Fall Of Berlin Wall Had Impact On African Continent

Berliners celebrating on top of the wall as E. Germans flood through the dismantled Berlin Wall into West Berlin, 12 Nov 1989
Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall thatpreceded the collapse of the Soviet Union two years later. The effectsof the event were also felt on the African continent, which for decadeshad been one of the arenas for the conflict between East and West.

Analysts say the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989was primarily a symbolic event, but it marked the beginning of changesthat would affect Africa and the developing world in many ways.

Thedeputy chairman of the South African Institute for InternationalAffairs, Moeletsi Mbeki, says the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991ended the Cold War and East-West rivalries.

"Africa had been atthe receiving end of the Cold War with great powers using Africa as aplayground to fight its proxy wars," he said.

Change of political climate

He saysthe ideological struggle for influence in Africa brought politicalassassinations and military coups. It contributed to theauthoritarianism and political instability that characterized Africa'searly years of independence.

Mbeki says the Cold War also prolonged the struggle against colonialism in southern Africa.

"AfterSecond World War the original noises that came from the United Statesin particular were that it wanted the colonial system to come to anend," he said. "But once the Cold War started, the United Stateschanged its position and supported the colonial powers in Africa. Andit was the Soviet Union and its satellites that supported the struggleagainst colonialism."

He notes for example that East Germanyprovided military training and arms to liberation movements in southernAfrica, whereas West Germany had built up extensive business ties inthe region. As a result, some African leaders reacted withapprehension to the moves to reunite the two countries after the fallof the Berlin Wall.  

But he says the end of the Cold War, aidedby rising public pressure in the West, boosted the negotiations to endthe wars in Angola and Mozambique and the apartheid system in SouthAfrica.

Democratization

Mbeki concludes the collapse of the Soviet Union also boosted democratization across much of the continent.

"Anumber of dictators that had been supported by the Soviet Union losttheir patronage and started either to change into less authoritariansystems or collapsed," he said.

Analysts say the demise of theSoviet Union encouraged democratization in many African countries, butsay the extent of the reforms has varied.

An analyst with theElectoral Institute for Southern Africa, Ebrahim Fakir, says new formsof capitalism evolved that widened the gap between rich and poor.

"While1989 may have signaled greater amounts of freedom, the inception ofsome kind of democratic regime, it also initiated greater amounts ofinequalities, not just between states and regions of the world, butwithin states," he said.

He says the rise of capitalism mainlybenefited the elites in Africa or their business partners in the Westwho were better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities itpresented.

Hope and Distress

He says the fall of the Berlin Wall brought hope to some people, but also distressed others.

"Therewas lots of celebration of the political freedoms, even economicfreedom, but for other people it was a breakdown of old certitudes, ofrelying on the state to provide, having some kind of social welfarenet, basic as it was, that certitude was no longer there," said Fakir.

Headds rising technological advances and the advent of the Internet andelectronic mail made businesses more efficient and communications morerapid. These may have even contributed to the demise of communism.

Buthe says African countries in many cases did not have theinfrastructure, such as reliable electrical supplies, to take advantageof them. Fariq says the changes also affected African societies.

"Itgave rise, particularly in the developing world, to greater amounts ofconflict between tradition and modernity," he said. "The idea of theextended family becomes less important, the rise of the nuclear family,new social mores, ethics and so forth."

Analysts note that thedemise of communism also left the world with a single dominant power,at least for a time. And this uni-polar world may have contributed toexcesses such as those that led to the banking crisis that affectedeconomies everywhere.

But they conclude that the emergence ofregional powers, such as China, Brazil and India among others, couldsignal that current geo-strategic politics are also evolving.