2 - Pattern and process in US foreign policy toward Africa

Summary

The story of the blind men and the elephant is universally known. Several blind men approached an elephant and each touched the animal in an effort to discover what the beast looked like. Each blind man, however, touched a different part of the large animal, and each concluded that the elephant had the appearance of the part he had touched. Hence, the blind man who felt the animal's trunk concluded that an elephant must be tall and slender, while his fellow who touched the beast's ear concluded that an elephant must be oblong and flat. Others of course reached different conclusions. The total result was that no man arrived at a very accurate description of the elephant. Yet, each man had gained enough evidence from his own experience to disbelieve his fellows and to maintain a lively debate about the nature of the beast.

Introduction

Thoughtful discussions among policymakers, scholars, and the informed public concerning trends in US Africa policies often parallel the story of the blind men and the elephant. Due to previous experiences or professional interests, Africanists inevitably focus on different episodes of Washington's relationships with the African continent to explain the nature of the beast — in this case continuity and change in US intervention.