Question
With reference to the period up to 2005, evaluate the success of any two African countries in combating social and economic challenges.
Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are required to appraise the success of any two African countries in dealing with social and economic problems.
Indicative content
- There could be emphasis on increased government spending in certain areas as a means of addressing the social and economic problems, for example on health, education and infrastructure.
- The employment of UN agencies and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided aid as well as specialists in the field, for example the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), Save the Children and Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), may also be addressed.
- There could be a focus on tertiary education in order to produce home-grown experts such as medical professionals, teachers, economists and agronomists.
- A focus on awareness campaigns highlighting issues such as illiteracy, hygiene, and AIDS is also a valid area for discussion.
- In addition to this, there could be an attempt to gauge the ability of countries to resolve conflicts (or their inability to resolve them).
- Also, the existence of other problems that hampered the ability of African countries to deal with these issues may include a discussion of corruption, a lack or misuse of resources, high military spending, population growth and political instability for example.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.
Question
With reference to the period up to 2005, to what extent has neocolonialism been the main cause of underdevelopment in two African countries?
Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are required to consider the merits or otherwise of the argument that neo-colonialism was the main cause of underdevelopment in any two African countries. Some candidates may adopt a comparative approach; however this is not a requirement and any suitable response is equally acceptable.
Indicative content
- Candidates may reference the persistence of a fundamentally unequal global economic system in the post-colonial era, with raw materials flowing from newly independent countries in the south to developed economies in the north—to the obvious benefit of the latter.
- There could be a focus on the vulnerability of African economies to fluctuations in the international commodities markets, with results that were often catastrophic (particularly when countries had been previously encouraged to take out massive loans to pay for expensive and unnecessary development projects).
- The influence of Cold War rivalry could be relevant, with countries becoming proxies in conflicts that were very much to the detriment of their economic development.
- The role of multinational corporations that penetrated countries and attempted to perpetuate an economic culture of low-wage labour and the extraction of cheap raw-materials, with little concern for wider development or the environment could also be deemed significant.
- The role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lending agencies, which set stringent conditions for countries applying for loans and economic bailouts (structural adjustment programmes), may have led to the opening of some countries’ economies to further exploitation by more developed countries.
- Other causes of underdevelopment include poor leadership and planning, corruption, civil wars and other conflicts which had little to do with western interference.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.
Question
Evaluate the political impact of ethnic conflict in any two African countries.
Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are expected to focus their responses on the consequences of ethnic conflict in any two African countries in the period from their independence to 2000. The nature of responses will vary greatly depending on the countries chosen, and there may well be some overlap between ethnic conflict and civil war in the responses. Candidates may note that the causes of conflicts are complex and ethnic factors often overlap and interact with others.
Indicative content
• Invariably, one major result of ethnic conflict in African countries has been severe political and economic destabilization and a corresponding lack of progress and development.
• Ethnic conflict has often resulted in civil war, as different groups competed for political dominance, or one or more ethnicities attempted to secede. Sometimes these attempts have met with failure, as was the case with the defeat of the attempted Igbo secession in the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970. In the case of Nigeria this was followed by some form of national reconciliation.
• On other occasions this has led to the division of established states, although this has been atypical. An example of this would be the independence of Eritrea in 1991 following a protracted civil war in Ethiopia.
• In many cases, governments have been ousted as a result of ethnic conflict. This was the case in Ethiopia with the victory of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) over the Amhara-dominated Mengistu regime in 1991 and in Rwanda with the invasion and overthrow of the Hutu-dominated government by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
• In many cases ethnic conflict resulted in the long-term domination of one group by another. This was the case in the Sudan with the subjugation of the south by the Arab north.
• In the worst cases ethnic conflict has resulted in genocide, as was the case in Rwanda in 1994.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.
Question
Discuss the reasons why one-party states were established in any two African countries.
Answer/Explanation
Ans:
Candidates are required to offer a considered and balanced review of the various factors that led to the establishment of one-party states in the early post-independence period. The nature of the responses will vary greatly depending on the two countries selected.
Indicative content
• Some multi-party democratic systems were not sufficiently stable to enable them to withstand the pressures of post-independence politics, particularly in those countries that were divided along ethnic lines. This often led to the military assuming power, arguing that the purpose of the coup was to restore strong governance and to save the country from the threat of civil war.
• Many post-independence democracies struggled with corruption and the problems associated with poverty and underdevelopment. This gave the army the excuse to step in and bring a temporary end to democracy. An example would be the army coup in Ghana in 1972.
• In many cases, non-governing parties failed to sustain meaningful opposition and simply fell by the wayside, allowing the governing party to gradually consolidate its grip on power. This was often the case in countries which had hitherto been dominated by a single national independence movement, such as with TANU in Tanzania or KANU in Kenya.
• Some African leaders, most notably Nkrumah, Nyerere and Kaunda, argued that multi-party democracy was a western political import that was unsuited to Africa because traditional African society is more communal and less competitive. Decisions to bring an end to the multi-party democracies of the early post-independence years were therefore based more on political philosophy than democratic failure.
• Similarly, one-party states were often established to satisfy the personal ambitions of dominant leaders and not necessarily as a result of democratic failure, for example Mobutu in the Congo, Amin in Uganda or Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.