32 SOCIAL SCIENTIST Savimbi of U N I T A to topple the M P L A regime in Angola. Constant deadlocks in negotiations on Namibia, in turn, have been helping South Africa. The white regime is busy in propping up the dissident elements within SWAPO and the opposition parties within the frontline states. As long as the white rule appears invincible, the U S may tacitly side with Botha's regime and seek South Africa's cooperation to weaken Soviet influence in the region. In the process it will continue to obstruct the possibilities of applying economic sanctions against the racist regime in the international forums like the U N. In other words, Namibia^s independence is going to be a rehearsal before the progressive forces in Africa and the world plunge into a long drawn out war to destory the bastion of racism, sustained by the capitalist West, in South Africa. Conclusion U S imperialism, after decolonisation, has found enormous potentials to expand in Africa. Problems of economic underdevelop" ment, political instability, civil wars, border disputes and liberation struggles have left enough space for the U S to announce its presence in a significant manner on the overall African scene. Still, the political influence that the U S enjoys in Africa, excluding the Republic of South Africa, is much larger than warranted by its economic stakes. This can partly be attributed to the predominant position of the U S among the former colonial powers of Africa. While defending the ncocolonial designs of West European allies and spreading its own wings, U S-led imperialism has to cope with irritants, viz, radical states and movements, which surface like a rash. The U S justifiably has been cynical about these irritations, since it perceives deep undercurrents of Soviet animosity and threat of Soviet expansion through them. In other words, if the U S is penetrating the African soil through its multinational firms, the Soviets are busy in arming their allies with radical ideology. The antagonistic relations between the U S and the USSR which stand for conflicting alternatives will shape the postures ol U S imperialism for some time in the African continent. 1 J A Hobson's work was originally published in London by George Alien and Unwin in 1902. 2 See Donald James Puchala, International Politics Today, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1974, p 95. • 3 For details, see Rajen Harshe, "French Neo-Colonialism in Sub-Saharan Africa", India Quarterly, V XXXVI No 2, April-June 1980, pp 159-178. 4 Guy Arnold, "African resources and the transnationals", Africa Guide, Essex, 1983, p31. 5 Arthur Gavshon, Crisis in Africa, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1981, p 164, 6 Ibid. 7 George Bush, "A New Partnership with Africa", Africa Report, Washington, Vol 28, No 1, January-February 1983, p 41.