Challenge: A Sub Saharan African Great Power

With a starting point of 1945, how would it be possibly for a country in Sub Suharan Africa to become a great power, comparable to current Britain or France?

Obviously, they would need a decent population. Nigeria has a huge population, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa have large populations as well. They would also need an economic boom-which would definately be possible with 65 years to work with under the right conditions.

Was it possible?
 
Decolonisation would have to be something better than what happened OTL, and more importantly the nation would have to avoid the conflicts that have been so sadly prevalent since Decolonisation. Really, having a large population doesn't mean anything if they varying ethnic groups are all fighting.
 
Was it possible?

Rather not, unless you have something hit Britain or France.

You may easily get the population of these. But as said before you'll have difficulties in getting the homogeneity of population and its national identity.

But that's only the population. To reach France or Britain in scale of economy, you'd need an economic miracle within the African country you choose that lasts decades. Or you need a China-like behemoth, some Mittelafrika-like entity, which would have a lower per capita GDP but makes that up with a higher population.

The only country with a vague chance I see is South Africa. Let there be some emmigration waves, increasing the population of whites and maybe also Chinese and Indians. I'm speaking of millions rather than thousands. This is necessary since these immigrants would promote trade with the rest of the world and would be better educated than the native Africans. Then get rid of apartheid soon to let the native Africans participate in the economic boom and guarantee a stable government, which are yet other prerequisites. Incorporating Namibia and Botswana wouldn't be bad either. Now that entity requires a stable economic development and you could be there...
 
This is... very, very, hard with a post-1900 POD, especially with one so limiting as 1945. You'd need to go back to at least the 1880s or 1890s to do this well.

That being said I suppose a better managed decolonization could leave something approaching first world status in either Kenya or South Africa.
 
South Africa may be on the way and if countries like Angola can manage to avoid Chinese interference, they might have a chance in the future!
 
The only country with a vague chance I see is South Africa. Let there be some emmigration waves, increasing the population of whites and maybe also Chinese and Indians. I'm speaking of millions rather than thousands. This is necessary since these immigrants would promote trade with the rest of the world and would be better educated than the native Africans. Then get rid of apartheid soon to let the native Africans participate in the economic boom and guarantee a stable government, which are yet other prerequisites. Incorporating Namibia and Botswana wouldn't be bad either. Now that entity requires a stable economic development and you could be there...

This is entirely accurate-and also nigh-ASB. An expansionist, very multi-racial South Africa that does not make life overly miserable for any ethnic group capable of making waves while simultaneously going through the inevitable social upheavals involved with economic development is...not a very likely thing to happen, unfortunately.
 
With a starting point of 1945, how would it be possibly for a country in Sub Suharan Africa to become a great power, comparable to current Britain or France?

Obviously, they would need a decent population. Nigeria has a huge population, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa have large populations as well. They would also need an economic boom-which would definately be possible with 65 years to work with under the right conditions.

Was it possible?

Unless either the British or French enable a smooth transition to a stable democracy, it is unlikely to be a viable option, as the underlying causes of most African problems were tribalism, big man politics, and a lack of care in the colonial architectural legacy.

That said, if you want a country which could rise Phoenix like from the post-colonial world Kenya, South Africa, and Congo would all be good candidates. All three have the infrastructure in place to take advantage of the resources on their doorsteps in the 1950's and 1960's, and if the political situation were to change (such as Patrice Lamumba being allowed to continue his rule), then all three have a chance at economic development akin to South Korea or Brazil. Don't forget that SA had a nuclear arsenal till the 1980's, which it gave up.

The biggest thorn in the idea of a post colonial Sub-Saharan power bloc is that is does not suit the rulers of the countries involved. South Africa in particular did not like the idea of Black Africans getting ahead in the world, and interfered in the internal politics of its neighbours on more than one occasion. Rhodesia could have made a go of it, but the post colonial anti-white movement shawn the country of the intellectual currency it would have needed to thrive. Kenya squandered its infrastructural legacy by not spending on repairs to roads, railways, and other key areas of the economy.
 
This is entirely accurate-and also nigh-ASB. An expansionist, very multi-racial South Africa that does not make life overly miserable for any ethnic group capable of making waves while simultaneously going through the inevitable social upheavals involved with economic development is...not a very likely thing to happen, unfortunately.

Absolutely.
 
Of the potential candidates, South Africa definitely tops the list, but I've always had a soft spot for a WI Nigeria was a true force to be reckoned with and some decent power projection. A smoother colonial to independence transition would be helpful, provided there was already a decent amount of governmental infrastructure in place to help avoid rampant corruption. This is the biggest hurdle, easily. If they can do this, we might have a smaller Niger Delta rebellion/civil war and a better return on profits with their rising oil industry, which in turn can be put towards modernization programs.

Best part is, we might even be able to avoid a TL where all those poor Nigerian government officials keep losing access to their bank accounts.
 
The countries that have the most 'potential' to be a power in Africa would be the ones lining the Mediterranean, mainly Egypt or Morocco, if you can get rid of the Sub-Saharan restriction.

You could pull something off and cause a second Spanish Civil War, causing a greater nationalist/industrial presence in Morocco, which the nation can use to its advantage after earlier decolonization. That'll be a good start. Getting the North African nations to unite is a slightly easier challenge due to them being the same ethnicity. But the greatest challenge here would be tribalism threatening the stability of this nation.

Still it's pretty unlikely.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, former French West Africa may provide a relatively stable basis for a nation. Combine that with Nigeria and you'll get your great power. But I can't think of any reasonable POD that'll cause that :D. I was thinking of a loosely federated coalition of West African states that is somewhat closer than OTL EU states, as a counterbalance to the Arab League. I mean, people (used to) consider the E.U as a power in its own right.
 
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