How Has Globalization Affected Angola in the Last 10 Years - Coursework Example

How has globalization affected Angola in the last 10 years? Discuss specific economic, political and social factors. How has globalization affected Angola in the last 10 years? Discuss specific economic, political and social factors. Angola is located in sub-Saharan Africa and had been in the state of internal and external war for four decades. The external war was characterized by its anti-colonial struggle against the Portuguese beginning in 1961 and the internal civil war that ravaged the country for 27 years. As a country, Angola, undergo several phases of integrating itself into the global market. First was during the colonization period which in the case of Angola was the colonizing Portuguese. During this time, Angola’s contact with the rest of the world was through its colonizer Portugal. Then the decolonization stage where Angola became independent from its colonizer Portugal and finally, the integration stage albeit debatable, where Angola becomes part of the global economy as a country (Ogot 1999). Oddly, Angola benefited more from the political impact and mobilization of capital of globalization than its trade because globalization set the atmosphere where Angola can rebuild itself while international trade through globalization destroyed its local production. Globalization is defined as “the pursuit of classical liberal (or “free market”) policies in the world economy (“economic liberalization”), the growing dominance of western (or even American) forms of political, economic, and cultural life (“westernization” or “Americanization”), the proliferation of new information technologies (the “Internet Revolution”), as well as the notion that humanity stands at the threshold of realizing one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished (“global integration”)” (Scheuerman nd).  Or in short, it is the integration of world economy where the world is reduced to a global village through revolutionary technology where people are now more mobile than before (National Geographic nd). Just like the rest of the world, globalization has affected the economic, political and social life of Angola’s citizens though its degree may vary from one region to another such as Luanda which was affected by the phenomena of globalization being the capital of Angola and Cabinda where most of Angola’s export came from while the rest of the country remains desolate that “it is easier to send a letter to Houston, Texas, or to Paris (which have direct air links) than it is to a nearby town or a provincial capital [in Angola]” (Jenkins et al 2002:120) . Changes in Angola had always been initiated through the external influences. Globalisation merely intensified its effect because for the last 50 years during the colonial period, Angola already had connection with the rest of the world albeit it was mediated through its colonial master Portugal (Jenkins et al 2002). Economic Prior to globalization, Angola’s economy was mediated through the colonial powers (Portugal) which once dominated it. After its independence in 1961, its economy underwent a massive transformation with its post-civil war reconstruction registering a phenomenal GDP growth of 20 percent from 2005 to 2007. This is considered a phenomenal rate of growth not only in Africa but also with the rest of the world especially in the periods 2001 to 2010 where it averaged an annual GDP growth of 11.1 percent which is the highest annual average GDP growth. This growth can be attributed not solely on the integration of Angola to the world economy through globalization but by the cessation of hostilities that provided that atmosphere of peace where reconstruction can thrive. Another factor is the phenomenon of the easy movement of capital that helped revitalize the reconstruction when Chinas Eximbank provided in 2004 a $2 billion line of credit to Angola. This money was used to rebuild Angola’s infrastructure which also helped fuel the economy (MFWA 2014). Oddly, international trade did not help the people of Angola nor had it impacted Angola’s economy significantly. Angola’s main industry which is diamond and oil did not benefit its people and provide employment only to a meager population. Instead, the influx of foreign goods demolished its local industry because it was unable to compete with imported products. Many went unemployed and those who had jobs were in the informal sector which were scant and uncertain. In short, Angola’s export oriented economy and the influx of foreign goods did not help the country but instead exacerbated its poverty. Politics In a way globalization helped to abate the civil war that ravaged Angola for 27 years after civil war. The rival groups Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and Unita had been at war even before Angola had its independence from Portugal and the length of the conflict had held back the country from progressing economically, politically and socially. This civil war can be construed as a proxy war between US and the old Soviet Union as each supported each group where the US backed Unita to fight the Soviet influenced MPLA. Globalization allowed international organizations to intervene in the country to strike a political accord that would cease hostilities in Angola that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives (BBC News nd). There were previous attempts to bring the two groups together. Albeit there was a peace agreement in 1994, UN still had to send peacekeeping forces to maintain peace. The civil war however worsened that UN had to withdraw. For a time, Angola’s political crisis seemed hopeless. The increasing international pressure wrought by globalization however, where it has economic consequences in the form of sanctions and the death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi during a firefight in 2002 increased the possibility that a ceasefire will be signed. Until finally, a peace accord was signed and ended the conflict albeit the complaints from Unita of continued intimidation from MPLA. Election was resumed and the ceasefire wrought by globalization provided the peaceful atmosphere to rebuild itself again. Angola is now rebuilding its infrastructure previously destroyed by the 27 years of civil war between MPLA and Unita. It also now in the process of recovering weapons from the civilian population to make peace more durable. Civilians which were previously displaced by the civil war were also resettled and roads which used to be impassable due to landmines that have cut off large parts of Angola became accessible again. Social The civil war that lasted for 27 years in Angola displaced a lot of people. After the conflict ended, Angolans are beginning to resettle in their homes indicating a return to normalcy in the lives of its people (The guardian nd). This would not have been possible without international pressure that was afforded by globalization where international organizations came in such as UN to strike peace accord and ceasefire among warring groups that caused the civil war. The benefit of globalization in the social lives of the people in Angola however is highly debatable where most still lives in “informal, self-constructed settlements which lack basic infrastructure and services” (Jenkin et al 2002: 119). While the country’s oil and diamond industry thrive with the integration in the global economy, most people did not receive any benefit from it. On the contrary, livelihood were destroyed by the influx of imported products were local produce cannot compete. This phenomena however is not new to Angola as it has always been affected by external forces such as export agriculture and slave trade during its colonial days except that globalization has intensified it today. The effect is harsh to Angola’s social life because the government was not able to create the conditions of development to help its citizens cope with globalization. The government’s inability to help Angolans cope with globalization demolished its livelihood when its local products were not able to compete with imports. Its export did nothing to improve the lives of many. Such, the question is not so much of how should the thriving export industry of oil and diamond should have benefited its local citizens but rather more on how Angolans should have engaged in the development of the country by enabling them to participate with their globalized economy by helping local production that employed most of citizens to compete with imports. Conclusion Angola’s experience is peculiar in terms of the benefits it derived from globalization. While most countries benefited from globalization in terms of economic growth, Angola first benefited from the political aspect of globalization when the international community through UN brokered a ceasefire from the warring factions in Angola to effectively end the civil war once and for all. The end of the civil war provided the atmosphere for Angola to rebuild itself. Globalization’s flow of capital helped to fund the rebuilding of the country through China’s Eximbank $2 billion loan that spur the growth of Angola since 2002 that in ten year period Angola registered an average of 11.1 percent annual GNP growth which is the highest in the world. Oddly, the population of Angola did not benefit directly from its gem and oil industry. Report had it that economically, the disadvantage outweigh the benefit in terms of human impact because the flux of imported goods through globalization virtually demolished local production that made a lot of people unemployed. Growth was spurred not by international trade but by internal growth initiated by the rebuilding of the country. Bibliography “Angolan refugees return home – in picutres” (nd). Web. 28 Nov. 2014. . "Angola Profile." BBC News. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. . Ogot. B. A. (1999). General History of Africa: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Abridged ed. Paris: UNESCO. "Angola: Financial Sector Profile." MFWA, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. . Geography." Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. . "Globalization." - National Geographic Education. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. Read More