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Global Storms and Africa in World Politics

Contemporary Challenges and Decolonial Responses

  • 2025
  • Buch
Herausgegeben von
Gorden Moyo
Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Buchreihe
Global Power Shift
Verlag
Springer Nature Switzerland
Enthalten in
Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"
Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"
insite
SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Afrika bietet eine einzigartige Perspektive, um die heutigen globalen Krisen zu verstehen. Dieses Buch untersucht, wie Afrika, das aufgrund des Kolonialismus historisch in einer subalternen Rolle positioniert ist, eine kritische Linse auf die sich wandelnde Dynamik des modernen Weltsystems bietet. Das Buch zeigt, wie Afrikas anhaltender Kampf gegen Rassismus, Kolonialismus und wirtschaftliche Ausbeutung Afrika zu einem mächtigen Ort macht, an dem die Weltordnung neu überdacht werden kann. Das Buch befasst sich mit ökologischen, ideologischen, finanziellen, gesundheitlichen und systemischen Krisen und zeigt, wie Probleme in Afrika untrennbar mit globalen Fragen verknüpft sind. Sie argumentiert, dass die so genannte Dekolonialisierung nach 1945 oberflächlich war und globale Hierarchien aufrechterhielt, die Afrika marginalisieren. Mit Einsichten von Denkern wie Nkrumah und Rodney stellt sie die fest verwurzelten Strukturen des Rassenkapitalismus in Frage und bietet neue Wege für echte globale Gleichheit und Gerechtigkeit. Dieses Buch wird Studenten, Wissenschaftler und Forscher aus den Bereichen Internationale Beziehungen, Wirtschaft, Politikwissenschaft und verwandten Disziplinen ansprechen sowie politische Entscheidungsträger, die an einem besseren Verständnis der aktuellen globalen Machtverschiebung und Afrikas Herausforderungen und Position innerhalb des modernen Weltsystems interessiert sind.
Mit KI übersetzt

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction: Reflections on Global Storms from African Locus of Enunciation
Abstract
This introductory chapter is a gateway to the profound discussions about the global polycrisis and its implications for Africa and the rest of the Global South. The chapter locates Africa’s experience within the discursive contexts, histories, geographies, biographies, and politics of crises. In this way, it serves a double purpose. On the one hand, it introduces the reader to the global storms ranging from ecological/climatic, normative, ideological, financial, health, unemployment, systemic, institutional, structural, and ethical to epistemic crises that are haunting the world today. On the other hand, it is an invitation to the reader to interact with the ideas, insights, reflections, paradigms, and philosophies that interpret the global polycrisis from decolonial and other heterodox perspectives. To this extent, the chapter is a prospectus of the book you are reading now.
Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Gorden Moyo

Global Financial Architecture and Debt Crisis

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. Decolonising the Global Financial Architecture: Towards Financial Sovereignty in Africa
Abstract
The global financial architecture has been shaped by colonial legacies and power imbalances that have generally disadvantaged the Global South. The present international monetary system emerged from the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The Bretton Woods Institutions promoted the acceleration of globalization and the Global South’s economic dependence. The existing global financial system perpetuates deeper fragmentation despite multipolarity and geopolitical competition. The expansion of the BRICS brings a critical dimension to global financial and decoloniality discourse. The block’s economic strength, demographic weight, and geopolitical significance challenge the dominance of the Western hegemony in shaping global power dynamics. Guided by a desktop approach, the chapter is underpinned by the decoloniality paradigms. The major issues emerging from the analysis relate to the continent’s weak global engagement strategy and the dominance of Western knowledge. The chapter recommends reforms that promote collective action for an inclusive financial system that supports Africa’s development agenda.
Arthur Fidelis Chikerema, Vincent Chakunda
Chapter 3. Specters of Global Financial Apartheid in Africa
Abstract
Global Africa is currently subjected to a perfect storm of global events including climate devastation, the ripple effects of the Russo-Ukraine war, the aftermaths of the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resurgence of coups across the continent, as well as the lingering effects of the 2007 global financial crisis. The general response to this polycrisis by the archetypical global financial institutions such as the duo of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as by the powerful multilateral bodies including the G-7 and the G-20 countries has been to place global finance at the heart of the “imagined solutions.” This has however resulted in far-reaching implications for African countries that were coercively inserted into the global financial system with all its colonial birth defects.
Gorden Moyo
Chapter 4. Development Under Threat: The Return of the Debt Crisis in Africa
Abstract
Africa finds itself in a debt crisis similar to that witnessed in the 1980s through the 1990s. Since 2010, Africa’s debt has increased by 183 percent to over US$1.8 trillion. The median public debt-to-GDP ratio in Africa grew from 28.8 percent in 2012 to 59.1 percent in 2022. While the figure of US$1.8 trillion seems low since Africa’s debt makes up only 2 percent of the total, the majority of African countries do not have the capacity to handle their debts thus rendering them unsustainable and inimical to Africa’s development. About six countries have defaulted on their debts since 2020, while eight countries have been classified as debt-distressed and 13 more are facing a high risk of debt distress. This chapter argues that the current measures namely the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and the Common Framework for Debt Treatment Beyond the DSSI introduced to mitigate the debt crisis have proved ineffective. Urgent solutions including an improved international debt treatment mechanism, continental initiatives like the African Credit Rating Agency and the African Debt Monitoring Mechanism, and the capacitation of national debt management offices are needed to address the debt crisis in Africa.
Sizo Nkala
Chapter 5. Creditor Contributions, Benefits, and Solutions to Debt Crisis in Africa
Abstract
The debt crisis in Africa has become a major concern, with significant implications for the continent’s economic development and social progress. This chapter critically examines how creditors are contributing to and benefiting from Africa’s debt, while also exploring how their proposed solutions have exacerbated, rather than resolved, the underlying problem. The chapter begins by addressing the role of creditors in Africa’s debt crisis. By using the political economy conceptual framing, it highlights the historical context, tracing the origins of the crisis back to unsustainable lending practices by international financial institutions and external creditors, bilateral and multilateral as well as new and traditional creditors. Through a comprehensive analysis of debt accumulation patterns, it becomes evident that creditors have played a significant part in causing the current storm in Africa of the debt burden, often through irresponsible lending practices and inadequate debt management frameworks.
Janet Mudzviti-Zhou

Global Climate Crisis

Frontmatter
Chapter 6. Climate Colonialism in Africa
Abstract
This chapter seeks to reposition the emerging anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change discourse alongside the global storms debate. It asserts that climate change like the three global storms (The 2008 financial crisis, the 2019 Covid-19 pandemic, and the February 2022 Russia–Ukraine conflict) has shaped and reconfigured relations between the global south and its more affluent northern counterpart. Despite the fact that global warming-driven climate change is a contemporary phenomenon, its manifestation and management however mirrors the political divide that has existed between the global north and south whereby the north continues to exploit the south in what can best be described as climate colonialism. The study argues that climate colonialism reproduces the horrors of colonialism and imperialism in the form of global north-backed initiatives that only further ravage the post-colony. In particular, climate financing, climate adaptation, carbon offsetting, green policing, natural resource exploitation, and smart solutions to climate change.
Vincent Chenzi, Nyasha Trishia Murau, Washington Mazorodze
Chapter 7. The Bane of Climate Colonialism in Africa: A Decolonial Approach
Abstract
This chapter discusses the discourse related to climate colonialism from a decolonial perspective. It argues that climate colonialism accelerated the climate crisis in Africa as it led to desertification, environmental degradation, carbon emissions, deforestation, and the universality of Western knowledge. It concludes that African governments should advocate for climate policies that acknowledge the role of colonialism, capitalism, and marginalization of the continent by the Euro-Western powers and institutions.
Mufaro Dzingirai, Tatenda Leeroy Murombedzi, Anesu Ndoro
Chapter 8. Capitalocene and Disaster Capitalism: Reflections on the Climate Crisis in Africa
Abstract
This chapter examines the emergence, manifestation, and effects of disaster capitalism in the African continent. It was guided by three research questions: what are the historical roots of contemporary disaster capitalism in Africa? How has the global capitalist system influenced the emergence of disaster capitalism in the African continent? And how best can disaster capitalism be addressed in the African continent? The chapter’s findings indicated that the anthropogenic climate crisis is intricately linked to the global capitalist system which is driven by profit-making, extractivism, and exploitation. By drawing examples from climate induced disasters in Africa, it argues that the capabilities of most African nations to render public goods and services to the inhabitants have been handicapped. This has created opportunities for the denationalization of public goods and services into private entities resulting in disaster capitalism evidenced by disaster driven exploitative profiteering tendencies.
Vincent Chenzi, Nyasha Trishia Murau, Admire Ndamba
Chapter 9. Implications of Climate Crisis in Southern Africa
Abstract
This chapter discusses climate crisis within the framework of climate capitalism. Contrary to the conventional understanding of climate from an anthropocentric perspective, the discussion here emphasises fairness, equity, and inclusivity in crafting solutions that recognise the role of the history of colonialism and imperialism perpetuated by powerful countries and multinational corporations. Chapter concludes that only comprehensive strategies prioritising sustainability and inclusivity, beyond market-driven approaches will help build a more just and resilient future for Africa.
Gracsious Maviza, Divane Nzima, Siyaxola Enerst Gadu, Ntobeko Ndlovu

Global Health Crisis

Frontmatter
Chapter 10. Vaccine Apartheid: An Indictment of Global Health System
Abstract
This chapter deploys Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and the decolonial lenses to examine the linkage between capitalism and unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines. It argues that the public health sector has remained caught up in the global “vaccine apartheid” (gap in vaccine delivery between the global North and global South) which impedes inclusive delivery of health in the global South. Decolonial discussions have so far been limited to the area of political science and literature. Few studies have taken a systematic theoretical approach to the postcolonial discussions on the unequal delivery of COVID-19 medicines. To this end, the chapter proposes decolonization and deimperialization of the global health systems as viable options for addressing unequal access to drugs and vaccines between the global North and South.
Ephraim Chifamba
Chapter 11. Vaccine Imperialism
Abstract
The exploitative transnational corporations are the ones producing vaccines, supposedly to save Africans from the COVID-19 pandemic. The West is not prepared to relinquish its hegemonic stranglehold on the global stage with vaccine production and distribution being a case in point. Resultantly, the Global South will always depend on the West for the sustenance of its health institutions. However, African efforts are being demonized and dismissed as frivolous undertakings, and an apt example is the Madagascan herbal cure for COVID-19 which was summarily dismissed, not necessarily because it was unsafe but because of vaccine imperialism which is being perpetrated by the Western world. The West wants to monopolize and certify everything because it does not want to be outflanked. Such behaviors point to the evidence of neo-imperial Western fundamentalism wherein everything African is demonized and dismissed.
Chambiwa Elijah, Sakirai Gift
Chapter 12. External Funding for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Post-COVID Africa
Abstract
 The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the Global South’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This chapter focuses on the factors that affect external funding and how they correlate with the success of SMEs in the aftermath of the pandemic. The pandemic has hit Africa particularly hard, causing a drop of 8% in the continent’s largest economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) between 2020 and 2022. Nigeria, one of the continent’s economic powerhouses, has been significantly affected, highlighting the urgent need for external funding. SMEs in the Global South face several challenges, including high interest rates, collateral requirements from financiers, and a need for more awareness of funding options. These options are essential for SMEs to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and promote their growth. This chapter contributes to understanding business financing and provides valuable insights to policymakers, financial institutions, and business owners.
Wehnam Peter Dabale
Chapter 13. COVID-19 and the Global South: An Integrative Review
Abstract
COVID-19 first broke out in China in 2019 but by March 2020 had assumed pandemic proportions on a global scale. Both the Global North and Global South put in place measures to contain the pandemic. Yawning gaps emerged in the fragile healthcare systems in the Global South. The socioeconomic inequalities globally were exacerbated. Vaccine imperialism manifested itself in the form of pharmaceutical companies in the North producing and distributing vaccines in the North. The ratio of vaccination was higher in the Global North. While the World Health Organization (WHO) had come up with COVAX, a global initiative aimed at achieving justice and equity in the distribution of the vaccines, many countries in the Global North breached this. Lessons learned from COVID-19 by the Global South ranged from the need to build robust and resilient healthcare systems to being in a state of preparedness for any epidemic.
Idah Moyo, Benny Moyo
Chapter 14. Emergency Humanitarian Commodity Management Conundrum During the COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Zimbabwean Experience
Abstract
The place of the Global South in world politics must be reevaluated in light of three global storms. The first is the global financial crisis of 2008, which had a negative impact on the capitalist economies all over the world. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 is the second example, which exposed both the shortcomings of the health system and the inequalities in the current international system (Laborde & Vos, 2020). The third event, which will have major effect on the Global South, is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by force in February 2022. These global storms have also exposed the systemic (McKeon, 2015), structural, institutional, epistemological, ethical, and leadership weaknesses of the existing world order. The COVID-19 outbreak in November 2019 and its rapid spread from China to all countries across the world challenged preconceived beliefs about the vulnerability of populations, the tenacity of international institutions, and even the durability of globalization. According to the World Health Organization (2020), COVID-19, a contagious illness brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, spread viciously across the world with the majority of the virus-infected individuals experiencing a mild to severe respiratory disease and recovering without the need for special care. However, some people got serious illnesses and needed medical assistance.
Shepherd Gudyani

Russo-Ukraine War, Coups in Africa and African Agency

Frontmatter
Chapter 15. The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on the Global South: The Case of Africa
Abstract
Russia, Africa, and the Global South need each other. Russia remains an ally of the Global South, especially Africa against Western countries’ extremism and bully political tactics and shenanigans. Without the likes of Russia and China, an unpleasant unipolar world which drives the Global South into further poverty, exploitation, lack of self-determination, and misery is likely to emanate. Russia’s presence has helped several African countries to strengthen their negotiating powers vis-a-vis Western powers, defend their national sovereignty, and strengthen world multipolarity. Russia’s relations with the Global South, especially Africa, can be strengthened by boosting intergovernmental commissions, business councils, sports commissions, and cultural centers between Russia and Africa and countries in the Global South.
Charles Mutasa
Chapter 16. Russia’s Search for International Recognition and Ontological Security in the Global South Post the Ukraine Conflict
Abstract
In 2022, drawing from its essential and historical affinities with the Global South, in the wake of its “military operation” in Ukraine, Russia began to repackage and propagate its foreign policy within a new post-Cold War thinking. Suffice it to say, its conceptual dimension suggested international practices of searching for recognition and ontological security in spatial “imaginaries” such as Africa. What is noticeable about Russia’s politics of recognition in Africa is a departure from the traditional constructions of foreign policy toolkits—the deployment of national militaries and economic incentives—to a new form of engagement that utilizes non-state actors and soft power tools such as information, multilateralism, and security diplomacy. Russia is depicted as a global power utilizing its security toolkits, coalescing with beleaguered incumbents to stifle meaningful political transitions in specific African states begging the question of whether Africa is an ontological security and self-identity reservoir for a post-Cold War Russia.
Dylan Yanano Mangani, Ntsikelelo Benjamin Breakfast
Chapter 17. Resurgence of Coups and Anti-French Sentiments in West Africa: A Review of the “Unconstitutional” Change of Governments in Burkina Faso and Niger
Abstract
Unconstitutional changes of government through military coups have been frequent in postcolonial Africa, especially in West Africa. The Sahel region, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon, has seen a recent surge in military coups since 2020, termed “the coup contagion.” This chapter examines the coups in Burkina Faso and Niger between 2022 and 2023, highlighting common themes. These include growing insecurity from armed terrorist insurgents, which destabilized national security and created divisions within the military. Anti-French sentiments have also risen due to France’s strong influence, including military presence and questionable mining practices. The chapter contextualizes these coups in the global geopolitical landscape amid the Russia-Ukraine war, noting the acceptance of Russian private military groups and calls for France’s expulsion. Despite uncertainties, the coups reflect a growing anti-imperial stance, suggesting a trend toward revolutionary change against neocolonial forces in the Sahel.
Divane Nzima, Mubarak Aliyu, Herbert Mba Aki, Gorden Moyo
Chapter 18. Global Politics and Recent Political Changes in West and Central Africa: A Decolonial Analysis
Abstract
Coloniality of governance is our intervention for analyzing the nexus between the modern world system and political changes in West and Central Africa. Arguably, the idea of a state is weaved in the Euro-modern epistemology and implanted through the post-1945 juridical decolonization, which created diverse states clamoring for complete decolonization, proxies for USA/Communists or former colonialists, deploying different aspects of coloniality of governance which tend to be the major factor behind violent political changes. The chapter questions the naturalization of frowned upon Euro-modern coup d’état. This library study examines the reasons behind the coups and their impact. The main finding is that, although the main causes of coups are painted local, they have qualities of a global war.
Funa Moyo, Sihlanganiso Khumalo
Chapter 19. Coups d’etat and Democratic Backsliding in Africa: Legitimizing Unconstitutional Power Grabs and Implications for Continental Political Stability
Abstract
This chapter examines the sudden allure of a coup in twenty-first-century Africa resulting from external interference in the continent’s economic affairs. Benefits accruing from coups include power and unbridled access to state resources, whereas the downsides such as failure and ultimate imprisonment are less likely particularly if the incumbent administration is civilian. The plethora of coups in Africa comes against the backdrop of the Organization of African Union’s policy of noninterference, which makes coup plotters forget about external costs to be incurred. This chapter, through discourse analysis and related literature, underscores the central role foreign-trained officers play in the successful execution of coups and how the institutionalization of Western-style democracy is stifled as citizens conceptualize coups as a liberating force from civilian bondage. Through discourse analysis and available literature on the coup phenomenon in Africa, this chapter critiques the role of international players in sustaining coup plots that stand to undermine the democratic gains of yesteryears and recommends that people should shift from their outright condemnation to taking bold and proactive political measures that are in synch with African political and economic realities in order to curb their recurrence.
Aaron Rwodzi
Chapter 20. African Agency in the Context of a New World Dis(Order)
Abstract
The geopolitical contestations between the United States and China have intensified in recent years, and this has had a significant impact on the global response to developmental challenges such as climate change, peace, security, and health emergencies. This has resulted in Africa being caught in a web of dilemmas with regard to its in(voluntary) participation in the geopolitical games of the United States and China. In this context, I argue in this chapter that Africa must use its strategic position to its advantage and demand a seat at the table when global decisions are being made. To do so, I argue that Africa must develop its own agency, policy maturity, diplomatic adeptness, political leadership, and policy capacity in order to effectively engage with the United States and China and must not be afraid to stand up to the United States and China when necessary.
Mbongeni Nhliziyo
Titel
Global Storms and Africa in World Politics
Herausgegeben von
Gorden Moyo
Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Copyright-Jahr
2025
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-83868-2
Print ISBN
978-3-031-83867-5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83868-2

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