U.S. Economic Policy Toward Africa (review)

150 SAIS REVIEW lay reader. Scattered throughout there are some very interesting observations and excellent points made. For instance, Gray is on much stronger ground in his two chapters on nuclear history. His fourth chapter on policy guidance and weapons acquisition makes some solid, common-sense arguments backed up with fairly recenthistorical examples. His first two chapter on the relationship between offense and defense are good, but could have been edited down to one essay. The essay vehicle would have allowed Gray more latitude in his presentation and would have provided editorial cover for some ofGray's more egregious accusations, such as the one borrowed straight from Russell Weigley, that Americanshistorically substitute machinery and logistics for strategic thinking. Instead, with that accusation and the later lament for a better educated public, Gray's tone throughout the book comes across like that of a Greek telling the Romans how to do things right. If one is inclined to listen to such advice, one should read Thucydides instead. U.S. EconomicPolicy TowardAfrica. By Jeffrey Herbst, ed. New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1992. 81pp. $12.95/Paperback. Reviewed by Benoît Bosquet, MA. SAIS, 1993. Comparedto European aid, United States economic aidto Africadid notreach large proportions until the 1960s, after African countries gained their independence. Increased assistance was an Americanresponse to the concernthatthe SovietUnion might expand its influence in the region. The structuralistview ofdevelopment held that aid should be essentially designed to resolve structural bottlenecks to growth such as lack of foreign exchange and investment. When it became clear in the 1970s that capital inflow did not solve poverty, a new theory emerged that believed that aid must meet basic human needs. Primarily due to the reduction ofAmerican investments in South Africa, by the early 1980s Africa was again occupying a low priority on the United States economic agenda. This permitted President Reagan to urge African countries to reform their economies and to focus on American security interests. Reforms often took the form ofstructural adjustment promoted, often imposed, bytheBretton Woods institutions. In 1988, theUnitedStatesAgency for International Development (USAID) created the Development Fund for Africa with a view to funding countries committed to reform. The Cold War has since ended and today Africa is receiving even less attention from policy-makers in Washington. After reviewing the evolution of American foreign aid policy since the 1950s, Jeffrey Herbst's U.S. Economic Policy Towards Africa outlines "the key elements ofa successful American foreign assistance program for the 1990s". In four chapters he proposes a methodology to evaluate the success of United States assistance, assesses the future of African economies, discusses the African debt problem, and examines the African attempts at economic reform and political liberalization. Herbst's goal is not to provide a thorough study of each issue, but rather to guide American policy-makers given Africa's economic problems. Herbst's three main arguments are: (1) the United States should concentrate its aid on a few countries that will serve as examples for the rest ofthe continent instead ofspreading aid too thinly over the forty countries currently supported by BOOK REVIEWS 151 USAID; (2) the United States must adopt stable policies on to the promotion of economic growth to send positive signals to the African governments undertaking reforms; (3) the United States must focus primarily on promoting growth and building human capital. Many African countries have, to some extent, adopted structural adjustment and political reforms—mainly under the pressure ofthe international donor community . In the context of this increasing intervention by donors, either bilateral or multilateral, Herbst takes a rather prudent approach to reform. Essentially, he refuses the imposition of political conditionality that is not designed to stimulate economic growth. In the light of the present criticism according that the World Bank, among others, indulges in neocolonial activities, he chooses not to advocate political interference. According to Herbst, through ADD and the bilaterals such as the World Bank, the United States must help African governments manage their transition from a state to a market economy by reforming their institutions. However, this does not necessarily mean that state enterprises should all be privatized: Herbst argues that African countries need strong states but that...