The index finger and the road ahead

Almost four years have passed since the launch of the new edition of the Courier. We made it clear at that time that the aim was to bring the magazine up to date with the changes that had taken place during the three years since publication was suspended. This time period saw above all the development of the Internet, and we quoted the French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, who described this medium as the most intricate mixture of truth and lies.  

Since then, the Internet has continued, along with other communications media such as Twitter, digital notepads, geolocalization and many more, to invade every corner of private and public life.  But even more than this, the world has undergone fundamental changes. The unipolarization under the banner of western liberalism, too readily proclaimed after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was quickly overtaken by a contrasting multipolarization, with the breakthrough of emerging countries. This multipolarization goes in four directions.  A reconquest of these countries’ domestic markets, the appropriation of the technologies of Western countries and a simultaneous move to become these countries’ factories, penetration into the European and North American markets, and finally the establishment of a dominant role on the African continent.  

China, for example, managed to secure a Pyrrhic victory over its competitors in almost the whole of Africa. Brazil, too, is a major player there, as well as South Africa, of course. Even medium-size Asian and Latin American powers are trumping America, Europe and Japan on the continent.  

The second major change in recent years has been the economic and financial storm which broke in 2008 and which continues to hit hard in the United States and in Europe. This crisis inspired a financial commentator from the French-speaking Belgian radio and TV channel, RTBF, to declare: "We have long imposed austerity measures on poor countries, and now we have to undergo them too."  The first developed nation to have suffered heavily as a result of this was Iceland, the first nation not a member of the EU to be profiled in the Discover a European Region feature. The country is of course a candidate for accession to the Union.  

Change has also been there for all to see in Africa, which has so far withstood the worldwide financial crisis rather well, thanks to solid foundations. The country that is the object of the major report of this latest 24th edition of the Courier, Nigeria, is indeed symbolic of the whole. Despite its problems, above all those of social inequality, the lights are green as regards its macroeconomic results. Even if the country’s relative economic boom is based on oil, there are many other sectors which promise much, such as the film and entertainment industry and the development of infrastructure. As this edition went to press, the country was getting ready to launch into space its second and third satellites. At the same time elsewhere, the news came out that South Africa could construct the largest radio telescope in the world. This issue of the Courier discusses this, as it does the classification of Africa as a success story by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which points out too that the Pacific is also positioning itself in this sector, thanks to European aid, and that the Caribbean is holding its own.  

Any geopolitical analysis must also mention that there has been a clear spread of the formal structures of democracy on the African continent, and a significant decline in armed conflicts. It is important too to bear in mind the “Arab spring" in terms of these countries’ future political relations both with sub-Saharan Africa and with Europe.  

Within the European Union, links have been forged between development policy and the new European External Action Service (EEAS). At this moment when the ACP, pre-empting important changes in its cooperation with the EU, has started to discuss this subject, there can be no doubt that the two partners need to redefine policy as regards communicating about their relations. And the Courier, which is now publishing its final edition, would like to thank the readers that have kept us company, and hopes that it has served as a road sign pointing out where something is happening, while at the same time making sure that readers focused on the road itself and not our index finger.

Hegel Goutier