Africa’s Economic Delay: The Historical Imprint in Contemporary Globalization

Abstract

While the observation of Africa’s economic backwardness in globalization seems to
be commonly shared, the question of the explanatory causes of this delay does not
seem to have the same convergence. In the approaches to explaining this economic
backwardness of the African continent, positions vary according to the interest given
to the exogenous and endogenous factors of this situation. This article is part of this
context. It aims in particular to highlight the historical imprint on the current challenges of Africa. The article is divided into three parts. First, it will highlight the weight
of history (through slavery and colonization) in the current situation of the continent
and its evolution. Second, the post-independence period will be analyzed as a continuation of the same logic of dependency in a new form. Thirdly, the aim will be to
analyse the influence policies of the major powers, which have made Africa their geopolitical battleground, and the new African partnerships which seem to continue in
the same vein, often to the detriment of the African continent.