This article, which is from 1994, discuses the effects of what the author calls "demographic, environmental, and societal stress" caused by disease, overpopulation, crime, the emergence of private armies, the decline of the nation state, and other factors in the developing world. The author starts by analyzing crime in West Africa, which he thinks is an outgrowth of these factors.
In West African countries such as Sierra Leone, environmental and societal degradation, as well as...
This article, which is from 1994, discuses the effects of what the author calls "demographic, environmental, and societal stress" caused by disease, overpopulation, crime, the emergence of private armies, the decline of the nation state, and other factors in the developing world. The author starts by analyzing crime in West Africa, which he thinks is an outgrowth of these factors.
In West African countries such as Sierra Leone, environmental and societal degradation, as well as political situations that give rise to a large number of refugees, is taking its toll. This pattern has been replicated in other developing countries. The author predicts that as nation-states fail, Africa will descend into a state of chaos.
To generate ideas related to this article, you might start by thinking about how correct the author's predictions, made in 1994, were. Was he correct in predicting that Africa and other developing areas would descend into chaos and that private armies would clash in the absence of state power? How were his predictions correct, and how were they wrong? In addition, you might think about how international organizations such as the United Nations and non-governmental organizations might deal with these issues. If environmental degradation and the excessive use of resources are at the root of the problem, how could organizations help developing nations establish more peaceful, coherent societies without interfering with their cultural values?
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