Scramble for Africa

"The Scramble for Africa "analyzes the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the activist movements surrounding it, thereby taking on both the US government and the Save Darfur coalition alike. The authors present the basic information on the political and military aspects of the conflict, examine the options, and suggest ways forward, always with a concern for the broader inter national implications and for the hundreds of thousands of victims.

This meticulously researched work gives the history of Sudan--especially the Darfur region--in relation to US and Western objectives, discussing, at length, the immensely harmful role the United States played in Sudan in the 1970s and 1980s through Washington's support of repressive regimes in Khartoum.

Alongside this, some of the more dubious aspects of the Save Darfur movement in the United States is examined, such as the sidelining of Muslim and Sudanese voices, the lobbying for questionable goals, and the perceived support of the Bush administration's policy objectives.

Finally, the authors also assess the analysis presented of the Darfur conflict by those on the radical Left and evaluate the merits of their opposition to the use of UN peacekeepers on anti-imperial grounds.

Steven Fake is an activist and political commentator; he is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and a member of the Lucy Parsons Center.

Kevin Funk earned degrees in journalism, political science, and Latin American studies from the University of Pittsburgh. An activist himself, Funk writes frequently on US foreign policy.