ABSTRACT
Numerous reports rapidly constructed a narrative of an inextricable upward trajectory. Though all evidence suggested that an upsurge in economic growth had been built on the back of a commodity super-cycle, the Africa Rising discourse preferred to insist that improved governance and qualitative endogenous dynamics had been responsible. Recognizing both the economic and political capital to be made from Goldman Sachs's anointing of their growing economies, policymakers and academics within the BRICS states enthusiastically embraced the concept. The sort of political culture that has matured postindependence has had important consequences for Africa, adding to the problem of underdevelopment. Economic history proves that unless economies are moving up the value chain, they will be stuck in the rut of trading on commodities that simply provide diminishing returns in the medium to long term. The growth of Chinese political and business interests in Africa was conceivably the most significant development for the continent's international relations since the end of the Cold War.
