"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!"
Pope Francis told the cheering crowd as he landed in Kinshasa, welcomed by tens of thousands of people lined the road from the airport, cheering and waving flags. "This country, so immense and full of life, this diaphragm of Africa, struck by violence like a blow to the stomach, has seemed for some time to be gasping for breath," the pope said.Â
Outsiders have long believed that Africa is hopelessly mired in corruption and incapable of social and economic development. This is particularly relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of the population is comprised of black individuals, aligning with the stereotype held by white supremacists that black people are incapable of effectively governing themselves.
From the latter part of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, several European nations, including Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal, undertook the colonization of numerous African nations. Decades after World War II, these European nations granted political independence to their colonies in Africa, but still found a way to retain their economic influence and power over the former colonies.Â
This deliberate and prolonged persistence of the colonial system within independent African states is referred to as neocolonialism; subjecting Africa to various forms of domination---political, mental, economic, social, and military---executed through indirect and subtle means that do not entail direct violence. Tracing back to the roots, how have historical legacies of colonization shaped contemporary neocolonial dynamics in Africa? To what extent do major global powers contribute to neocolonial practices on the continent? And what role do economic dependencies and trade relations play in perpetuating neocolonial influences in African nations?
The Falling Domino Theory: 'Balkanisation' of Africa
In the annals of European history, the term 'balkanisation' denotes the process of dissolution and disintegration in the Ottoman Empire's decline in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, was so impressed by the significance of these developments - which began at the Congress of Vienna and culminated in the division of much of Europe into a host of small and  nation-states - that he compared contemporaryAfrica with the Balkans.
The concept of balkanisation includes the idea of a chain reaction, which once started is difficult to contain. "Once fractionalization starts, it certainly will result in the further disintegration of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. Neighboring states with ethnic and other problems similar to ours will in due course also disintegrate, and a chain reaction will be set up all over Africa. Africa would end up in pretty little principalities. Once the right to secede was conceded, not only Nigeria but all the other multi-ethnic states of Africa would disintegrate."Â
Nkrumah held the view that the strategy of establishing numerous unstable and fragile states in Africa mirrored the approach taken by major powers during the Congress of Vienna. The formation of 'Balkanised' states is often portrayed as a product of big powers, stemming from colonialism, serving as a key instrument in neocolonial practices, and emerging as a consequence of alliances with imperialist forces.
La Franafrique: Everything Wrong with CFA Franc
In the 1960s, France granted independence to the majority of its West and Central African colonies but these nations did not necessarily attain full sovereignty. Post-World War II, France's influence in West and Central Africa has diminished, yet it persists in wielding economic, political, and military control. A pathway toward enhanced African sovereignty involves "reforming" the region's antiquated economic framework---the African Financial Community (CFA) franc monetary zone, characterized by inherent inequality and exploitative practices.
