UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
Impulses for a new world order

Impulses for a new world order



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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Global Strategy, From Its Genesis To The Post Cold War Era and Global Disorders and The New World Order, (Vista Books Ltd, Lagos 1994) by Sam Momah

WHO SAYS Nigerian Generals are an idle bunch? I n the army are a growing genre of distinguished poets, authors, and of course, political and military statetists. The above two books represent the most recent intellectual output of a Brigadier General of the Nigerian Army Cadre properly groomed and couch ed on the fine points of intellectual language of analysis and reportage, similar to those usually found in the Ivory Towers.
Very fascinating is the first book on Global Stategy which deals with all aspects of Strategy as the "art of War", the "art of generalship" or simply "generalship". Strategy is though not exclusively about war. Thus, in politics, economics, defence, war and peace and diplomacy, the knowledge of strategic reasoning is extremely useful. In fact, Strategy deals with the "mode of s urvival of a society" (p.1).

The author scrupulously defines and analyses the scope, levels and conditionalities of strategy, thus strategy is a style, mode and art of taking or reducing risks, depending on the level, type or form. Policy is a determ inant of these. For example, the author enumerates and discerns four levels of Strategy - national, military, operational arts and tactics, and these are dictated by the policy objectives and mission.

The second part of the book is a military history of famous warlords and military strategists, example, Sun Tzie, Clause Witz, Thucydides, Machiavelli, Frederick the Great, Henry Lomine, Von Kriege and conceptually analyses aspects of military warfare and doctrines of generalship eg., tolerance, classica l strategies, threats, military formations, maneuvering, alliance systems, aggressive defence, lethal systems, and use of cunning and deceit in warfare. The principles doctrines and beliefs of these part military experts have formed past of contemporary mi litary strategy, succeeded by war events, ideological, technological and developmental differences under which the crusading achievements and ideas of the military strategists flourished.

In the ensuing periods of post-world war and post-cold war era , the pursuit of Power, Peace, Prestige and Prosperity dominated the intentions and actions of the world leaders, thus alluring them into declaring wars, seeking peace in isolation or in alliance with a group of nation states with common defence interest o r national policies.
The author in his usual prudence and clear quotable language easily works up the reader's imagination, enthusiasm and pity in his analysis of the flux of events and political systems in international and power relations. Thus, in examining the changing circumstances and different forms and contents of Super Powers, Global powers, and leaderships in the world political systems at different geo-political areas.

For example, the Pacific region was the battleground for the containment of Communism, so much dreaded by the U.S.A. and adored by the Soviet Union and her ideological surrogates. Japan had her pre-oocupation with leading of the South East Asian countries usually referred to as the Newly Developing Countries (NIC). Brita in is referred to by the author as the "balance Wheel of Europe of Europe", and operates a "foreign policy in a state of flux because of the psychological impact of world wars". Thus, the British foreign policy focus oscillated between Europe, The Commonwe alth and her special relationship with the United States" (p.115). Inspite of this, Britain is of special importance in Europe and during the Elizabethian period, she twice went to war to prevent Spain, France and Germany from dominating Europe and also fo rmed counter-balance with France against Germany during the First World War.

The second volume rectifies what one might deem a weakness of first volume namely the total neglect of African wars and strategies and doctrines, if any, of the African traditional warloards, of the tribal conflict. The author hopefully realises the paucit y of the African input in Global Strategy from its genesis to post-cold war era. Thus, the book starts with "Africa's Tragedies and the need for strategic orientation". The first chapter of the second volume confirms my suspicion and dismay. The chapter in a painstaken and careful manner traces the history of slave trading and the events leading to the abolition of the nefarious business. The author goes on to analyse the ple thora of African problems, some of those forced on the continent by the international institutions, e.g., SAP, debt burden etc. and many others internally imposed e.g., corruption, explosive population, poverty, and failure of its health, political and edu cational systems. According to the author, military coups in the continent are induced by "corrupt and ingoble political class", but the author is quick to add that "military putsch in Africa is characterised by vendetta, bitter recriminations and fataliti es, it has therefore, tended to brutalise rival groups into manifesting a "return march syndrome" and "to be cyclic too by becoming a revolution that has often consumed its own child... and mid-night conspiracies become the order of the day".

The aut hor acknowledges that there is a need for the continent not only to operate a resilient and self-reliant economy, but also to adopt a Cultural Adjustment Programme (CAP), to check among other things, extravagance in ceremonies such as wedding, child naming , birthdays, chieftaincy title- taking, turbaning, funeral ceremonies characteristic of the middle and the upper-middle classes and the money laundering "419" group in Nigeria. Here, one ought to sympathise with the author for grapplingh with too many well researched facts and information within a thin space.

Part II of the second volume is a prescriptive analysis of a New World Order in which the author advocates a New Order supported by the past and contemporary strategic events. The ever unfolding events in the former Soviet Union dominate all others.
In the following pages the author charts the stretches of the course and causes of the basic Disorders in the struggle for sphere of influence, worsening economic and information imbalance, the ne ed to restructure UN and seek for a New International Economic Order and wealthier and healthier Africa.

The author hinges his seeming spurious expectation of a New Order on four principles namely, Peaceful settlement of Disputes, Solidarity against Aggression, Reduced and Controlled Arsenals, Just Treatment of all Peoples.

These arguments beg for concessions from North to South, or from the rich to poor countries. And with the present structural imbalance in Development, one should take Henry K issenger serious when he says "Where the World goes from here depends on the United States".

The two elegant books make for exciting reading. They are continously and tirelessly informing, and massively rewarding and extertaining. They are compulsory texts for students and others.



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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