6 - US Africa policies in the post-Cold War era

Summary

When the elephants fight, the grass suffers.

Swahili proverb of the 1950s

When the elephants make love, the grass suffers just as much.

Swahili proverb of the 1990s

Introduction

For the duration of the Cold War, Africa was an arena, even a battle-ground, for East—West conflict, as both the United States and the former Soviet Union sought to win the allegiance of newly independent African countries. Rather than perceiving such competition as a blessing to Africa's future, African critics cited a traditional Swahili proverb — “When the elephants fight, the grass suffers” — to underscore the potential dangers of alignment with either superpower. The pessimistic tone of this proverb indicated that even if individual African countries profited in the short term by dealing with either of the superpowers, Africa as a whole would lose in the long term. When confronted with growing levels of US—Soviet cooperation at the end of the 1980s, African critics questioned exactly what this new form of East—West détente meant for the African continent. Whereas some optimists considered US—Soviet cooperation to be a catalyst for solving some of Africa's most challenging socio-economic and politico-military problems, skeptical observers indicated their views by giving the above-noted Swahili proverb a new twist: “When the elephants make love, the grass suffers just as much.”