Kruse's Keys: Read "Diamonds, Gold, and War" to Explore the Poisoned Roots of South African History

*Audible read so I don't have notes or quotes since the audible app makes it virtually impossible to take notes and highlight sections to which you listen.  If you are trying to retain any information, quotes, etc. Audible is the worst.  You can highlight and annotate certain portions when you hear them, but there's no export function or way to transfer the highlighted audio sections to text.  I would pay money for an app that did this!

This book traces the origin of South Africa and the discovery of gold and diamonds there that sparked off a bloody conflict with Britain that ultimately led to the consolidation and foundation of the apartheid republic that existed until 1994.

This detailed history should be mandatory reading for any budding Africanist.  The book also highlights the out-sized role that Cecil Rhodes played in both southern Africa, the diamond industry, and the conflict.  The reader also learns the despicable acts that Rhodes committed over the span of his short 49-year life.   The main criticism one might find with Meredith's exhaustive history is its decidedly white-western focus.  This likely stems from the challenge in finding primary source material which could help better capture more of the African perspective.

Cecil Rhodes

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2020,  2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.

Kruger

President Obama's Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa

Yikes, I meant to post this at the beginning of the summer when it was released.

Obama's Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa

         This strategy was no doubt written influenced by former special assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa on the National Security staff Michelle Gavin.  She paid her dues there and is currently the Ambassador to Botswana--famously described to me as England with elephants.  Her educational background is impressive, although I always wonder what African nations think when they get an ambassador who was a Rhodes Scholar.  As you may or may not know Cecil J. Rhodes was a notorious racist--perhaps educating future leaders (like Amb. Gavin) can begin to repair some of the damage done by Rhodes, although I acknowledge that there is no way to ever do this totally but building relationships is a good place to start.

Summary below from a colleague:
On 14 Jun 12, the Obama Administration released a U.S. Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa (see attached). The strategy details four pillars

1. Strengthen democratic institutions
2. Spur economic growth, trade, and investment
3. Advance peace and security
4. Promote opportunity and development

These priorities are quite similar to the ones President Obama listed in his July 2009 speech to the Ghanaian parliament and that were articulated in more in-depth by other members of his Administration such as Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson:

1. Strengthen democratic institutions and protect the democratic gains made in recent years in many African countries
2. Promote and advance sustained economic development and growth
3. Strengthen public health*
4. Work with African states and the international community to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts and disputes*
5. Deepen cooperation with African states to address both old and new transnational challenges*

* Priority #3: “Strengthen public health” is now included under ”Promote opportunity and development,” and Priorities #4 and #5 are now included under “Advance peace and security.”