owned all the power in the country. The African National Congress (ANC) led the black people's struggle for equal rights. At first, she advocated only nonviolent means of struggle. After the Second World War, when the decolonization of Africa began, there was a rise in the liberation struggle, but the authorities responded to it by intensifying persecution. Then supporters of violent methods of struggle also appeared in the ANC. Among them was Nelson Mandela.
Meanwhile, Africa was liberated. South Africa remained the only state on the continent where the local population was discriminated against. All liberated countries united in the fight against apartheid. South Africa has found itself in real international isolation. The very situation of the black population has also changed. It formed a large working class; the mining industry could no longer operate without attracting hundreds of thousands of Africans. A formidable black middle class emerged. The continuation of apartheid threatened with unpredictable consequences for the regime. Gradually, an understanding of the need for political reforms became established among the white population. The leader of the supporters of change was Frederik de Klerk.
The following year he granted amnesty to Mandela. He headed the ANC. The South African Parliament began, one after another, to repeal the laws on which the apartheid regime rested. The ban on whites and blacks living and studying together was lifted, and the ban on interracial marriage was lifted. The proximity of the abolition of apartheid sharply intensified the political confrontation between supporters and opponents of the previous regime among whites, but the majority of them supported the president in a referendum in 1992. The struggle also intensified among various factions of the black population. Mandela's authority as the leader of all blacks began to be challenged by representatives of the Zulu tribe. The rivalry took violent forms. With difficulty, de Klerk and Mandela managed to get all the country's political parties to sign a non-violence pact. In 1993, a new constitution was drafted with the participation of representatives of all parties. According to it, South Africa has become a democratic multiracial state. The next year's presidential elections, in which blacks participated for the first time, brought victory to Mandela. South Africa emerged from international isolation, it was admitted to the Organization of African Unity and became an integral part of the world community of democratic states.
Creder A.A. Recent history of foreign countries. 1914-1997
