RADYKALIZACJA SPOŁECZEŃSTW W AFRYCE.

The Radicalization of Societies in Africa.

The main aim of the publication is to present four stages of the radicalization of the African society: the pursuit to abolish the colonial system, the time of building the states' independence, the era following the end of the Cold War and contemporary developments at the beginning of the 21st century. In the first stage protests were addressed against, among others, a repressive law of the colonizers, appropriation of private life, restrictions of personal freedom and the use of different forms of discrimination of native Africans. The rise of radical movements to oppose the colonizers resulted in the obtaining of independence by many African countries. However, this did not mean the end of instability or the elimination of discrepancies between the standards of living of particular social strata. The governments of the newly created states were unprepared to rule and manage economy independently, so the result was even greater poverty of the citizens. This in turn caused a radicalization of the society and intensification of social conflicts. Eventually, societies rebelled against their own governments which were corrupted and unable to deal with the emerging problems. Numerous civil wars and international conflicts broke out. A lack of democratic responsibility on the part of many of the leaders who ruled in Africa accounted for many bloody civil wars. Ruthless and long lasting dictatorship regimes in many African countries combined with persisting poor conditions of living led to prolonged tensions in the society. The effect was another wave of radical movements that triggered armed protests against the presidents in power. An example of this can be seen in the developments in North Africa at the beginning of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Przeglad Zachodni is the property of Instytut Zachodni im. Z. Wojciechowskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)