Upcoming artists often attach themselves to already-famous celebrities in order to get fame. While some celebrities promote upcoming artists to succeed and shine, others exploit their talents and block their chances for success. In fear of losing exploitable talents and ideas from the upcoming artists, established celebrities tie them with manipulative contracts. The celebrities take what they want from upcoming artists, neglect their needs and give them false hopes of success. This type of relationship continues until the upcoming artists realize and address the exploitative nature of their relationship. Likewise, without evaluating the nature of their relationships, developing nations will stay tied down in the hypocrisy of international relations.
Progressive societies rise from relationships between families, to villages, towns, cities, states, nations and continents.[1][2] The upward movement of these relationships came from the need and agreement to collaborate in life, industry, trade, security and general growth. Through these social relations, more people combine their ideas to achieve great socio-industrial feats. When these relationships become strained by conflicts in rights and obligations, violence and disorder rise, thus, needing mediation.
Mediation is an effort “to end a disagreement between two or more people or groups by talking to them and trying to find things that everyone can agree on.”[3] The expectation from mediation is a mutually beneficent common ground for conflicting parties. It also involves rebuking offensive parties that create social disorder by their local or foreign socio-economic exploits. Mediation in international relations becomes noble when it promotes human rationality, growth and common good over brutish and predatory desires. But mediation becomes ignoble by imposing and sustaining alien ideas of social order leading to further decline for some people. So, a sustained exploitation and underdevelopment of particular regions or groups, even after mediation, questions the aim and usefulness of mediation.
Currently, several institutions mediate in international relations between different peoples for justice and human wellbeing. They mediate in matters of human rights, globalization, industry, finance, trade, geopolitics, economy, nation and state sovereignty, ecology, environment, terrorism, security, crime, climate, diplomacy and relations[4] between peoples, groups, countries, regions and organizations. Major global players in international relations include United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice. The main regional organizations include European Union, NATO, ASEAN, NAFTA, Arab League, Commonwealth of Nations, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.[5]
There are distrusts about the roles and effects of these ‘mediating’ institutions in development efforts around the world. It appears that these institutions sustain underdevelopment and dependency in developing nations by supporting tyrants and frustrating developmental policies. These opinions are prompted by the worsening economy, social disorder and exploitation in places where they intervene. Imposition of ‘Western Democracy’, Structural Adjustment Programs, rebel militarization and regime changes in arbitrarily-forged countries are few of the social destabilizing instruments. Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and many other countries bear evidences of the atrocious effects of some of the interventions from these international relations.
After discovering America, Europe increased aggressive struggle for labour and resources that led to slavery and colonialism, especially in Africa. Before ending African slavery and colonialism, Europeans had forged several countries by forcefully joining dissimilar and unconsented people[6] for resource-exploitation.[7] These arbitrary countries of unconsented people were colonially structured to seize and sell different peoples’ crude resources to former colonialists.[8] And with the denial of access to their resources for production, Africans remain unproductive and dependent on foreign goods. This brutal unification of dissimilar and unconsented people remains the foundational problem and obstacle to Africa’s socio-industrial development.[9]
After decades of unsuccessful efforts in the alien political structure, different African countries require social reorganization for growth. Continuing on the cruel and arbitrary foundations laid by colonialists without considering the consents of the culturally and religiously opposed people remains disastrous. Though Africans may need some external help in reorganizing their societies, they need more caution in their international relations.
Africans may not develop a modern system of technological production or social harmony in complete isolation. Africans need supportive friends and not scavengers, feasting on African resources while denying African visas with ‘fantastic-corrupt’ excuses. We hate being surrounded by friendly-enemies who wear fake smiles while hoping that we are always fighting, disorganized, underdeveloped and industrially dependent.
International relations is about mutual decision-making, not the dictatorship[10] of some countries over others using institutions of international relations. And the international relations can help foster true democracies by creating avenues for inter-ethnic, tribal and religious discussions and referendums.
African countries who are willing to modify the effects of international relations for their good may take the following steps:
- Distinguishing and recognizing the various peoples who were colonially merged in their countries.
- Recognizing the different people’s ownership of their lands and resources, instead of the colonial idea of government ownership of all lands and resources.
- Inviting friendly groups to train the people to process their local resources for onward production.
- Enabling a negotiation between the groups on the mode of exchanging their processed or semi-processed resources and specialized labour.
- Agreeing on ideals for internal democracy within the different groups in their countries, before agreeing on preferred political structure for a productive partnership.
- Evaluating former international treaties based on the treaties’ ability to develop their people’s productivity and social harmony.
- Inviting or developing industries to use their processed resources for higher production.
Despite their scientific and technological progress, humans are still held down by social ignorance, fear and greed. Yet, there is hope that we will continue to grow in the understanding of our common humanity and goodness. And despite our partial blindness to the effects of our international relations and institutions, humanity will rise in its time.
[1] Cf. Aristotle, Politics, Bk 1, Ch, 1.
[2] Walter Rodney, How Europe underdeveloped Africa, 2009 edition (Abuja: Panaf Publishers, 2009). P217
[3] Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, International Student’s Edition. S. V. Mediate
[4] Paul McDaniel, “What is international politics?” in Classroom, September 29, 2017. https://classroom.synonym.com/what-is-international-relations-12079692.html/ retrieved 20th June, 2017
[5] Ibid.
[6] Richard Dowden, Richard Dowden, Africa altered states, ordinary miracles. New York: Public Affairs, 2010. p3
[7] Cf. Walter Rodney, How Europe underdeveloped Africa (Abuja: Panaf, 2009). P.293
[8] Ibid. 293-295
[9] Cf. Richard Dowden, op. cit. p.3
[10] Vladimir Putin, Listen to Putin’s eye-opening speech about US Foreign Policy and McCain he made four years ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=932K6tZ5Ea4