ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the absence of political will and integrity in governance as the main causes of the endemic poverty that plagues Africa in the twenty-first century. Using neoliberal economic theory, the objective of this chapter is to identify the causes of Africa's poverty, look at globalization and the persistence of poverty in Africa, and analyze the contending perspectives in the poverty debate. The chapter recommends a totally home-grown solution to the poverty problem. As interdependence transforms the global security agenda, poverty emerges as one of the most pressing security issues in world politics today. Several factors are responsible for poverty in Africa. These include absence of political will and integrity in governance, conflict, debt burden, crime and violence, governance, and unequal economic exchange. About 80 percent of the world's population live in developing countries, marked by low incomes and high poverty, very high unemployment, and low education. For those countries, globalization presents both unprecedented risk and fewer opportunities.
