On Wed, 8 Oct 1997, Arno Tausch wrote:
> unequal exchange could force regions like China (still a one-party-state,
> much resembling Germany in the late 19th century in its semi- authoritarian
> industrialization drive), much of Africa and West-Central Asia into a
> contention-trap.
Could be that this is already happening. I mean, why else would China
invade Vietnam in 1979, or Indonesia stomp East Timor, if not as a
distraction from/legitimation of domestic marketization? Pakistan, India
and Bangladesh have also had bloody tussles in the past. But I'm not sure
one can argue the same for Africa, which is far more peripheralized in the
current world-system. Is Eritrea the first step in the
building of indigenous developmental states all around the Great Lakes
region, now that South Africa seems bent on becoming yet another
broken-down raw materials rentier with an overpriced currency and an
underbrained industrial policy? Or were you referring to the Maghreb
countries as well?
-- Dennis