We are pleased to announce the Study Paper by Julian Yaw Adom Osei-Bonsu on the topic
Half a Century Later: The Costs of European Development Policy on Grappling African Industries
to be published.
Julian Osei-Bonsu studied European and European Legal Studies at the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, where he received his Master of Arts in 2021. Previously, he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in French and Law from the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom. His research interests include coming to terms with colonial past.
Abstract:
This paper examines the EU’s external policies in Africa and, for the most part, analyses the areas, where these strategies fall short from ensuring growth and development on the African continent. An overview of Europe’s colonial history in Africa is given, with emphasis on colonialism’s lasting impact still evident on both continents today, and its relevance in the shaping of present policy.
Turning to the EU-African relationship of the twenty-first century, the study assesses the EU’s current policies, designed to help Africa grow and develop. These take the shape of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), as well as funds for developmental assistance. Criticised for not being development-enhancing and taking on “neo-colonial” forms, African countries begin to increasingly turn to other emerging actors for cooperation and assistance. Even though, the new partners present a welcome alternative for Africa’s development, especially in aiding in the continent’s industrialisation, they too are assessed as being driven by their own interests of accessing African markets and resources, as well as establishing political spheres of influence. The study concludes that Africa must devise its own methods best suited to the African context.
