Africa and the Challenges of Globalization: an Overview

Abstract

Globalization is a highly contested and perhaps most hotly debated concept in the world’s socio-economic and political arena. It continues to engender anxiety, instigate debates and controversies, protests and demonstrations that are sometimes violent. The processes of globalization are posing new sets of complex challenges to the politically unstable, debt- ridden, technologically backward and dependent African countries. As a consequence, their individual capacity to function effectively and sustainably in the international market place is becoming increasingly compromised. The paper examined the concept of globalization, its history and challenges for the African Continent. While identifying globalization as one of the recent developments currently shaping the world, it focuses on its socio-cultural, economic and political challenges, its consequences and implications for Africa, particularly in the realm of benefits, requisite input into the policy-making process and the encapsulating assertiveness of the global village. The position of the paper is that, the challenges posed by globalization to Africa outweigh whatever benefits derivable from the process. The paper concludes that strategies on how these negative outcomes could be mitigated or ameliorated for the overall benefit of Africa should necessarily be formulated by African leaders themselves.