War and Africa Things that war contributed to the founding of European countries war in Europe acted as a filter whereby weak states were eliminated and political arrangements that were not viable either were reformed or disappeared Perhaps the most noticeable effect of war in European history was lo cause the stale lo increase its ability to collect significantly more revenue with greater efficiency and less public resistance states that could raise money quickly could successfully threaten their neighbors with a war War allows more taxes because states have to find efficient means to get money to fund the war and people are willing to pay more taxes during war Nationalism the presence of a palpable external threat may be the strongest u ay to generate a common association between the state and the population Absence of Interstate War in the Modern Era that the vastmajority of Third World states most of the time do not face significant external threats they are precisely the kind of states that before 1945 were routinely invaded and taken over by stronger states Problems of State Consolidation African states face numerous problems in their efforts to consolidate power They are poor short of trained manpower and confront societies that are often fragmented and have little orientation to the state as a whole Elites can come to power but given the precariousness of control in countries here rules goveming leadership and succession have not been institutionalized thev may be displaced lame Leviathans 22 trv desperatelv to control ever greater parts of society through outright ownership or regulation although the average state in Africa compared to other states is small as measured by government spending as a percentage of gross domestic product GDp 2r it appears to be too large because its clumsy extractir effons cause so much damage compared to the benefits States have no revenue for basic services because the taxes are too weak inefficient Tend to place high tariffs Harmful for trade Lack of popular national identity No longer any relevant other formerly the colonialists to band against Help from the IMF world bank donors could change things The IMF and other actors rvho insist on fundamental reform could pressure African states for significant changes in their tax system Demands from an external actor are similar to ar in that a leader can legitimately argue to its population that it has no choice in asking them to make very difficult sacrifices because it is under too much external pressure The IMF however cannot cause the state to feel threatened The fund also doesn t change the state s feeling of identity The Likelihood of War in Africa In times of economic decline African leaders may look past the downside and war Africa is the best place for the aspiring general
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