Industrialization as a Foreign Policy Objective

The period of Industrial Revolution, which happened around the 18th to 19th centuries, was an era during which rural societies in America and Europe, which predominantly depended on agriculture (agrarian societies) became industrial and urban. Africa, however, was separated from the world by the Sahara Desert, the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Almost the entire continent, therefore, developed in isolation from the Eurasia and America where ideas and technology were exchanged from west to east and east to west, but not north to south. To catch-up, Africa currently has industrialization agenda as her primary development and foreign policy objective. Most of her countries have resorted to attracting foreign investors from America, Europe and Asia (through diplomacy) to invest in the industrial sector. However, buttressing this initiative through foreign policy and diplomacy, is something that requires not only sound domestic policies but also an enabling domestic environment including resources, economic and social conditions that complements industrialization. This book analyzes such aspects of industrialization in Tanzania. A similar study could be led in other African countries.