The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

A P R I L 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 65 B OOKS An Eventful Half-Century Fifty Years of U.S. Africa Policy (Reflections of Assistant Secretaries for African Affairs and U.S. Embassy Officials) Claudia E. Anyaso, editor; XLibris, 2011; $19.95, paperback, 270 pages; $3.03, Kindle Edition. R EVIEWED BY T IBOR P. N AGY J R . In Fifty Years of U.S. Africa Policy , retired U.S. Information Agency FSO Claudia Anyaso has given us an in- sightful compendium spanning the pe- riod 1958 to 2009. Notably, all 16 assistant secretaries who have headed the Bureau of African Affairs since its inception are represented in its pages. (Current AF Assistant Secretary John- nie Carson wrote the foreword.). Other contributors include five U.S. ambassadors who have played (and are still playing, in some cases) key roles in shaping U.S. policy toward the conti- nent: Frank Carlucci, Art Tienken, Art Lewis, Princeton Lyman and Pru- dence Bushnell. This compilation will be most useful to those readers who are not only in- terested in Africa, but already have some sense of the continent’s history since independence and understand the issues these diverse countries have been grappling with. But while it is not meant as an introduction or general historical survey, it will benefit anyone interested in Africa. Though some of the 21 chapters were written specifically for the book, others are taken from policy speeches or the highly personal Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Associ- ation for Diplomatic Studies and Training (www.adst.org), un der whose imprint the volume appears. The mix of viewpoints and perspectives works very well, resulting in a highly read- able, fact-filled chronology that truly brings the past half-century of African history alive. As a bonus, it offers re- vealing glimpses into the lives and ca- reers of figures ranging from Patrick Lumumba to Nelson Mandela. The contributors deftly draw on their personal experiences to spotlight the major forces that have shaped American policy toward the continent over the period. These include the struggle for decolonization and inde- pendence; Africa as a chessboard in U.S.-Soviet global competition; the continent’s accelerating political and economic free fall; the end of aparth- eid in South Africa; the economic crunch following the end of the Cold War and the resulting shift to a focus on democratization and economic de- velopment; the management of crises and conflicts; and the challenges of the post-9/11 world. With few exceptions, these reflec- tions are objective and balanced, ac- knowledging the failures — both per- sonal and policy-related — along with the accomplishments. There are two overarching themes: Africa has consis- tently represented the lowest U.S. for- eign policy priority, both for the White House and the State Department; and much of what we did (or did not do) there has been in the service of other objectives. For example, several writers cite Henry Kissinger’s lack of interest in, and misunderstanding of, African is- sues. They note that he only paid lip service to challenging apartheid and supported arming Angolan rebel groups opposed to the Marxist-ori- ented government that took control in Luanda after Portugal’s departure. As for sins of omission, Assistant Secretary Herman J. Cohen was block- ed from actively intervening in the Liberian civil war. And, in perhaps our most shameful lapse (eloquently de- scribed by Ambassador Bushnell), the Anyaso has given us a highly readable, fact-filled chronology that truly brings the past half-century of African history alive.