State and Development in Post-Independent Africa
Is the State still relevant for development in contemporary Africa? There have been several scholarly efforts geared toward understanding the role of the State in facilitating socio-economic development in Africa. While some see the State as a benevolent political authority which possesses the necessary mandate and responsibility to advance development, others see it as an area for personal accumulation and rent sharing. Indeed, there have been mixed results on the activities of the State and economic development in Africa over the past five decades of gaining political independence. This book contributes to the debates on the domestic and external forces that have continued to shape the role of the State in fostering socio-economic and political development in post-independent Africa. Contributors to this volume went beyond diagnosis of the challenges facing the continent to proffering solution and charting alternative strategies for achieving inclusive development.
This book provides insightful analyses from multi-disciplinary perspectives on the nature of the state and development in Africa. It covers an array of topics such as Pan Africanism, Governance, Inter Governmental Institutions, Regional Integration, the African Diaspora, Leadership and Peacebuilding, seeking to not only highlight the problems facing the continent but also to challenge the dominant western lenses through which they have been interpreted. It showcases the thinking of African scholars and charts a new development agenda for Africa. It makes a useful contribution to the debates on state and development in Africa.
Cheryl Hendricks, Professor of Political Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba, PhD is a Senior Lecturer at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa. He is co-editor with Toyin Falola of the Palgrave Handbook of African Politics, Governance and Development, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2018.
Professor Vusi Gumede, a former Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg, is the Head of Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa researching and publishing in the political economy of development in Africa.