Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T10:28:08.402Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Impact of the United Nations Upon Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Extract

Observers have been intrigued by the relationship which has developed between the United Nations and Africa, a continent that now houses one-third of the membership of the world institution. Investigators have been seduced by subjects such as African frustration with the world organisation,1 African cohesion on Assembly roll-calls,2 African co-operation with Latin America in New York,3 or the impact of Mother Africa's offspring upon the United Nations.4 A few authors have sensed the magnitude of the impact which the world organisation has had upon the continent5, and several have detailed discrete instances of what has happened. What we have not seen is a general assessment of this impact with supporting data. My aim is to fill this gap in the literature, and to determine to what extent the existence of the United Nations has made a difference for Africa.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

page 565 note 1 The Economist (London), 227,4 05 1968, p. 34.Google Scholar

page 565 note 2 Dodge, Dorothy, ‘African Voting Cohesion in the UN’, in Africa Report (New York), XII, 7, 10 1967, pp. 58–9.Google Scholar

page 565 note 3 Saenz, Paul, ‘A Latin American-African Partnership’, in Journal of Inter-American Studies (Coral Gables, Florida), XI, 2, 04 1969, pp. 317–27.Google Scholar

page 565 note 4 Kay, David A., ‘The Impact of African States on the United Nations’, in International Organization (Madison), XXIII, 1, Winter 1969, pp. 2047.Google Scholar

page 565 note 5 See, for example, Rubin, Leslie and Weinstein, Brian, Introduction to African Politics: a continental approach (New York, 1974), pp. 259–64.Google Scholar

page 565 note 6 Elmandjra, Mahdi, The United Nations System: an analysis (London, 1973), pp. 2636.Google Scholar The Specialised Agencies include the I.B.R.D. or World Bank, although ‘the IMF, IBRD, IFC and IDA, in most instances, inter-act directly with the International System rather than the UN System of which they are formally a part.’ Ibid. p. 101.

page 566 note 1 Holsti, K. J., International Politics: a framework for analysis (Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1972), pp. 154–71.Google Scholar

page 566 note 2 Vincent, Jack E., ‘The Convergence of Voting and Attitude Patterns at the United Nations’, in Journal of Politics (Gainesville, Florida), XXXI, 4, 11 1969, pp. 968 and 971;Google Scholar and Jacobson, Harold Karan, ‘Deriving Data from Delegates to International Assemblies: a research note’, in International Organization, XXI, 3, Summery 1967, p. 608.Google Scholar

page 566 note 3 Kay, David A., The New Nations in the United Nations (New York, 1970), pp. 45–9.Google Scholar

page 566 note 4 Manno, Catherine Senf, ‘Majority Decisions and Minority Responses in the U.N. General Assembly’, in Gregg, Robert W. and Barkun, Michael (eds.), The United Nations System and its Functions: selected readings (Princeton, 1968), p. 250.Google Scholar

page 566 note 5 See, for example, Bretton, Henry L., Power and Politics in Africa (Chicago, 1973).Google Scholar

page 566 note 6 Cosgrove, Carol Ann and Twitchett, Kenneth J., The New International Actors: the U.N. and the E.E.C. (London, 1970), pp. 1837.Google Scholar

page 567 note 1 Kaufmann, Johan, Conference Diplomacy: an introductoiy analysis (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., 1968), p. 21.Google Scholar

page 567 note 2 Alger, Chadwick and Brams, Steven J., ‘Patterns of Representation in National Capitals and Intergovernmental Organization’, in World Politics (Princeton), XIX, 4, 07 1967, p. 663.Google Scholar

page 567 note 3 Hovet, Thomas, Africa in the United Nations (Evanston, 1963), p. 215.Google Scholar

page 567 note 4 Plano, Jack C. and Riggs, Robert E., Forging World Order: the politics of international organization (New York, 1969), p. 131.Google Scholar

page 567 note 5 Kaufmann, op. cit. p. 24.

page 567 note 6 Matecki, R. E., Establishment of the International Finance Corporation and United States Policy: a case study in international organization (New York, 1957).Google Scholar

page 568 note 1 Hadwen, John C. and Kaufmann, Johan, How United Nations Decisions Are Made (Leyden, 1962).Google Scholar

page 568 note 2 Radvanyi, Janos, Hungary and the Superpowers: the 1965 revolution and realpolitik (Stanford, 1972).Google Scholar

page 568 note 3 Karns, David A., ‘The Effect of Interparliamentary Meetings on the Foreign Policy Attitudes of U.S. Congressmen’, in International Organization, XXXI, 3, Summer 1977, pp. 497513,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Robert E. Riggs, ‘One Small Step for Functionalism: UN participation and Congressional attitude change’, in ibid. pp. 515–39.

page 568 note 4 Gareau, Frederick H., ‘Congressional Representatives to the UN General Assembly: “corruption” by foreign gentry?’, in Orbis (Philadelphia), XXI, 3, Fall 1977, pp. 701–24.Google Scholar

page 568 note 5 Alger, Chadwick F., ‘Non-Resolution Consequences of the United Nations and their Effect on International Conduct’, in Journal of Conflict Resolution (Beverly Hills), V, 2, 06 1961, pp. 128–45,CrossRefGoogle Scholar as found in Coplin, William D. and Kegley, Charles W. Jr, Multi-method introduction to International Politics: observations, explanation, and prescription (Chicago, 1971), pp. 221–2.Google Scholar

page 569 note 1 Murray, James N. Jr, The United Nations Trusteeship System (Urbana, 1957), p. 102.Google Scholar

page 569 note 2 Cohen, Benjamin V., ‘The Impact of the United Nations on United States Foreign Policy’, in International Organization, 05 1951, p. 276.Google Scholar

page 569 note 3 Easton, Stuart C., The Twilight of European Colonialism: a political analysis (New York, 1960), p. 224.Google Scholar

page 570 note 1 Mortimer, Edward, France and the Africans, 1944–1960: a political history (New York, 1969), p. 297.Google Scholar

page 570 note 2 Ibid. p. 298.

page 570 note 3 Easton, op. cit. p. 430.

page 570 note 4 Ibid. p. 407.

page 570 note 5 Cornevin, Robert, Histoire du Togo (Paris, 1962), P. 393.Google Scholar

page 570 note 6 France, Ambassade de, Service de presse et d'information, African Affairs (London), 14, 07 1956, p. 1.Google Scholar

page 571 note 1 Chidzero, B. T. B., Tanganyika and International Trusteeship (London, 1961), p. 88.Google Scholar

page 571 note 2 Ibid. p. 251.

page 571 note 3 Carroll, Faye, South-West Africa and the United Nations (Lexington, 1967), pp. 108–13.Google Scholar

page 571 note 4 For the ‘inside’ story by a Hungarian chargé d'affaires who defected while in Washington, see Radvanyi, op. cit.

page 571 note 5 Sharkansky, Ira and Dresang, Dennis L., ‘International Assistance: its variety, coordination, and impact among public corporations in Kenya and East African Community’, in International Organization, XXVIII, 2, Spring 1974, p. 223.Google Scholar

page 572 note 1 World Bank Annual Report, 1977 (Washington, D. C., 1978), pp. 32–8.Google Scholar

page 572 note 2 Duchacek, Ivo D., Rights and Liberties in the World Today: constitutional promise and reality (Santa Barbara, 1973), p. 121.Google Scholar

page 572 note 3 Dyke, Vernon van, Human Rights, the United States and World Community (New York, 1970), pp. 230–4.Google Scholar

page 572 note 4 Ibid. p. 151.

page 573 note 1 Haas, Ernst B., Collective Security and the Future Internationl System (Denver, 1968),Google Scholar Monograph Series in World Affairs, V, 1, 1967–1968, p. 38; and Haas, Ernst B., Butterworth, Robert, and Nye, Joseph S., Conflict Management by International Organizations (Morristown, N.J., 1972), p. 7.Google Scholar

page 573 note 2 Haas, op. cit. pp. 38 and 46; and Holsti, K. J., ‘Resolving International Conflicts: a taxonomy and some figures on procedures’, in Journal of Conflict Resolution X, 3, 09 1966, pp. 295–6.Google Scholar

page 573 note 3 Hans, Butterworth, and Nye, op. cit. pp. 12–13.

page 574 note 1 Wainhouse, David W. et al. , international Peace Observation (Baltimore, 1966), p. 409.Google Scholar

page 574 note 2 Libois, Jules Gerald, Katanga Secession (Madison, 1966), p. 222,Google Scholar puts O.N.U.C.'s casualties at 12 dead and 60 wounded, while O'Brien, Conor Cruise, To Katanga and Back: a UN case history (New York, 1962), p. 269,Google Scholar gives different figures.

page 574 note 3 O'Brien, op. cit. pp. 258–70.

page 574 note 4 Langenhove, Feruand van, Le Rôle proéminent du secrétaire des Nations Unies au Congo (Brussels, 1964), p. 156.Google Scholar

page 575 note 1 Official Records of the Security Council, Eighteenth Session, 1963 (New York), Document S/5053/Add. 14, II 01 1963, p. 19.Google Scholar

page 575 note 2 Ibid. p. 17.

page 575 note 3 See Gordenker, Leon, International Aid and National Decisions: development programs in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia (Princeton, 1976), passim.Google Scholar

page 576 note 1 Baldwin, David A., ‘The International Bank in Political Perspective’, in World Politics, XVIII, 1965, pp. 6881,CrossRefGoogle Scholar reprinted in Gregg, Robert W. and Barkun, Michael (eds.), The United Nations System and its Functions: selected readings (Princeton, 1968), p. 349.Google Scholar

page 576 note 2 Birmingham, Walter, Neustadt, I., and Omaboe, E. N., A Study of Contemporary Ghana, Vol. I, The Economy of Ghana (Evanston, 1966), p. 396.Google Scholar

page 576 note 3 Economic Commission for Africa, Summaries of Economic Data: Ghana (Addis Ababa), 5, 41, 07 1973, pp. 2–3.Google Scholar

page 576 note 4 Lawson, Rowena M., The Changing Economy of the Lower Volta, 1954–1967: a study in the dynamics of rural economic growth (London, 1972), p. 1.Google Scholar

page 577 note 1 New York Times, 26 April 1978, and Miami Herald (Miami Beach), 26 04 1978.Google Scholar

page 578 note 1 Caroll, op. cit.