Catherine Barnard, a third-year student at Yale Law School, reviews Senior Political Advisor Gerry Caplan's unflinching new book, The Betrayal of Africa.  The review, like Caplan's book itself, is succinct, complex and hard-hitting.

The Betrayal of Africa By Gerald Caplan, Groundworks Books, Hardcover $18.95 CDN; Paperback $11.00 CDN

In The Betrayal of Africa, social and political activist Gerald Caplan confronts the questions, 'How do we account for Africa’s plight, and what can we do about it?'  In a remarkably concise and engaging narrative, Caplan traces the past, present, and future challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the role of Western governments and financial institutions in hindering Africa’s development.  This compact book is part of the Groundwork Guide series, which aims to provide lively overviews of contemporary political and social issues, written from strong points of view.  Well-informed and impassioned, Caplan rises to the challenge, providing readers with a provocative survey of the external and internal forces that have shaped Africa’s development, encapsulated in an accessible 128 pages.  He adeptly achieves both breadth and depth, zooming in to describe specific challenges facing particular African countries, zooming out to reveal patterns and problems common across the continent. 

Beginning with a chapter entitled “History Matters,” Caplan provides a damning historical account of how Africans have been treated as pawns in the agendas of foreign powers.  He traces the systematic exploitation of Africa—from the slave trade to colonialism to the “great conspiracy” between Western powers and African despots in post-independence Africa. While he acknowledges instances of poor African leadership, he focuses his indictment on Western powers.  Challenging the common assumption that Africa is the problem and the rich world is the solution, Caplan describes how Western governments and financial institutions have perpetrated structural violence; for example, by imposing crippling conditionalities on aid to Africa.  He buttresses his fiery criticism with concrete examples, statistics, and helpful graphics, making the book a valuable resource for readers of varying levels of familiarity with African history and politics.

Turning to the current state of the continent, Caplan provides an unvarnished account of the litany of challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa, including poverty, conflict, debt, and disease.  His discussion of social and economic factors related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic thoughtfully emphasizes the destructiveness of both pervasive gender inequality within Africa, as well as ideological, faith-based approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention emanating from the U.S.  Looking ahead to the forces that will likely shape the continent in the years to come, Caplan flags the uncertain consequences of China’s growing presence in Africa. 

The Betrayal of Africa calls for the West to “give back what we’ve plundered and looted and stolen” and includes a brief discussion of ways in which Western powers could reform their policies to truly aid Africa.  While Caplan unapologetically acknowledges that the book offers no easy answers to Africa’s myriad problems, he carefully cites some reasons for optimism, including the spread of political democracy and the growth of civil society groups, particularly women’s groups and HIV/AIDS support groups.  He concludes by highlighting the inspiring model of “grandmothers across Africa raising their orphaned grandchildren and other vulnerable children—dedicated Africans explaining to us what they need to do the job, and us giving as much of the needed help as we can.” 

To purchase this book click here or go to Amazon.com 

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