Question

Sub-Saharan region of Africa to encompass a total of forty-seven countries. Many of these countries south of the Sahara have been in state failure, either partial or complete collapse of state authority. This has led to an inability to provide for economic development and a source of security. These failed states have governments with little political authority or ability to impose the rule of law, and are usually associated with widespread crime, conflict, or devastating humanitarian crises. Africa's problems are myriad and intricate; the rulers in Sub-Saharan Africa have struggled to develop autonomous and cohesive states during the post colonial era giving rise to the fact that almost half of the world’s failing states are located here. Discuss the validity of these statements.

Answer 1

The statements made in the paragraph may be termed as valid due to following reasons-

1. There have been numerous civil wars in the sub Saharan Africa in the last half a century. The recent example may include the case of Sudan where civil war resulted in the formation of South Sudan. This explains that there have been frequent state failures in sub Saharan Africa.

2. The economy of the region largely depends on agriculture, fishery and mining activities with low productivity advances even in these sectors. The markets in these countries still remains underdeveloped and the primary cause for the same may be security related challenges which pose a barrier to the entry of foreign firms in these countries.

3. The sub Saharan Africa has the lowest levels of human development and is largely lagging behind in the achievement of sustainable development goals due to political instability and underdeveloped economy.

4. The widespread poverty and unequal distribution of power has resulted in one of the highest crime rates in the world for the sub Saharan African region.

All the above mentioned factors follow from a single underlying cause i.e. weak states and absence of rule of law. Hence, establishing strong democratic states with resources and will to establish rule of law is necessary for the peace and progress of sub Saharan Africa region.