The Routledge Handbook of African Development

Tony Binns, Kenneth Lynch, Etienne Nel, Tony Binns, Kenneth Lynch, Etienne Nel

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781317495079
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

This handbook presents an extensive new overview of African development - past, present and future. It addresses key core themes and topics that are pertinent to the continent's development - including sections on history, health and food, politics, economics, rural and urban development, and development policy and practice. The volume draws on the expertise of over 60 of the world's leading scholars to provide a detailed and up-to-date analysis of the key opportunities and challenges that confront Africa, and how such issues are being addressed. Arranged by key themes, the handbook provides not only a historical understanding of the past, but also political perspectives on the future. The chapters provide critically informed analyses of their topics by drawing upon the latest conceptual viewpoints and applied experiences in Africa in the form of case studies to offer a comprehensive examination of the opportunities, challenges, key debates and future prospects. This handbook is an invaluable state-of-the-art overview and reference concerning many different aspects of Africa's development, which will be of interest to academics in all fields of African studies, and also academics and students working in cognate disciplines such as development studies, geography, history, politics and economics.

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Section 1

Introduction and context

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1

Introduction

Tony Binns, Etienne Nel and Kenneth Lynch

Africa is a rapidly changing continent. But for many, it is still an unknown place, shrouded by myths and distorted perceptions. Despite having over 20 per cent of the world’s land area and 14 per cent of the world’s population, the 54 countries only accounted for 2.2 per cent of the world’s trade by value in 2016, compared with 38.5 per cent from Europe and 40.7 per cent from Asia (UNCTAD, 2016). Africa is in many ways still a marginalised continent. But things are certainly changing, and are going to change much more in the near future – it is a case of ‘watch this space’! Economic growth in China and India has dominated the early years of the twenty-first century and has led to the emergence of a large middle class in Asia. Despite often unreliable statistical evidence, there are signs that this may be happening in some African countries, and Africa will undoubtedly be the continent to watch in the next 20 years and beyond. Although frequently starting from a low base, economic growth rates in some African countries are currently among the highest in the world, with 13 African countries recording average annual growth rates in GDP above 6 per cent over the period 2007–2015 (AfDB, 2016).

While in some countries there have been significant achievements in democratic governance, education and healthcare, sadly Africa is still the world’s poorest and least developed continent. Nineteen of the twenty lowest ranking countries in the United Nations’ 2016 Human Development Report are in Africa – the only exception in the ‘bottom 20’ list is Afghanistan. With a high incidence of HIV/AIDS, Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa, has the dubious distinction of having the world’s lowest life expectancy at birth of just 48.9 years, a far cry from the 83-plus years of places such as Japan, Singapore and Switzerland (UNDP, 2016). While Norway in 2015 recorded 2.6 children in every 1,000 born dying before the age of 5, the comparable figure for Angola was a staggering 156.9, the world’s highest.

But it is not just economic growth and development that should concern us. Culturally, Africa is rich and vibrant, now, as in the past. The birthplace of humankind, the rich heritage of ancient civilisations, cities that long predate European contact, and a colourful tapestry of art, music and literature. But so many people are unaware of these attributes. Most people’s limited knowledge of Africa largely comes from the world’s media, with often sensationalised stories that frequently display a poor understanding of African countries and people, and concentrate on ‘newsworthy’ issues such as natural and human disasters, including drought, desertification, civil war, terrorism and famine.

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In light of Africa’s rapid change and ongoing challenges, it seems appropriate at this point in time to take stock of where things are in relation to a number of important issues that face the continent and its people. In a sense, this is the main motivation for this handbook. We hope it will break new ground in helping to better understand Africa, and shed light on a range of issues relating to Africa’s people, environments and development. We have brought together here some 56 international experts whose contributions are closely related to their research interests on Africa. Wherever possible, we have included African writers, but many of the non-African writers who have contributed to the handbook would certainly regard themselves as ‘Africanists’, in some cases having devoted a lifetime’s research and teaching to topics relating to Africa. We have attempted to achieve a good coverage of what might be regarded as the key issues relating to Africa. While we believe that the handbook brings together a good range of authors and important topics, we frankly admit that this is by no means an exhaustive collection. In some cases, experts we approached were busy at the time with other research and writing projects, while in other cases it was actually difficult to find individuals who could write on specific topics that the editors had identified. However, despite these inadequacies, we believe that this handbook probably represents the most comprehensive collection of contributions on Africa that has been published in recent years.

In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the handbook comprises 48 contributions, which we have grouped into 10 themed sections, as follows: ‘Introduction and Context’, ‘History’, ‘Social Perspectives’, ‘Health’, ‘Environment’, ‘Development Issues’, ‘Rural Africa’; ‘Urban Africa’, ‘Economic Perspectives’ and ‘Political Perspectives on Africa’s Development’.

Section 1 contains three introductory chapters. Following this introduction, Richard Vokes (Chapter 2) overviews development theory and attempts by development agencies to understand how specifically African knowledge and perspectives might support development agendas and goals. Vokes argues that scholars’ understandings of what the notion of ‘African perspectives’ on development should include have also come to recognise that in many parts of the continent, ordinary people have been living with development interventions and projects for several decades, which, for many people, actually means their whole lives.

In Chapter 3, Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni poses a thought-provoking question: ‘What does development mean for a people struggling to emerge and free themselves from the inimical legacies of enslavement, colonialism, imperialism, apartheid, neocolonialism and underdevelopment, as well as impositions of the Washington Consensus and neo-liberalism?’ Ndlovu-Gatsheni interrogates elements of this question, concluding that only a combination of genuine de-imperialisation on a world scale and decolonisation is likely to result in global democracy in which Africa could be afforded space to develop.

Section 2 of the handbook includes two chapters examining perspectives on different phases of Africa’s history. Erik Green (Chapter 4) poses the question: ‘Did colonialism cause Africa to be underdeveloped, or did the European occupation of the continent, although morally and politically questionable, facilitate economic development by further integrating Africa into the world economy?’ Green concludes that we simply know too little about the patterns, processes and legacies of colonialism, and in any case the impacts of colonialism varied significantly between regions and between different social classes. In Chapter 5, Tanya Lyons and David Jolley explore the challenges and opportunities for Africa and Africans in the post-independence period and, with reference to specific case studies, they highlight various contrasts and contradictions.

In Section 3, the focus is on a number of social aspects relating to African livelihoods. In Chapter 6, Joseph K. Assan, Dinar D. Kharisma and Afia A. Adaboh examine aspects of population growth, migration and employment with particular reference to youth in Ghana. Hazel Barrett (Chapter 7) recognises that Ester Boserup’s 1970 book Women’s Role in Economic Development is widely acknowledged as a catalyst for the inclusion of feminist and gender perspectives in development thinking, policy and programming in Africa. Barrett charts the progress in empowering women, and shows how in recent years the Sustainable Development Goals have mainstreamed gender, acknowledging the importance of ‘gender justice’ in achieving meaningful sustainable development. While growth and development are occurring more in some African countries than others, there is no doubt that there is very significant social and spatial inequality. Philip Nel (Chapter 8) shows that wealth in Africa is highly concentrated, and within-country inequality has increased across high-, middle- and low-income states, with dire social, economic and political consequences. Nel suggests that the roots of inequality lie in the colonial past, and have been reinforced by the limited-access institutions that the colonisers established, and which generations of African leaders since then have maintained. Many would argue that education can and should play a key role in reducing equality and improving livelihoods. David Stephens (Chapter 9) identifies and then explores seven key trends in African education since independence in the 1960s, including access and enrolment, gender parity, aid and education, and the role of education in conflict, reconciliation and reconstruction. Nicola Ansell (Chapter 10) shows that Africa is the youngest continent on earth with children under 15 constituting 41 per cent of its population in 2015. However, children and childhood were the focus of very few academic studies until the late 1990s. Ansell considers children in Africa through a relational lens, examining how their lives are strongly shaped by relationships with families and other adults in their communities, by national policies and cultural practices, and increasingly by international organisations and the operations of the global marketplace. Finally in Section 3, Ben Page and Clare Mercer (Chapter 11) consider the developmental impact of the African diaspora, examining the fact that there are people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality, who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.

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Section 4 includes four contributions concerning health issues. In Chapter 12, Kenneth Lynch considers some of the relationships between health and development, and examines a number of strategic challenges that need to be overcome to improve health outcomes among Africans. Increasing national investment in the health sector is vital, together with a need for more well-trained health professionals. It is a depressing fact that southern African countries have the world’s highest incidence of HIV/AIDS, and in Chapter 13 Hazel Barrett traces the history and response to HIV/AIDS, and most notably illuminates the encouraging progress made in combating the epidemic since 2000. In Chapter 14, Stephen Devereux examines the important issues of food security and famine. Proposed solutions to food insecurity are presented, ranging from increased food production to social protection, nutrition interventions and improved governance. Devereux concludes that the key factor explaining the persistence of hunger and famine in Africa is probably not a lack of financial resources and technical capabilities, but rather how available resources and capacities are allocated and managed, which is largely a political and governance issue. Aarti Patel (Chapter 15) considers the important issue of access to essential medicines in Africa, and emphasises the need for changing outdated pharmaceutical laws and developing sustainable strategies for the procurement and distribution of essential medicines.

The focus of Section 5 of the handbook is the environment, and it includes four contributions. In Chapter 16, Clive Agnew considers the vital issue of water resources in a continent where there are extensive water resources that have often not been exploited. Agnew presents a chronology of water resources development, and concludes that the recent history of water resources development in Africa is dominated by engineering solutions and state-driven development for national priorities. He advocates the introduction of water exploitation strategies that place more emphasis on environmental and social costs, efficiency gains and sustainable funding. The significance of wetlands in Africa has often been underestimated, and in Chapter 17 Alan Dixon argues that rather than constituting benign places where rare ecosystems exist and humans avoid contact, wetlands are, and have increasingly become, contested socioecological spaces at the interface of people–environment interactions. While this continues to be a source of tension between conservation and development policymakers, there has been some acknowledgement in recent years of the need to develop more holistic ways of thinking about people’s interactions with wetlands. In Chapter 18, Fiona Nunan considers the issue of conservation, showing that the approach taken to conservation and the nature of participation of local people differs over time and space, and that there is no universal panacea approach that should be adopted. In the final contribution to this section Rebecca Kariuki, Rob Marchant and Simon Willcock (Chapter 19) critically examine the ecosystem services (ES) approach to understanding the biophysical environment and its relevance to many rural African communities.

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Section 6 of the handbook comprises six contributions on topics related to the broad theme of ‘development’. Tony Binns and Etienne Nel (Chapter 20) consider the current position of Africa, and whether such terms as ‘Hopeless Africa’ and ‘Africa Rising’ are actually appropriate. The extent to which such perceptions and realities are reflected in African countries’ achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is also examined. It is often said that regional integration would bring greater strength and bargaining power to African countries. But as Olivier Walther shows in Chapter 21, progress in this area has been relatively limited, and Africa is still one of the most expensive places in the world to do business. In Chapter 22, John Briggs picks up the theme of the MDGs, evaluating the level of their success and associated outcomes, and looking ahead to the achievement of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, which he believes will provide African countries with an even greater challenge. Ian Taylor (Chapter 23) focuses on relationships between the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and African countries in providing relationship options beyond the traditional North–South axes that were developed through colonialism. Taylor examines commodity structures and trading patterns, and concludes that many African countries are trapped into low value-added production structures. The issue of aid and debt is examined by John Serieux in Chapter 24. Africa remains the world’s highest aid-receiving region, and in recent years aid-giving has shifted from the exigencies of Cold War politics to financing requirements for the MDGs and SDGs, and fighting the war on terror. Although debt levels have been brought down, the greater involvement of some African governments in international bond markets is exposing these countries to the vagaries and competition of the global market. Chapter 25 focuses on the question of faith and religion in Africa, a continent where many individuals and communities are deeply religious. Reflecting this reality, Emma Tomalin and Adriaan van Klinken identify a significant recent shift in international development policy towards recognising the significance of religion in development interventions.

The significance of rural development in many everyday livelihoods in Africa is recognised in Section 7, which includes five contributions. Many would argue that consideration of the issue of land tenure should be fundamental in any rural development programme. In Chapter 26, Jon D. Unruh considers the importance of tenure security, the various types of land tenure and how these might evolve over time. Deborah Fahy Bryceson shows in Chapter 27 how ‘deagrarianisation’ was a key process in Africa during the 1980s when adverse terms of trade impacted on smallholder peasant export...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• The Routledge Handbook of African Development
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Boxes
• List of Contributors
• Section 1 Introduction and Context
• Section 2 History
• Section 3 Social Perspectives
• Section 4 Health
• Section 5 Environment
• Section 6 Development Issues
• Section 7 Rural Africa
• Section 8 Urban Africa
• Section 9 Economic Perspectives
• Section 10 Political Perspectives on Africa’s Development
• Section 11 Conclusion
• Index