Elizabeth Schmidt presents "Foreign Intervention in Africa after the Cold War: Sovereignty, Responsibility, and the War on Terror" in conversation with Imani Countess
This event has already happened.
Wednesday, March 11th 2020
7:00 pm
Red Emma's
To
outsiders, the word “Africa” often conjures up images of a
continent in crisis, riddled with war and corruption, imploding from
disease and starvation. Africans are regularly blamed for their
plight. My book challenges such popular myths. Many
of the predicaments that plague the continent today are not
solely the result of African decisions, but also the consequence
of foreign intrusion into African affairs. During the Cold War and
its aftermath, dictators, warlords, and insurgents supported by outside
powers manipulated local ethnic, political, and religious tensions
for their own ends. When strongmen were overthrown or cut adrift, other
opportunists, including international terrorist networks, filled the power vacuums. Focusing on foreign political and military intervention in Africa during the quarter century after the Cold War (1991–2017), the book explores the motives for foreign political and military interventions, the rationales
used to justify those interventions, and their consequences. Special
attention is paid to the role of the United States from the Bill Clinton
administration through the first year of the Trump administration.Elizabeth Schmidt is a Professor Emeritus of history at Loyola
University Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in African history, masters
degrees in African history and in comparative world history, and
Certificate in African Studies from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Imani Countess has worked with US-based Africa advocacy, development and social justice organizations for 30 years.