Africa and the International Political Economy: Meeting the Challenges of the Global Economic Meltdown

This paper examines the impact of the global financial meltdown on African economies. Despite the initial optimism that the continent would be insulated from the crisis, there is a correlation between African economic performance, especially that of Sub-Saharan Africa, and the weakness in the global economy. This is especially reflected in the continent’s trade relations with major economies of the world. Moreover, with Africa’s development partners now forced to undergo more rapid local fiscal consolidation, African economic turfs are wary of the prospect of further cuts in foreign aid budgets. Thus, reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) are a threat to Africa’s overall development strides. The paper traces the evolution of African economies in tandem with global political economy. It discovers that while the current global financial crisis provides fundamental lessons for Africa, economic planners in the continent should rise up to the occasion and explore new pathways to an endogenous development for and by the African people.