Abstract
African countries are endowed with abundant natural resources; however, there is evidence which indicates that despite the resources, most countries in this continent lag behind economically. One of the reasons pointed out by most scholars is the constant civil strife and wars which has dwarfed the countries and have not allowed a healthy environment for utilization of the natural resources for economic reasons. This paper has therefore discussed the role of the developed countries in combating civil strife to allow economic development. It has also examined evidence which shows that some political individuals collude with firms and government in advanced nations to deprive the citizens is such countries their resources. Actions which need to be in place to control such issues in such countries are also given attention. The examples used in this paper are Burundi and DRC Congo.
Introduction
The Africans countries for over many years down the line have failed to prosper economically, and one of the factors which are pointed at is the continued civil war and strife in these nations. The persistent and dominant civil war and conflict in these nations bring about economic transformation reduction and sluggishness in the utilization of the natural resources the countries are endowed with to satisfy the consumer demands. Burundi and DRC Congo are two of the countries which due to the persistent civil war and strife have struggled to develop despite their natural resources present in the land. The political leaders who have been given the role to unite the people to have the economy of the two countries developed have failed in this role. A good example is Burundi, where the president run for the third term which according to the constitutional boundaries in this country, is illegal (Burgis, 2015) . This is a clear indication that the rules which are set to govern the countries are in ignored by the leaders. It is due to this ignorance which reduces the ability of such leaders of the great nations to utilize the abundant natural resources at their disposal to help the countries develop economically. It, therefore, means that the developed countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdome, China and others should take it upon themselves to help the African nations such as DRC Congo and Burundi support their economic development and transformation through stabilization of the civil war and strife and maximizing their natural resources. This paper, therefore, is interested in looking at the role of the developed countries in alleviating the civil unrest in African nations. To achieve the objective, the paper will use DRC Congo and Burundi as an example.
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Validity to the claim that citizens of poorer countries are exploited by individuals in developed countries that make deals with political leaders for the nation’s resources
There exist in the African country's substantial evidence, and validity claims that persons and firms from the most developed countries in the world make deals with the political leaders in the poor countries to exploit the resources of the African countries such as the DRC Congo and Burundi, and this end up exploiting the citizens from such countries. A good example is that the Chinese firms have made several deals with the president from Burundi to have minerals mined and infrastructure put up within the country. However as Eisemann, Heginbotham, and Mitchell (2015) confirms, the income which goes to the local citizens are very little, and the cost of such products are still very high domestically. This fact shows that the developed nations have not been willing to help these poor Africans nation, but have been constant on the negative side, exploiting them, and using their ignorance to their advantages.
Alternatively, the overwhelming political liberalization without apparent improvement in the economy is a clear indication of the citizen's deprivation of the legitimized resources by the political leaders who are selfish and oppressive and make a deal with the developed countries to discriminate Africans citizens and entire nations. Some political persons in African use their official power to acquire deals with other companies such as technology manufacturing companies to sell them minerals and enrich themselves. A good example, in this case, is the DRC Congo where there has been in the constant fight on the minerals which is issued by the technology companies to make mobile phones and other technologies. The politicians and other small portion of economically individuals use the citizens and subject them to forced labor after which they are not well paid, the politicians then sell the minerals to technology-based countries such as China and Japan and accumulate that wealth to themselves (Eisemann et al., 2015). The end result is decrease in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The widening rift between the citizens and some political individuals is also a clear indication that some people are misusing resources and the developed nations aid them.
Responsibilities, actions and the execution of Developed countries ‘plan to alleviate strife due to misappropriation of funds by political leaders in Africa
The civil unrest and wars in the case of the DRC Congo and Burundi have followed the socioeconomic and the political patterns which have led to its persistence in those countries. This is a clear indication of the states' inability to end the divisive politics which is the main factor pointed out by many scholars and the economic analysts as the sole reason behind the violence. It is also coming out clearly that the socioeconomic and the political notion and perception in these developing countries have some negative impact on the global economy. This, therefore, is a clear indication that the developed nation should tame the leaders with unethical characters to have the civil war and political quagmire in these countries under control. Due to civil war, these nations have lost a lot inclusive but not limited to the economic reduction and the legitimacy of the countries. With civil war, also comes the domestic interaction issues associated with the global interdependence concerns. It is therefore crystal clear that with the civil war in place, then, countries such as Burundi and Congo will never know the equitable distribution of the natural resource among the citizens. The political class will always use their power to gather the sources to enrich themselves.
The civil war in the two African countries emerged due to ethnic conflicts which had its root from the imbalanced development of such countries. The different ethnic groups are always in a constant struggle for the limited resources along the ethnic lines which leads to ethnic war. This has been seen in Congo and Burundi and some African countries where there is high number of ethnic groups. These nations have the possibility of experiencing what is called in economics distributional conflicts. Another factor which has been cited to be behind the rise in the civil war in the developing countries is the psychological perceptions mostly during the economic and political transition period.
The Africans States also experience ethnic and political violence due to the interaction of different variables. Koln and Lefant (2013) in their model of the relative depreciation try to explain the ethnic group and entities and how they influence economic resources distributions. This model also relates to the Eberly (2013) economic model which also explains that the outcome of the group and commercial competitions are the factors which measure the worthiness of the group. The political, the xx as well as the ethnic conflict indicates a weaker State with minimal democratic guidelines and principles. The indicators show that such States will always be inclined towards a particular group of individuals when distributing resources. These will always lead to persistent inequality in such nations which leads to social and political tensions between different ethnic groups.
Different scholars have come up with various models with an attempt to explain the issue of ethnicity. A good example of a model which did not work well is the argument that the community would be transformed to the cooperation by the modernity during transitions. According to Burgis (2015), Africans nation such Burundi and Congo still have issues relating to ethnicity which has limited the growth of the economies due to lack of the sharing natural resources and inequality in the nation. This is an indicator that countries such as Burundi and Congo are yet to achieve maximum transformation and growth, this is also a clear indication that such countries still suffer from the weak economic growth and underdevelopment.
One of the preventatives measures the developed countries take in this case is the negotiation with the United Nations as well as the educating the citizens about their rights and privileges. The education is essential since it enhances awareness of the citizens and this helps them demand accountability from the self-fish leaders who use their position and power to grab the natural resources from the citizens. The developed countries have done much through several bodies such as the intentional criminal court (ICC) which have made an effort of taming the persistent civil strife in Africans nations such as Burundi by bringing to book the perpetrators of such actions and prosecuting them through The Hague. This has been a stepping stone for the call for the respect to the law and humanity in countries such as Congo and the Burundi. The developed nation, however, needs to do more to hold the countries such as Congo and Burundi, for instance, they need to give these countries ideas and resources for them to have their institutions where they support this democracy.
The UN through its branch on the Security Council chat with the developed nations and collaborate with them as well as with other regional organizations to help in setting peace resolutions precedents in Burundi and Congo as well as other countries in Africa. This is also very important since it help the nation to have strong institutions which handle political and ethnic perpetrators' in Africa. Kolk and Lenfant (2013) also suggest that the developed countries in collaboration with the United Nations expand and diversify their interventions which include bodies such as the military to have the civil war in Africa nations controlled and eradicated. For instance, the media in the Burundi recently indicated the plea of the citizens to have the political institutions and individuals scrutinized. The developed nations in conjunction with the UN, therefore, should put pressure on the president of the Burundi to come up with amicable solution and strategies to scrutinize and have reported on the state of individual politicians and the institutions mentioned. This will ensure that the cost of goods and services are reduced, more investors and investments are done and economic supportive infrastructures are in place.
These strategies ought to be in places since lack of them has been an issue, and the result is that there has been a huge gap between the rich and the poor in these countries. The politicians in these countries have discriminated the citizens and have taken all the resources to enrich themselves. To have such situation under control, the UN and the human rights should engage different stakeholders to have such politicians face internal revolution and force (Gibson, Hoffman & Jablonski, 2015). Countries such as Congo have been on the constant religious war between the Muslims and the Christians; these wars are sometimes politicized and hence should be controlled too. The government in such countries also needs to play their part and eliminate some laws and policies which discriminate and spread political and ethnic hatred. Alternatively, Congo and Burundi and many others within the African need the help of the developed countries and UN to help them solve the conflict in a serious manner. This has been done in some African Nations such as Kenya in the year 2007 Post-election violence, where the UN and the USA joined forces to bring about a coalition government to end ethnic wars and enhance economic stability. This will enhance smooth transition in politics and will help in dealing with the level poverty perpetuated with wars during such transitions.
Conclusion
Based on the discussion, it is crystal clear that the developed countries have a vital role to play in dealing with the Burundi’s and DRC Congo's civil strife. The developed countries are obliged to help the Africa nations stabilize their economy. According to some scholars, there are some Africans countries which have been politically liberated. However the number is very low and the economic growth such nation in this continent is meager. This is a clear indication that countries such as Burundi and Congo are yet to receive political and economic transformation. Many efforts as discussed in this paper have been made by the developed countries through the organization such as the UN and the ICC to tame these issues. However, as the article points about, there is still a need for more efforts to reduce the continuing political strife in African nations, and to increase the much needed economic liberation as well as the political liberation in these States.
References
Burgis, T. (2015). The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa's Wealth . New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
Chayes, S. (2015). Thieves of state: Why corruption threatens global security . New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.
Eberly, D. (2013). The rise of global civil society: Building communities and nations from the bottom up . Encounter Books.
Eisemann, J., Heginbotham, E., & Mitchell, D. (Eds.). (2015). China and the developing world: Beijing's strategy for the twenty-first century . London, UK: Routledge.
Gibson, C. C., Hoffman, B. D., & Jablonski, R. S. (2015). Did aid promote democracy in Africa? The role of technical assistance in Africa’s transitions. World Development , 68 , 323-335.
Kolk, A., & Lenfant, F. (2013). Multinationals, CSR and partnerships in Central African conflict countries. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management , 20 (1), 43-54.
