Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Lyman See also the 2002 interview with Ambassador Lyman

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today is Ambassador Princeton Lyman who is the Ralph Bunch Senior Fellow and Director of the African Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa and is Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. He's the author of Partner to History: the U.S. Role in South Africa's Transition to Democracy. And most recently, he was with J. Steven Morrison, Project Director of the Council on Foreign Relations new report on Africa, called More than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach to Africa.

1. Origins of the CFR Report on Africa ... decision to take a fresh approach toward Africa policy ... the process of generating the report ... why Africa is important ... interrelated challenges
2. Public Health ... AIDS/HIV ... both U.S. and multilateral responses ... treatment as a human rights issue ... the work of Africans themselves ... changes in US-AID funding ... long-term commitment ... role of the private sector ... differing responses to HIV in different countries ... civil society and new approaches to problem-solving
3. Peacekeeping ... conflicts on the wane ... assigning multilateral roles ... nonpartisan nature of much of U.S. Africa policy ... spillover from U.S. culture wars ... important role of ambassadors
4. Economic Development ... the problem of aid dependency ... the problem of agricultural subsidies in the U.S. and Europe
5. Educating the American Public ... recognizing the problemsolving work of Africans ... America's stake in African oil ... long-term investments ... infrastructure ... employment and the youth bulge ... encouraging transparency in the oil sector
6. Terrorism ... al Qaeda terrorism in Africa predated 9/11 ... African jihadists in Iraq ... beyond a military response ... need for diplomatic outreach
7. China ... advantages of China partnerships for Africans ... building infrastructure ... blind eye to dictatorships ... responsibility of superpower
8. The Future of U.S. Policy toward Africa ... constituencies of support ... structural lack of cohesion ... balancing regional support ... solve problems while they are manageable ... how to make a difference

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