Adonis & Abbey Publishers

editor@adonis-abbey.com UK: +44(0)20 7692 0770 / Nigeria:+23470 5807 8841

About This Edition

ISSN : 2050-4292(Print) 2050-4306 (online)

ISBN :

To buy or subscribe,
please email:
sales@adonis-abbey.com

The last issue of the Journal of African Foreign Affairs was published amid the multi-faceted

challenges of Covid-19 for the African continent. This issue emphasizes foreign affairs from an

African perspective: from Zimbabwe-China relationships (Chivanga and Monye), western

influence on public administration epistemology (Erasmus), the philosophy behind Nigeria’s

foreign policy for the last 60 years (Mbara and Gopal), South Africa-Zimbabwe foreign policy

during Zuma’s administration (Langa and Shai), a comparative study of India’s and South

Africa’s agricultural economies (Mbatha), to making a case for African exceptionalism with

focus on Joaquim Chissano’s leadership style (Nyuykonge and Shulika).

This issue shows the importance of study of African foreign affairs. An Africa-centered

perspective reifies the needs and aspirations of African people. It is a good step in ensuring

peace and economic development in the region. And, beyond the continent, promoting

understanding and strengthening African foreign affairs helps build a culture of peace in the

world. As Foltz (1985) wrote at the height of the Cold War era:

Direct confrontations between major powers in Africa produced little more than

sound and fury at the time, but they helped destroy the informal rules of the

game and contributed to the breakdown of world peace in 1914 and again in

1939.

In the context of the Cold War, Foltz raised the question “as to whether once again great-power

rivalry in Africa can destabilize the informal arrangements on which international peace rests”

and, looking forward, more importantly to Africans, whether “the playing out of great-power

rivalries will lead outside powers to attempt to reassert control over the African continent”. 1

The same concern should be raised today, and the same question asked once again as the US-

China competition intensifies and how what could become another Cold War might play out on

the African continent. These words and warnings acquire a prophetic tone not only for Africa

but also for world peace. The answer is up to Africans and their leaders. And their challenge is

to decide whether they want to become a pawn or a player in the global arena.