Resurgent continent?: Africa and the world

To mark the launch of the LSE IDEAS Africa International Affairs Programme this Strategic Update considers the opportunities and the challenges facing the continent. 1960 was designated 'The Year of Africa', a year in which 16 African countries achieved independence. In the intervening 50 years, the promise of political independence and hopes for economic development in Africa have been tarnished by cycles of political instability, episodes of growth and stagnation, and external intervention and violent conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, however, the external discourse on Africa has shifted to speak of change and reform. An African renaissance, while premature,nonetheless seems more possible than at any time in the continent's recent history.