African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century: [2 Volumes]

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Bloomsbury Academic, Oct 21, 2010 - History - 531 pages

This book offers a continent-wide examination of Africa's foreign policy and diplomacy, addressing the relevance of its many languages, precolonial history, traditional value systems, and previous international relationships.
African statehood predates that of Europe, as well as the rest of Western civilization, and yet by imposing Western values on Africa and its peoples, European colonialism destroyed Africa's paradigm of statehood along with its value systems that were ideally suited for this majestic continent. This two-volume book provides a comprehensive survey of the issues and events that have shaped Africa from remotest antiquity to the present, and serves as the foundation of Africa's international relations, diplomacy, and foreign policy.

The first volume of African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century discusses the determinants of Africa's diplomacy from antiquity to the 18th century; the second volume addresses the further developments of its foreign policy from the 19th to the 21st century.

  • Presents an exhaustive assessment of all the African nations and their international relations from the perspective of African history and the continent's traditions of statecraft
  • Contains fascinating information regarding Africa's natural resource base, its status as the "Cradle of Humankind," descriptions of Africa as ''The Dark Continent," Africa's paradoxes, and the reasons for Africa's isolation, exploitation, impoverishment, and marginalization
  • Six charts provide handy reference to topics such as territories and regions adjacent to Africa in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, dates of independence, status, and leaders of African countries at independence and now, and years of political independence of Sub-Saharan African countries
  • Includes six useful maps, including a world map and physical, historical, colonial, regional and political maps of Africa

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About the author (2010)

Daniel Don Nanjira, PhD, is adjunct associate professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, New York City, NY.

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