U.S. President George W. Bush's five-day visit to five African nations is an acknowledgment of the continent's growing economic, political and strategic importance to the United States, said Duke University professor and former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa James A. Joseph.

"Is this real or is this tourism? I have no way to answer that question at this time," said Joseph, who is professor of public policy at Duke's Sanford Institute of Public Policy and has a joint appointment with the University of Cape Town. "But I do believe this trip represents a growing recognition by this administration of the increasing importance of African nations to our nation's future."

Joseph served as ambassador to South Africa from January 1996 to November 1999. He now teaches and leads the U.S.-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values, which is based in Durham, N.C., and Cape Town, South Africa. The center works to help emerging leaders in southern Africa contribute to the development and reconstruction of their countries and region.

Africa's importance to the United States extends from economics to global politics, Joseph said. While President Bush has been publicly cautious about any U.S. role in Liberia, our nation cannot afford to treat Liberia's growing instability as an isolated issue, he warns.

"No nation has an interest in this situation becoming another failed nation-state," Joseph said. "If Liberia collapses and becomes a dysfunctional state, there will be some who will use the resulting chaos as an opportunity to organize and implement terrorist activities. This makes the situation a threat to stability in the entire region."

The president's trip will be successful if it manages to convey the positive developments occurring on the continent alongside the remaining important challenges, such as the AIDS crises, Joseph added.

"When a president visits a country, he brings not only the U.S. press but also the world's media with him. What the president emphasizes becomes the message that will be broadcast around the world," Joseph said. "If President Bush focuses solely on humanitarian crises, I believe it will distort the reality of what is happening on the African continent."

Joseph can be reached for additional comment by contacting his assistant, Michelle Newman-Thornburg, at (919) 668-6907, or by e-mail at mrnewman@duke.edu.