I have had less than a week’s exposure to Africans being Africans and thereby representing their continent to the outside world, and I am not in the least surprised at how (as you say) Africa is represented to and by the “outside world”. In fact, I am stunned at the patience, moderation, even-handedness and goodwill the outside world exhibits.

As with just about everything from Darfur to Durban, Africa is its own worst enemy. It’s time we stopped blaming it all on everything and everyone else and got off our self-excusing, self-aggrandising and way-too-enormous arses, accepted responsibility and fixed the frigging place!

The reason for this dichotomy is the miserably poor quality of African leadership.

Not any of the politically-correct “isms” which Africans use as an excuse for their underachievement.

On Kaplan: Kaplan is most certainly not known for being an idealist. He is known for his pragmatic and realist analysis and prognosis. He can be seen as alarmist but the issues he addresses are very real and poses a risk to stability across the globe if not addressed. Kaplan might be tough on the consequences of poverty, social marginalisation, ethnicity, resource scarcity and the like in Africa but to be fair he is also pretty brutal on these issues across the developing world (see the book and also other works on Afghanistan and Balkans) and also issue like US Foreign Policy (idealism, ability to spread democracy), US military, modern leadership and even Christianity(advocating a pagan ethos to leadership/warfare). Controversial – most certainly, but he asks uncomfortable and politically incorrect question of a lot of things beside Africa.

So perhaps not the best example. I would be more interested in what you think of authors like Meridith that have attempted to write about the post-independence history in Africa. I have heard many interesting and diverging views on it.

You obviously have no idea how Africa is potrayed in the West.

Otherwise you would understand why Glasgow is going apesh*t in celebration that Youssou N’Dour is playing the Celtic Connections Music Festival, and they managed to get one of African Music’s Superstars at an event of Scots Folk Music:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7682677.stm

In between all the Rabbie Burns poems.

Try actually finding out how Africa is portrayed, rather than reading the Guardian or Bloggers Websites.

For a start try readinmg the reviews of African music releases in Songlines or Froots:

http://www.songlines.co.uk/

http://www.frootsmag.com/content/issue/reviews/

Like the Congo music star who was concurrent with Mobutu.