Week7- Vivianne Lee

     Gaining knowledge about the country Botswana in Africa has been intriguing as it managed to uplift itself from being one of the poorest countries in the world to having it’s economy become one of the most successful. It managed to increase it’s national status due to minerals such as diamonds and beef as it’s the countries large export and sector. As stated in the readings beef contributed to 39% of the country’s GDP. Despite beliefs of mineral based countries being prone to bad government, Botswana’s government since independence has ensured stability, social and economical growth. The government established respect for property rights with the rule of law as many of the tribal leaders who helped usher modern government owned large amounts of cattle. Overall Botswana’s success in government can be determined by its key principles which are to serve the people and promote development. Furthermore, it’s “rich wildlife and scenic resources” as stated in the Poverty or Riches article attracts many tourists making Botswana a key tourist destination. Therefore in order to maintain this national status I believe the country should continue emphasizing and expanding on tourism attraction and activities as it can benefit the countries economy and protect its land.

References: 
Herring, A. D. (n.d.). Introduction to beef cattle production systems. Beef Cattle Production Systems, 1-12. doi:10.1079/9781780645070.0001
Lewin, Michael. Botswana’s Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.

Week 7. Garcia, Moises

Botswana’s miracle growth was fueled by diamonds, and usually countries that try to thrive off of minerals don’t  seem to have much success. Thus because most countries governments run the mining and exports of minerals such as diamonds, and a lot of these countries are corrupt within, and only cater to part of the population. But what Botswana did was different they set up a democratic system to run the process of mining the minerals and exporting and importing in order for the economy be to be run by multiple people and not be imperialistic or run by a small group of people like the prior countries that failed did so. Botswana set up a parliamentary democracy since its independence and elections are “free and fair” and the government is responsive to the electorate and transparent in its dealings. In Botswana leadership, particularly that of its first president, Seretse Khama, may have been crucial, especially in the areas of mineral exploitation and the rights of the state versus those of the tribes. Usually the discovery of mineral can lead to civil war, but the Botswana democratic party came to an agreement about the lands before actually sending machines and the tribes ended up agreeing. The tribe leader knew that it would be best for the country as a whole.  I think its important ans the main reason that Botswana is doing well, because they were able to agree on terms as a country without disputes, but only because they were all looking for what what best for the economy and the country. 

·      Ueno, Yūko, Magdalena Olczak, Yoshiaki Takahashi, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, eds. Promoting Consumer Education: Trends, Policies, and Good Practices. Paris: OECD, 2009.

·      “Natural Resources and Development: Confronting Emerging Challenges in Botswana, Public Lecture at the Bank of Botswana By Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.” IMF. Accessed February 18, 2019. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp033011.

Week 7_Yueming Tan

In the article "Botswana's Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck" by Michael Lewin, the author mentions that Botswana's success is due to the government's effective use of natural resources and management methods to improve the country's economy. I was surprised because Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world before 1966. On the other hand, most African countries have substantial natural resources, diamonds. I think this is also the biggest reason for Botswana's success because diamonds are rare and expensive ones. At the same time, Botswana did not over-develop natural resources, which also allowed the country to maintain its value. I think Botswana's government is smart because it adopts an open policy for foreign investors, which also enable foreign investors to bring knowledge technology and management capabilities to Botswana. On the other hand, I think Botswana can start to develop in other areas because natural resources are limited.

I chose this picture because of the special meaning of diamonds. People widely believed that a diamond ring is necessary for marriage because the definition of diamonds is eternal. This is one of the reasons why diamonds are so expensive. Women love diamonds, and they are women's best friends.

• CHAPTER 4 Botswana's Success: Good Governance,. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.370.6568
• https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/dc/26/53dc26d7bda016bec1d40cd1a54b8566.jpg

Week 7 - Samantha Soleta

Botswana's rapid success and development can be attributed to the growth in it's mineral-based economy after gaining independence in 1966. Unlike other African countries in a post-colonial setting, Botswana's restructuring was remarkably easy and good politics and governance led to a speedy post-colonial development and an implementation of a highly successful industry in sourcing minerals, specifically diamonds. While other mineral-rich countries often find themselves in civil conflict or the exploitation of resources, Botswana's utilization of Tswana tribal traditions had aided in creating a government setting ideal for both the economy and the people.

Governance since independence has been focused on transparency and the respect of private property. Due to the predominantly homogenous population along with these transparent politics, there was little reason for dispute within the nation. This created a foundation for Botswana to tremendously improve on creating better systems for education, health, there were increases in life expectancy, and a reduction in poverty. 

The world's largest diamond, found in Botswana, valued around $70 million.

Despite this great success in the country, it seems that Botswana has yet to excel in the public eye. The achievements of Botswana and its government have gone largely unnoticed to the global perspective. However, this could be attributed to the country being a landlocked and sparsely populated nation. Being largely successful in it's own right, the nation has yet to be perceived as an international power nor has it been seen to be a tourist destination, ultimately leaving it out of the limelight.

Works Cited:

Aizenman, Nurith. “When Botswana Sells Its Big Diamond, Who Will Benefit?” NPR, NPR, 29 June 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/29/483695466/botswana-s-economy-needs-more-than-diamonds-to-shine.

Lewin, Michael. "Botswana’s success: Good governance, good policies, and good luck." Yes Africa Can 81 (2011).

Week 7_Toan Tran

It is incredible to learn about how the country of Botswana in Africa brought its prospects up from the ground after it gained independence in 1966. Even from being a landlocked country in a developing nation, it managed to improve in many aspects and increase its national status. This was all possible with their discovery of valuable minerals such as diamonds present within their land. However typically, as mentioned in the reading, when developing nations uncover rare minerals just as how Botswana did, it would bring out the worst in them: corrupting the people in power and expending the resources until they are depleted. But Botswana did not fall into this category. Botswana was able to reduce its poverty, make education more widespread, increase in factors of human development such as life expectancy, develop more efficient infrastructure, and overall increase its GDP all thanks to its good governance and economic management of the valuable resource they discovered. With their government investing in public goods and infrastructure and unlinking public expenditure from revenue, this helped in maintaining a stable economy. But just how was the government operated exactly? To much surprise, Botswana has a democratic government. This is a surprise because democracies are not seen as a positive factor for economic growth and development. The reading even states that, “For some observers, democracy is actually a hindrance to economic development…democracies (such as India) have not fared well economically undoubtedly means that democracy is neither sufficient nor necessary for growth and development,” (Lewin, 85). However, despite this statement, it seems to work with Botswana and I am more curious now to know why that is, because other countries such as ones in East Asia and even Chile did not have a democratic government during its days of rapid rebuilding and development. But, the minerals will deplete some day soon projected to be completely wiped out by 2029 and I am curious to see how the country will fair and what they can do to keep its status consistent. 



References:

Botswana Diamonds - Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=botswana+diamonds&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS789US789&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXgP6K5cbgAhUFHqwKHV7pCzkQ_AUIDygC&biw=1440&bih=722#imgrc=LPm3pkYsHMfAtM: Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.

Lewin, Michael. Botswana’s Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck. Accessed 17 Feb. 2019.

Week 5 - Samantha Soleta

For China, national image has been somewhat of a subject of concern over the last few decades. Managing the balance between international relations and international persona has proved to be quite a challenge for them moving into the new millenia. Their biggest challenge has been moving from an authoritarian and almost restrictive government which leaves many people overworked and living in sub-par conditions. However, a new opportunity for image rebuilding arrived in the 2008 Beijing olympics. 

China used this new opportunity and their power to quickly mobilize their people to pave the way for a groundbreaking olympics and set the stage for China to emerge as an international power. During these olympics, China had used all sorts of high-tech and crowd-pleasing performances to wow global audiences, which they successfully did. "The huge successes of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the national parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's republic of China presented a rising great power in the global stage." (298)

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games showed the globe how impactful having a global platform to showcase a country's power could be. The opening ceremony alone proved to be an illustrious example of China's rich culture, hardworking people, prosperity, and influential values.

References:

Sheng Ding. “Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing’s National Image Management in the Age of China’s Rise.” Journal of Asian and African Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, June 2011, pp. 293–306. Crossref, doi:10.1177/0021909611405830.

https://www.claypaky.it/media/newsMedia/2008-beijing-olympic-games_01_L.jpg

Week 7 - Alvin Du

Since Botswana's independence in 1966, the country has risen in GDP per capita through the exportation of their natural resource: diamonds. However, this wasn't the only contributing factor in Botswana's growth; their transparent government played a role. The government knew that natural minerals can be exhausted and therefore spent money to improve education, health and infrastructure to be able to sustain itself after the depletion of diamonds. However, they will also need to raise their GDP from other trades in order to continue their growth. It is stated that the most viable path for Botswana's growth would be to attract foreign direct investment. Botswana's situation and national image is analogous to the rise and fall of certain companies. In comparison to the large video game company, EA, Botswana's transparent government is how it keeps the people well informed, but most importantly, happy. This increases investment into the country and its values. Electronic Arts however has had a bad reputation by deceiving its customers and has shown frequently that its main purpose is to rack in revenue. EA has no transparency in the way they operate. It was only until recently last month that EA has become much more transparent with how they intend to improve their game content as well as their operations. If you look at the stock price from the beginning of 2019, one share costed $74 at the low and when the released their most recent game, Apex Legends, stock prices jumped to $106 per share. This wasn't because they racked in revenue, but more so due to good game content from a free-to-play game and transparency. In order to EA to continue its growth, they constantly need financial support and investment. The same is expected from Botswana's search for foreign direct investment.

Lewin, Michael. "Botswana’s success: Good governance, good policies, and good luck." Yes Africa Can 81 (2011).

Aizenman, Nurith. “When Botswana Sells Its Big Diamond, Who Will Benefit?” NPR, NPR, 29 June 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/29/483695466/botswana-s-economy-needs-more-than-diamonds-to-shine.