December 13: Journal Entry #12

• The first problem that I identified within my topic, this problem being of global interest, is the negative effects the CIA's presence in Africa has had on the local populace.

• The second problem that I identified within my topic, this problem being of global interest, that I wish to inquire into is how western influences on Africa has robbed African countries of their natural resources.

In regards to the first problem I identified I think that this problem is important because I think that in order to create a better world the well being of everyday people must be paramount to anything else, so when people are negatively affected by something it will naturally become an important issue to me; it will also become a important issue to others who share this belief of mine. In short this problem matters because unless it is solved it will continue to negatively affect innocent people in Africa. This problem will affect the people of Africa, to be more specific it will affect the citizens of African countries that the CIA has advertently, or inadvertently affected. I know that this is a problem because Africa hosts some of the most unstable regions in the world, and this instability results in the people of these regions suffering. "Political instability can manifest itself in severe episodes of violence, as is already being seen in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Nigeria" (John Campbell).

In regards to the second problem I identified I think that this problem is important because many products that are consumed in western countries such as phones require resources from Africa in their production process. Without these African resources these products could not be made, and if they are not made many important products could not be produced. One example of this is medical equipment. Hearing aids which use lithium, which themselves were mined in Africa, could not be produced without these natural resources. This problem affects the entirety of the world. Anyone who uses an electronic device could not be using them without the help of materials from Africa, but the problem is that the rest of the world is using such a large amount of these resources that African countries are left with little to none to use for themselves. This is a problem because if African countries continue to be exploited the living standards in Africa will continue to plummet. "There are strong correlations between the extractive industries, corruption and fragility" (Sebastian Gatimu).

I think that my biggest strength in EMC right now is my ability to stay on top of things. Recently my workload has intensified for almost all of my classes, but I have been able to continue to create meaningful and interesting content which gets turned in on time. My biggest flaw currently is my inability to find and work with contributors. The nicheness of my topic has resulted in me having difficulty finding others to work with, not to mention finding someone to interview on this topic. In the future I hope to find a solution to this problem, but I'm not sure how.

“What's Happening to Democracy in Africa?” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/article/whats-happening-democracy-africa.

ISSAfrica.org. “Exploiting Minerals, Exploiting Communities.” ISS Africa, 18 May 2015, https://issafrica.org/iss-today/exploiting-minerals-exploiting-communities.