The end of the cold war has brought about a new world situation. The process of liberalisation and globalisation have introduced forces that are imperfectly understood.
African countries have other special difficulties.
Their public policy in international fora are often determined ad hoc, and influenced by contingent factors. Thus they are mostly takers, not makers, of international decisions that affect their lives. They sign international trade agreements without adequate information or analysis. This is what happened, for example, with the signing of the Uruguay Treaty with many, if not most, African countries. Alternatively, for lack of a clear perception of their interests, they often resort to a simple negative posture rather than make commitments to agreements that might be of value to them.