Africa and the United States: Vital Interests

Abstract

Addressing one of the most salient issues of our time, the contributors to this volume-- both African specialists and policy generalists-- examine current African issues and their implications for U.S. Policy. Their essays were generated for a Council on Foreign Relations study group on U.S. policy toward Africa which met in Washington, D.C., under the chairmanship of Senator Dick Clark, in the winter and spring of 1977-- just as the outlines of the Carter Administration's new policy toward Africa were becoming apparent. Together they cover the principal areas of intersection between U.S. interests and African political and economic dynamics in the context of subSaharan Africa as a whole, for despite the particular urgency of developments in southern Africa, the U.S. posture there cannot be viewed in isolation from relationships on the rest of the continent. Thus, U.S. economic and strategic interests in southern Africa are ranged against on the rest of the continent and on U.S. relationships with black Africa are explored in detail. In the opening section, Jennifer Seymour Whitaker describes The African Setting, briefly outlining the history of U.S.-African relations since the African Independence movements. She discusses the latter-day Kissinger policy toward Africa and shifts in U.S. policy with the advent of the Carter Administration. Gordon Bertolin of U.S. AID reviews U.S. economic interests in southern and black Africa, analyzing the use of American economic leverage to achieve political ends and the extent to which economic interests should determine U.S. political behavior. In his essay, Guy Erb, Staff Member of the National Security Council, assesses Africa's rolein the Third World drive for a New International Economic Order and suggests appropriate U.S. responses. An overview of African policies and potential political problems, including an exposition of what is happening in the Horn of Africa, Nigeria, Zaire, Kenya and Sahara is provided by I. William Zartman, Professor of Politics at New York University. Andrew Nagorski, Newsweek International'sAsian Editor and former Assistant Managing Editor, focuses on the importance of South Africa to U.S. policy in the region and outlines a policy of increasing pressure on the white regime. Geoffrey Kemp, Professor of Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, assesses U.S. strategic interests particularly regarding the Horn of Africa and the Cape Route in relation to internal political developments in the area, as well as possible Soviet strategies of intervention or preemption. Soviet interests and the probable military role of the U.S.S.R. in Africa are analyzed by Robert Legvold, Director of the U.S.-Soviet Relations Project at the Council on Foreign Relations. In conclusion, Ms. Whitaker sets forth guidelines for a coherent U.S. policy toward Africa, balancing the variety of U.S. interests and policy options.