Economic Growth And Democracy In Post Colonial Africa

In Economic Growth and Democracy in Post-Colonial Africa: Cabo Verde, Small States, and the World Economy, edited by João Resende-Santos and Aminah Fernandes Pilgrim, the contributors provide a comprehensive academic analysis of the political economy of Cabo Verde (Cabo Verde) from its independence in 1975 to the present. Democracy and economic growth have been in short supply in post-colonial Africa. Yet the widespread misperception of this vast and diverse continent as experiencing only failure has overshadowed cases of good governance, human development, and social peace. This volume offers a comprehensive analytical narrative on how Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) forged a nation and navigated the world system since independence to achieve some progress. The volume critically examines its political and institutional evolution, foreign affairs, economy, and development policy. The chapters analyze the sources and nature of this relative success as well as underscore the many shortcomings and challenges ahead. As the first volume in English on Cabo Verde’s political economy, it serves as both a primary source and sociopolitical study, featuring some of the most accomplished scholars and policy practitioners. This collection aims to fill this gap in the literature and offers a new perspective on democracy and growth in post-colonial Africa.

Authors Christensen and Laitin argue that an interplay of geographic, historical, and demographic factors undergird sub-Saharan states' post-independence struggles to eradicate poverty, establish democratic accountability, and quell civil unrest. They set out the founding fathers' challenges in transforming their postcolonial states, many of which are ethnically diverse, geographically diffuse, sparsely populated, and lacking in administrative capacity. With the legacies of the slave trade, partition, Christian missionaries, and extractive colonial institutions complicating their efforts, many African states faced stagnation, authoritarianism, and civil strife. Recent years have seen promising attempts to restore democracy to states under authoritarian rule and to liberalize their economies, suggesting that the region is moving toward a new era. Relying on the best statistical data and richly illustrated with case material, this book is an indispensable source for scholars and policy analysts seeking to understand Africa's post-independence political trajectories.

Examines the political dimensions of economic policy making in the 1970s and 1980s.

This book interrogates contemporary debates, controversies, achievements, challenges, and future prospects of African development and democratization from varied theoretical perspectives. The diverse issues and sub-themes addressed in this volume include tenets of democracy such as democratization, democratic institutions, good governance, term limits, minority rights, and women’s political participation; and dynamics of development such as economic growth, liberalization, development strategies and models, Millennium Development Goals, uneven regional development,sustainable development challenges, transport development and management, and health and development. Featuring established and emerging scholars, this book is a vital resource for scholars, policy makers, and students interested in African politics and development.

Africa’s Social Cleavages and Democratization offers a comparative approach to African countries by providing an in-depth analysis of the impact of ethnicity and religion on both multiparty and post-multiparty eras. By applying different theoretical frameworks, Douglas Kimemia explores and analyzes how social cleavages have affected the growth of democracy in Africa. It is crucial to assess the relationship between democratic development and the impact of social cleavages, because multiparty politics have increased political competition, participation, transparency, and civic engagement in Africa. However, social divisions have significantly slowed the maturing of democracy, as these social cleavages have become polarizing factors, which are used by political elites for their own self-interest. As a result, politics of identity caused by competition of natural resources have led to increased conflicts and political instability in Africa. The social cleavages have also led to polarized party systems and caused adverse effects on democracy due to the highly polarized societies and political competition. Despite the many positive impacts, multiparty politics have increased the consciousness of ethnic and religious identities, leading to unhealthy political competition as evidenced by highly fragmented societies prone to conflicts and violence. Kimemia comprehensively examines different governing, electoral, and party systems in order to determine the different incentives and how social divisions shape them. This analysis helps to distinguish more permanent political structures from the merely epiphenomenal within the African political scene.

Part of a series of studies that examine political issues confronting African peoples, societies and states, this text explores: theories of the state, the transition to democracy and economic development. Published in association with ROAPE North America: Africa World Press

This book interrogates Africa’s pursuit of the Democratic Developmental State model by drawing on the experiences of Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. It comprises of five parts: Part I, consisting of two chapters, outlines the key conceptual and theoretical approaches used throughout the book’s discussions. The proceeding parts II, III and IV critically analyses the three case studies under review. Each part is subdivided into two chapters wherein a historical state-societal approach is employed in interrogating the extent to which Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda have been able to successfully achieve democratic development, on the one hand, and, conversely, inclusive economic growth and development, on the other. Part V, and Chapter 10 debuts the concept and model of the Developmental Civil Society.