State, governance and development in Africa

Authors

Firoz Khan (ed), University of Stellenbosch; Euonell Grundling (ed), Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning; Greg Ruiters (ed), University of the Western Cape; Zwelinzima Ndevu (ed), University of Stellenbosch; Basani Baloyi (ed), University of the Witwatersrand

Synopsis

The inspiration for this book was a Summer School on State, Governance and Development presented by distinguished academics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Written by young African scholars, the chapters here focus on state, governance and development in Africa as seen from the authors’ vantage points and positions in different sectors of society.

The book opens with three forewords by eminent African scholars – Ben Turok, Johan Burger and Mohamed Halfani. The chapters that follow examine rent-seeking, patronage, neopatrimonialism and bad governance. They engage with statehood, state-building and statecraft and challenge the mainstream opinions of donors, funders, development banks, international non-governmental organisations and development organisations. They include the role of China in Africa, Kenya’s changing demographics, state accountability in South Africa’s dominant party system, Somalia’s prospects for state-building, urban development and routine violence, and resource mobilisation.

At a time in which core institutions are being tested – the market, the rule of law, democracy, civil society and representative democracy – this book offers a much-needed multi- and inter-disciplinary perspective, and a different narrative on what is unfolding, while also exposing dynamics that are often overlooked.

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Cover image showing cityscape with tall buildings.

Published

12 July 2022

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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