Why is it that democracy has been such a horrendous failure in Sub-Saharan Africa since colonialism ended?
491536
It's cultural. These countries didn't exist before colonialism, just a series of tribal areas constantly shifting. Colonialism brought many benefits but the tribes still existed within the new boundaries, as soon as we left greed and rivalry ensured a breakdown of all the structures. Our own borders took many hundreds of years to establish. It takes a long time to form a stable Nation. You can lead a horse to water .....
714395
Yes there is something wrong with african people, but it is not their fault as individuals it is a result of living in a difficult continent and not being properly helped by their country or the world at large.\n\n Africa is very big and poor and is susceptible to disease and natural disasters such as drought leading to famine. Corruption; poor infrastructure: transport, education, medicine and agricultural practices; civil wars, a tribal mentality and bad government slows development and often only make these matters worse.\n In particular Aids today is killing a whole generation:\n\nInto 2005, UNAIDS estimates suggests that the situation does not look much better. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there were\n\n25.8 million (out of 40 million worldwide) living with HIV\n3.2 million (out of 4.9 million worldwide) new HIV infections\n2.4 million (out of 3.1 million worlwide) AIDS deaths
976570
Last time we went into Africa they killed our soldiers and dragged their naked corpses through the street.Thats what happens when you try to feed them. Let Africa fix their own problem. The peole on here worrying about Darfur, are the same ones that said Iraq is none of our business!
115171
I don't think that this is necessarily an African problem.  I think that in order to successfully cultivate a democracy that the people have to have a deep inner desire for that democracy.  They have to want it to work.  In a lot of countries we're trying to do some nation-building, and in such we're trying to help other countries become democracies, but that only worked for us because we wanted it.  We can't force it on people as we're finding out all over the world.  If there are people against a democratic form of government (and if the people who are for it aren't for it strongly enough), then there are too many ways they can muck it up for everyone else.
635149
I think so.  And it's a shame that more people haven't answered this question.  It's horrible what goes on in those regions, and people don't seem to care because Africans tend to be seen as lesser people.  Hence, the lack of action.
778534
No certain African countries have become to dependant on aid every year hundreds of million's are given to these countries and the following year they are back for more.There is something seriously wrong with the governments in these countries
747110
Try this website for information on the obstacles African nations face in achieving political stability and economic prosperity:\n\nhttp://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v2/v2i3a3.htm
663767
The worst things that have happened lately is in the country of Rwanda. A genocide in where 800,000 people, including women and children were viciously tortured, raped, beaten and killed.\n\nRwanda was a Belgium colony before being Rwanda. In order to have more effective control over their dominions they divided all people in two distinct social classes: HUTUS and TUTSIS, they are slightly different.\n\nThey cruelly decided to give TUTSIS all the priviledges, best posts, best housing, best everything, and the price was to be loyal to the Belgian authorities, they even were the Belgian police. \n\nAnd to the HUTUS they treated them like animals, by means of the TUTSIS.\n\nWhen the Belgians left, the country became chaos, ridled with Civil war between this artificially created difference in races.\n\nAfter the assasination of a HUTU president, all hell broke loose, the HUTU government, backed of by the Interhamwe, an illegal militia of killers, began sistematically killing every TUTSI they saw, and very viciously.\n\nBecause Rwanda did not have any important economic interests with no big power, and it did not have any major power country as a friend, no one intervened in helping stop this slaughter, even the UN and our country, the United States, turned their backs on them. NO ONE helped.\nYou can rent the movie Hotel Rwanda. It is very clear there what happened. \n\nThe United States did not want to participate do to the recent memory of what happened to the military personnel we had in Somalia in 1992 (you can see it in the movie BLACK HAWK DOWN), a terrible tragedy for us....\na big tragedy for US soldiers.
187525
In the last decade, we have seen the birth of terms such as "4th world countries"...these are countries that are so under-developed that they cannot sustain their economies under any circumstances. Nigeria is still a sustainable economy since it has some wealth in natural resources like oil & gas.......\n\nI think know, the poorer countries are those that are recently emerging from civil war e.g. rwanda, somalia, sierra leone etc...their infrastructures is very impaired as a result of the war.
408604
Africa is the 'dark continent'.
688502
There are many arguements about this area. It is clear that the biggest disaster in Africa are the governments who are almost all completely corrupt and the widespread wars. \nThe best example of government impoverising a country is Zimbabwe. This country used to be an exporter of food, under the current corrupt regime of Mugabe people are dying of starvation.\nSouth East Asia 30 years ago had a similar poverty situation as countries in Africa, with little foreign aid they now have economies that work and have raised their standards of living for many of their people.\nThe worst case of foreign aid is the Palestinians, they have recieved more aid per head than any country in the world, the money has been taken by Arafat and the police to buy guns and bombs to kill. The people are now much poorer than 20 years ago when they had no foreign aid.
795509
I refuse to pay for something that people I didn't know did 200 years ago. The people now alive should receive nothing... what harm was done them? The issue you mentioned in Namibia is totally different in that some of the victims of WWII are still alive or their immediate descendants. You list slavery as the reasons African nations are so poor.... check on the numbers of slaves that were actually taken from Africa.... it's much less than you think. The reason African nations are so poor is the lack of emphasis given to education then and now.
107426
You are absolutely right.  Why are we pushing our failed model of democracy onto others?  How is our president comfortable with himself for pedaling that out to other countries?, just knowing that he was not elected by democratic means.\n\nto change a culture's attitude, something big has to happen, apparently bigger than 9-11 or Katrina.... ooooo! scary times!!\n\nIf you find out how to change a culture's attitude, then lets go to Africa to do away with some of the corruption and lack of women's rights, etc.; those things that keep AIDS spinning out of control.
488322
All governments created by mortal men are imperfect. the problem with many of them is greed. our own democracy is suffering now. whether we care to admit it or not.when you consider the fact that we now live under the golden rule he who has the gold makes the rules this is very clear with lobbiest provideing campaign money that ultimately gets there man in office. Democracy may be the best form of government there is but greed and corruption can kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
937372
It has stiffed the US's power.  Nearly every nation fears following the US on any initiative.  Hence we have genocide in Africa while the world watches and the US stands alone trying to drum up support for the African people.
628858
Democracy spread during the 1990's as a result of the collapse of Communist rule over the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This process was more a feature of the late 1980's and early 1990's. It was also a trend in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and S Korea. Some Arab and African states—notably Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority— moved towards greater liberal democracy in the 1990s and 2000s. As a result of these changes, more than 50% of the world's population lived in democratic regimes in 2000.
55630
I don't have any detailed direct knowledge of specific problems, but an issue that runs throughout many (not all) African nations is corruption of the government.  The leaders of many countries are more focused on enhancing their own lives at the expense of their citizens that the people and their economies suffer [thus the problems with the banking systems].