'No worries mate' no more?

Australia's defense white paper, "Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century: Force 2030," has been stirring up controversy since its release earlier this week. At the heart of the controversy is a proposed $72 billion expansion of the military over the next 20 years, prompted in part by the potential threats posed by a rising India - and especially a rising China. Included in the upgrades is the purchase of 100 F-35 fighter jets, hunter-killer submarines, Tiger helicopters, armored vehicles, and significant investments in cyber and electronic warfare technologies. With China and India likewise seeking to expand their capabilities, one can't help but wonder whether we may be witnessing a new arms race underway in the Pacific.

Australia is seemingly also jumping on the Africa bandwagon, and has been actively seeking to improve relations with African countries and expand its influence across the continent. Historically, Africa has not been a major foreign policy issue on Australia's agenda, but the tide appears to be turning:

Since early 2008, the Rudd government has signaled its intention to change direction on Africa and pursue a much stronger engagement strategy. The elevation of African issues in foreign and defence policies appears to be based partly on a judgment about shifting strategic priorities among the major powers. 

The Australian government believes that Africa is drawing closer to the centre of international security politics. For this reason, a policy of benign neglect towards a quarter of the world’s countries is no longer sufficient to meet Australia’s long-term national interests.  

This judgment is reinforced by the actions of several major players in African affairs, including China, the USA and the European Union.

I'd venture to guess that the Australian concern is less with the U.S. or Europe, otherwise the government would have pushed for such a policy of engagement quite a while ago - well back in the 1960s and 70s if we really want to exaggerate the point. Rather, the Australians appear to be highly cognizant of the reality of a quickly rising China - both in their own backyard and indeed globally - and rightfully want to protect their national interests and perhaps thwart China's rapidly expanding geopolitical influence in any way they can (enter Africa). [Sidenote: for an interesting read on China's international intentions, see yesterday's piece in the China Post written in response to Australia's defense paper].

Because Australia has little history of bilateral cooperation with African states, my guess is that any sort of diplomatic ties will evolve only gradually. Nevertheless, this shift in policy presents a curious opportunity for African policymakers to harness viable strategies and reap the benefits of what appears to be a multifaceted scramble for their continent. The huff and puff surrounding Australia's defense paper, too, is a curious example of just how rapidly China is assuming a prominent role on the international stage, and how worrying this is to those in Beijing's own backyard, and beyond.

Nigeria's booming entertainment industry

I confess to be just as surprised as the next person (sadly my knowledge of African pop culture doesn't quite measure up to what I know of the continent's politics): Nigeria's music and film industries are booming. So much so, in fact, that the country's film industry (known as Nollywood) has surpassed Hollywood (!) to become the world's second largest after Bollywood:

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) survey, Bollywood – as the Mumbai-based film industry is known – produced 1,091 feature-length films in 2006. In comparison, Nigeria’s moviemakers, commonly known as Nollywood, came out with 872 productions – all in video format – while the United States produced 485 major films.

“Film and video production are shining examples of how cultural industries, as vehicles of identity, values and meanings, can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but also to economic growth and development,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura.

“This new data on film and video production provides yet more proof of the need to rethink the place of culture on the international political agenda,” he added.

To gain a better appreciation of the Nollywood industry, I strongly suggest you watch Franco Sacchi's film, 'This is Nollywood.' 'This is Nollywood' shows not only how the introduction of digital technology has revolutionized (loosely stated) one of the world's poorest (and by some accounts failing) countries, but also speaks to the very theme of culture highlighted in the UNESCO report. Ethan Zuckerman blogged about the film back in 2007 (I'm a bit behind, it would seem).

But there's more: according to CNN, Nigeria's hip hop industry is also growing. Like the film industry, Nigerian hip hop is regarded as a cultural alternative to Western music and in some sense serves as a unifier in what is a most ethnically diverse state:

While no one is so naive as to suggest that the film and hip hop industries are the panacea to Nigeria's problems, their respective success may nevertheless be a small, albeit important, step on the road to economic growth and development. One can only hope and, indeed, enjoy.

[HT: Joshua Keating, Africa is a Country]