ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses ‘black diplomacy’ as the international experience of black peoples, the rules and values which have conditioned that experience, and the emerging patterns of communication between black peoples and the rest of the world. It focuses on Africa south of the Sahara and deals with the African continent as a whole, recognizing the simple geo-historical fact that Africa is an Afro-Arab continent. The chapter aims to demonstrate that the international system of economic ranking or economic stratification has the rigidity of a caste system. A simple analysis in terms of per capita income would give at least the appearance that the international system is a class system. The international system also betrays the caste characteristic of division of labour. Africa is clearly part of the lowest caste in the international hierarchy. It has a preponderance of the least developed and poorest countries.
