Summary

This important new study examines the present and future role of Africa's strategic mineral resources in global defense and in the international economic system. Beginning with an overview of the situation as a whole, the author discusses the role of transnational corporations in the exploitation of Africa's mineral resources and explains the implications of the theories of Matthew Effect, dependency, core-periphery, and imperialism. Among the issues Ogunbadejo considers are the political economy of strategic minerals; the political significance of American, European, and Soviet dependence on these minerals vis-a-vis their relations with the producer nations; and the impact of geopolitical considerations on U.S./South African relations.