IMPERIALISM AND ECONOMIC UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: A STUDY OF SUDAN (Published)
This work attempts to examine the connection between imperialism and the socio-economic challenges that have hindered development in post-independence Sudan. With data derived extensively from secondary source materials on the subject, the paper reveals that the Sudanese have been victims of the struggles among contending imperialist powers in the country, which has over the years, resulted in political destabilisation and economic stagnation in the country. The contention of this paper is that while Anglo-Egyptian imperialism, laid the foundation for the present political and economic turmoil experienced in the country, the trend has been sustained in recent times, by China-US rivalry for the control of Sudan’s oil industry. The paper further reveals that the recent media propaganda and economic sanctions of the US against the Sudanese government in Khartoum, is not a humanitarian gesture. Rather it is part of US Strategy to force the regime of Omar Al-Bashir to sever economic and diplomatic ties with China, who is a major threat to US economic interest in the country. The paper concludes by stating that unless constitutionalism, the rule of law and true nationalism is promoted in the region, the Sudanese (both North and South) would remain pliant and amenable to the interest and subtle machination of contemporary imperialist powers
Keywords: Africa, Imperialism, Sudan, Underdevelopment