Japanese

　　　　　　In the year 2000 I visited my cousin in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in Africa. She works there for Oxfam Novib, a Dutch organization that fights for a just world without poverty. I spent four weeks touring around the country and its capital, Ouagadougou. Seeing the effects of poverty with my own eyes completely changed my perspective on the world and my own life back in The Netherlands. Yet what struck me the most in the end was that no matter how poor the people were, they were laughing and always ready to offer the most help they could provide. Especially in one small village on the countryside, where people had nothing but a little piece of land and a little hut to live in. They were some of the happiest people I have ever met. Those Burkinabé were relatively lucky, however; a similar situation in less fortunate parts of the continent would most likely have looked very different.

                So when I heard about this essay contest from one of my professors in Waseda University, I was very eager to contribute my own views on the issue of combating poverty in Africa. Having had the privilege to be born in a country that is prospering today as a result of, amongst others, its colonial undertakings and lucrative slave trade in the past, which greatly affected the African continent, I also feel a responsibility to contribute to the academic discourse about poverty in this region of the world.

                Since I am a student of International Relations, my thoughts automatically focused on the role of the state in alleviating poverty. As I read many academic papers and consulted several books written by experts in this field, I noticed that my intuition was being confirmed each time. Poverty is a highly complicated, multidimensional problem that requires action in many key areas. The only actor capable of taking such action, in my opinion, is the state.

In my essay I argue that any action taken towards the alleviation of poverty will be futile in the absence of a strong and effective state that is able to create a stable and secure internal state environment. In order to establish such a state, physical authority over the national territory and legitimacy in the eyes of the population are indispensable. Without absolute control over the country, the state will not be able to implement any strategy towards the alleviation of poverty. Without legitimacy, public trust and commitment, which are necessary preconditions for a state’s future survival and development, will not be created.

I therefore argue for active UN involvement in strengthening the authority and legitimacy of African states. In this age of advanced economic and technological progress, 320 million African people are struggling for their daily survival. We need to provide these people with safe and stable environments so they can build up their own livelihoods and lift their countries out of poverty.