| Instead of the economic prosperity that was supposed to be associated with the acquisition of political liberation; independence brought, for many African nations and peoples, a return not only to repressive and authoritarian government, but also to economic decline and hardship. Many theorists have contemplated the cause and/or solution to these problems in Africa. Some have blamed the international community---primarily the Western or developed nations. My task, in this dissertation, is to examine this view and to give an ethical analysis of the relationship between African nations and the developed world---with specific reference to foreign aid.; Bearing in mind that the applicability of normative ethics to international relations has, for a longtime been a minority view amongst scholars, I, in this dissertation, examine the question; Are moral categories and judgements simply out of place in the realm of international affairs? After considering and offering objections to some of the arguments put forward by realists, I go on to argue not only that normative questions are central to the discipline/practice of international relations, but also that actors in international relations (and citizens in general) cannot help but raise normative questions when deciding what to do in their relations with other states.; Having successfully made my case that ethics is central to the discipline of international relations, I go on, in chapter two, to consider one of the pressing and difficult issues that are raised in the practice of international relations---i.e., the foreign aid program and whether there is an obligation for Western developed nations to assist poor under-developed Third world (in particular African) nations. I evaluate some of the arguments for and against the obligation to assist and contend that Western nations have an obligation to assist.; In the third chapter, I present a case study of aid to Somalia. Somalia, I believe, is paradigmatic not only because it is probably the sub-Saharan African country that received the most aid, but also the country in which the debilitating effects of aid are most glaring. In this case study the conclusions in chapter two are substantiated.; After the case study, I, in chapter four, examine three key issues/questions facing African nations---(a) the question of what type of democracy is suitable; (b) corruption; and (c) the issue of compromising sovereignty by allowing intervention. With respect to the first question, I argue that a consensus one-party system of democracy---one that is congenial to the African political and sociocultural context---is most suitable. I then go on to recognize the role corruption has played in the devastation of most African nations. I adumbrate some of the causes of corruption and offer some solutions to combat it. Regarding (c), I argue that intervention must be done at an early stage, limited to aid and censure of flagrant abuses of human rights. I end with the point that the complexity and difficulty of the above issues and questions reinforces the need for ethics in international politics. Without morality to guide and evaluate our actions we would be lost and unaware of what we are doing. |
