Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies Vol. 11-1 (2011) THE INTERNATIONAL INSERTION OF AFRICA: NEW CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OLD NATURAL RESOURCE-BASED DEPENDENCY

The current economic reality of Africa continues to adhere to a center-periphery model. However, there are currently new elements such as the recent arrival of investment from developing countries as well as the global powers ’ renewed interest in foodstuffs and minerals.The aforementioned seems to indicate that Africa is playing a greater and greater role in the process of globalization, although from a clearly disadvantaged position as a supplier of natural resources for outside economies, whether entrenched colonial superpowers (Europe), or new economic giants such as China or Brazil. This article aims to carry out an analysis of the evolution of the scope and competitiveness of African exports. As such, we will identify some of the features of Africa’s marginal insertion into the global economy by analyzing commercial patterns between Africa and Europe, Asia, and Latin America, using interregional commerce as a point of reference. The methodology to be used is the Competitive Analysis of Nations, a method developed b