Will Africa ever become a world power?

The same way as you can speak about Asia as one unit, there is a whole lot of extremely poor countries there also. Actually… if you didn't know there are extremely poor countries in Europe as well… so your point would be what?

What? I didn't mention Asia or Europe as one unit anywhere. They're continents, that's all. What, you want to measure a continent's "average" world influence? To what end, really?

Europe might make more sense because of the EU and the euro, but Asia… big continent, lots of different cultures. "Asian" is so inclusive, it can mean anything, really. I think a lot of people will be offended if you go, "Hey! You're Asian?" except to give a general indication of where they're from.
 
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Certain countries have a lot of potential, and are moving in the right direction, but there's still a very long way to go.

Nothing is impossible though - if climate changes get more extreme, the power balance might just shift a whole lot. For example, alterations to the Gulf Stream could make parts of Europe uninhabitable, which is certainly going to have a huge impact on the world as migration would suddenly be moving in the opposite direction of what it currently is.

Another example of what could happen is Yellowstone or similar blowing up - the whole world would be covered by ash, but the US and Canada would get the worst of it by far. Thus, a serious shift in power would happen.

Extreme stuff has happened many times in the history of the world, so I wouldn't rule out anything. I don't consider it likely that any nation in Africa will suddenly become a super power, but you never know.
 
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"Asian" is so inclusive, it can mean anything, really. I think a lot of people will be offended if you go, "Hey! You're Asian?" except to give a general indication of where they're from.

I don't disagree with you about that. But you can't deny that is exactly the first thing a lot of people will say if they encounter an Asian. Just as well as they might say hey your European. However it also makes some sense, most people can see that someone is Asian, but can you see the difference between someone from Indonesia and Malaysia?

But still in economics and other fields. It is quite common to divide in continents instead of countries. Europe as continent has significant world power, while Africa does not. In the future if countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and so on get economic growth and start growing in power they might also become a world power together. Actually in U.N. meetings as such Africa has often stood united in a lot of the questions. So it does make sense to speak of Africa as becoming a world power.
 
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As for people's appearance, have you ever thought about the fact that Steve Jobs was part middle-eastern at least genetically, born to a Syrian birth father and and a US (white) mother. If you look at pictures of him from his youth, maybe you can see the genetical inheritance in him from his Syrian father. This is just to say that yes, people might look at a person from Korea or China or Japan and say, 'oh. you're Asian'. But what does it even mean?

In the US, it means that you're of south-asian origin e.g. either Korean, Chinese, or Japanese. In the UK, it means that you're of Pakistani, Indian, or Afghanistan, or Iraqi or Iranian descent. In Denmark it'll probably mean that if you're Korean, Chinese or Japanese, you'll be seen as 'asian.'

When we (in Western europe) think about Africans, we normally think of people from below the Sahara desert belt. Egyptians, Libyans, Maroccans, Tunesians etc. are not normally thought of as Africans, I think. What in Europe is seen as 'the dark Africa' I think most Europeans will find is the 'real Africa'.

Africa as such, as a continent may not become a world power or major player in world economics. However, certain countries in Africa might, such as say South Africa, Nigeria. Sudan, or countries on the west coast of Africa might be able to influence the world in one way or another.
 
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I doubt it for 3 reasons:

1) It's due of poverty, that the most of the countries there are still poor, thanks to the following reason...
2) The dictators. Thanks to them nobody can find any democratic way to strike back. What's worse it's because of their Special Suppression Units that nobody can riot against them. Tunisia and Egypt were the first countries to riot against them. Later some countries will follow to get rid of them.
3) Economics. Their economical powers are so poor, so poor that if you invest even 1 euro to them, they'd hunt this euro as if it was their last chance to change their lives. They'd willingly kill anybody they stand in their way to make a life for themselves...

So I don't see any reason of becoming a great power, except of South Africa and its famous politician Nelson Mandella.
 
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Half the population falling over from AIDS doesnt help either. Last I heard, they were like under 15% of the world population but 70% of the HIV infected.
Theyre fucked
 
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China's already investing in it to some degree.

Investing ? Sorry, but I had to suppress to laugh out loud.

They're doing land-grabing, they're buying up lots of lands in order to get firms installed there to produce for China !

Even worse, they are still STRICTLY following their "no intervening !" policy - which means that they are indirectly actively supporting tyrants and dictators with this policy. Yes, according to the press here they are seemingly even favouring countries which are led by dictators !

"Investing" ? Ha ! What a joke ! They are behaving like Kolonialists !
 
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Well, we almost had an Empire of Africa (ave!) , with Muammar Gadaffi as the emperor ;-) Seriously though, if it does happen, it won't be anytime soon. The levels of corruption in S. Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe etc are stupendous - not to say they don't exist in the "1st world", but I think people have to be a bit more subtle there. Here (in S.Africa at least) it is pretty blatant. And that means money/support for poor people is siphoned off by fat-cat $@#@!!! bastard politicians and their pals (no offense to fat cats). many countries have the wealth (locked up in mineral resources etc) but the corrupt politicians take it all. I know this happens in Europe too (was in Italy 2 months ago, and had a lot of interesting chats to ppl about this) - but here, where people are already so poor, badly educated, illiterate…the effect is massively compounded. S. Africa again is something I can speak about: we found billions of dollars to host the world cup, but go out into rural areas and you will see how some kids are still taught in little tin shacks, by poorly trained teachers. It makes my blood boil. Some ppl do genuinely care, but most of our politicians are like pigs at a trough - vying for favour and getting jobs for their pals/family. Sadly people like Mandela are The Arch (archbishop tutu) are far and few between. What amazes me is, that depsite all, this our country still manages to function :-o
 
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I don't disagree with you about that. But you can't deny that is exactly the first thing a lot of people will say if they encounter an Asian. Just as well as they might say hey your European. However it also makes some sense, most people can see that someone is Asian, but can you see the difference between someone from Indonesia and Malaysia?

But still in economics and other fields. It is quite common to divide in continents instead of countries. Europe as continent has significant world power, while Africa does not. In the future if countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and so on get economic growth and start growing in power they might also become a world power together. Actually in U.N. meetings as such Africa has often stood united in a lot of the questions. So it does make sense to speak of Africa as becoming a world power.


Again, Europe, yes. Africa, no.

African countries are so different from one another in so many ways: economically, politically, religiously, culturally,...

Even if Nigeria and SA get their act together, it doesn't mean they would work together as a unity government.
It's only in things that are pro or anti-African that their voice is united. In all other ways they are more of a mess than Europe is.
 
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As for China's involvement in Africa, what China does is to land-grab or grab land in Africa doing this. They're buiyng huge chunks of land in Africa in Nigeria or in Sudan or in Zimbabwe for instance. They're buying it from the 'rich' in these countries, the people who own lots of land in these countries. This mean the African small settlers and peasants will lose their land, since the will be squeezed out of it because the rich people who own the land are selling their homes and their lands to China.

The irony of fate, you could nearly call this. China today behave in Africa much like the old imperial powers of the west did in the 1880's....And didn't the Communist Party in China get started so that the peasants could get a piece of land in a land or earth reform?

On top of the Chinese buying land or soil from the African elite, the Chinese will fly their own staff in to toil and work the land, thus outcasting the small african peasants or farmers even more.

And it doesn't really surprise that China has a no interference or intervention policy in Africa; China needs oil from Sudan, food from Zimbabwe and other things from other African nations or countries. And as such they'll not go against a dictator who keeps the country stable and solid.
 
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Again, Europe, yes. Africa, no.

African countries are so different from one another in so many ways: economically, politically, religiously, culturally,…

Even if Nigeria and SA get their act together, it doesn't mean they would work together as a unity government.
It's only in things that are pro or anti-African that their voice is united. In all other ways they are more of a mess than Europe is.

Well, in india you have 415 different languages, more different reliegions and cultures than almost the rest of the world combined? so let us not count india in any more.

That's just ridiculess to reason in that way IMHO.
 
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Well, in india you have 415 different languages, more different reliegions and cultures than almost the rest of the world combined? so let us not count india in any more.

That's just ridiculess to reason in that way IMHO.

Not really, because India fought for its independence as a unity government. So that's entirely different than inter-country cooperation on different issues and on different political and economical situations.

India is one country. Nigeria is one country. India and Pakistan are bitter enemies who cannot work together. You don't call South-Asia as one thing, do you ? Why not ?
 
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Again Asia is often used as a unit just like europe. I don't even know why we are arguing this.
 
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They do talk about Asia. But almost no one speaks about Asia as a superpower. Instead they talk about China being the Regional Superpower. They talk about India as an economic powerhorse. But they don't say : Asia, the superpower of the world.

You can relate to the continents in several ways, but since Asia is as fragmented as Africa (if not more/less) you do not speak of it as a unity power. You can say African culture is different than European culture. But until African countries unite in ways like they have for the ECOWAS and more then there is no point of talking of African power.

See, for example, I would have less of a problem if you were speaking of the ECOWAS countries becoming an economic or political power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States
 
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Get a stable government AND fifty years of relative peace then we will speak.

I mean, look at Japan. They went from an underdog to Qing China and Tzar Russia to a regional power in at least that much time if not more. And from a defeated/occupied nation to second superpower in half a century. Their government was oligarchiac constitutional monarchy before 1945, so democracy is not a requirement.

Stable government, mind. The Japs were no pacific or democractical but that time theirs're pretty open, with plenty of societal safety valves, and no genocidal tendency. You touch genocide and you can kiss a stable government goodbye. It has a hugely destablizing effect on your own people, not the targeted people.
 
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...The Japs were no pacific or democractical but that time theirs're pretty open, with plenty of societal safety valves, and no genocidal tendency. ...
Don't know which exact period of their development you address with this sentence, but talking of the first half of the twentieth century (WW2 and the time before that) you might ask Koreans and Chinese for their experience with Japanese non-genocidal tendencies...
I agree to the other parts of your example though.
 
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Japan was always a paper tiger. Add to that the fact that they had retarded generals, who thought stunts like travelling all the way across the world and invading Pearl Harbor were brilliant tactical moves. They should have thumbed through a copy of The Art of War. No to mention the torture they put the captured Chinese peasants through. No wonder no one cried a river when they got nuked.

If they think China has forgotten what they did they have another think coming. The Dragon is stirring, and soon all of Japan will feel the heat of it's nuclear breath.
 
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They do talk about Asia. But almost no one speaks about Asia as a superpower. Instead they talk about China being the Regional Superpower. They talk about India as an economic powerhorse. But they don't say : Asia, the superpower of the world.

This. I could see South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Egypt becoming important powers in their own right, but not as one bloc (and who count the Arab world, India, Indonesia and China as one bloc?). They all have serious challenges in governance and infrastructure to deal with though.

Much like Asia, Africa's population centers are split into distinct parts by geographic barriers. Asia is split by the Himalaya's and various deserts, Africa is split by rainforests and the Sahara.

Europe is far smaller and the population centers are much closer to each other.
 
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