The Political Economy Of Botswana

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 78, Stellenbosch Universitiy, course: Comparative Political Economy, language: English, abstract: Botswana is described as the "African miracle" (Samatar, 1999), as an "exception" (Good, 1992), or as "a rare example of an African state that used its bonanza of mineral riches wisely" (Meredith, 2006:285). However, critique verbalized by Taylor (2003) and Good (1992) has shown that Botswana's economic history is not a pure success story; even it illustrates a positive example of African development compared to almost all the other African countries. To analyze Botswana's economic history I will date back to the beginning of the 1900s. At this time, Botswana's eight main chiefdoms dominated regional African trade. The indigenous elite welcomed trade with European settlers who arrived in this period. While Botswana's neighbor countries experienced the process of incorporation into the modern world-economy already, Botswana started to shift into the external arena of the global economy. This essay will show how Botswana is and has incorporated into the modern worldeconomy referred to Immanuel Wallerstein's modern world-system theory. I will start with an overview about Botswana's actual trade situation to be able to locate the country within the global division of labor. Afterwards the paper analyses the history of Botswana's shift into the external arena of the modern world-system followed by its incorporation. Furthermore, I will illustrate Botswana's economic development since the incorporation. A second part of Botswana's history deals with the economy-based class structure and how it shaped the political history since Botswana achieved political independence in 1966. I will argue that the class structure, as already indicated, has to be understood in the context of pre-colonial and colonial development. After all, I will point out what important contemporary political-

This is a multidisciplinary book that analyses the problems and issues of development in Africa along with the attempts at, and outcomes of, policy reform measures that have been implemented to surmount those problems. Topics covered include the economic crisis in Africa, urbanisation and urban management, uneven development, the socio-economic context of AIDS, bureaucratic corruption and reform, and proposed development solutions.

Together with Mauritius, Botswana is often categorized as one of two growth miracles in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to its spectacular long-run economic performance and impressive social development, it has been termed both an economic success story and a developmental state. While there is uniqueness in the Botswana experience, several aspects of the country’s opportunities and challenges are of a more general nature. Throughout its history, Botswana has been both blessed and hindered by its natural resource abundance and dependency, which have influenced growth periods, opportunities for economic diversification, strategies for sustainable economic and social development, and the distribution of incomes and opportunities. Through a political economy framework, Hillbom and Bolt provide an updated understanding of an African success story, covering the period from the mid-19th century, when the Tswana groups settled, to the present day. Understanding the interaction over time between geography and factor endowments on the one hand, and the development of economic and political institutions on the other, offers principle lessons from Botswana’s experience to other natural resource rich developing countries.

The authors investigate the factors that account for Botswana's exceptional economic and political development, the problem areas that might endanger its achievements, and its prospects within a changing Southern Africa.

Together with Mauritius, Botswana is often categorized as one of two growth miracles in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to its spectacular long-run economic performance and impressive social development, it has been termed both an economic success story and a developmental state. While there is uniqueness in the Botswana experience, several aspects of the country’s opportunities and challenges are of a more general nature. Throughout its history, Botswana has been both blessed and hindered by its natural resource abundance and dependency, which have influenced growth periods, opportunities for economic diversification, strategies for sustainable economic and social development, and the distribution of incomes and opportunities. Through a political economy framework, Hillbom and Bolt provide an updated understanding of an African success story, covering the period from the mid-19th century, when the Tswana groups settled, to the present day. Understanding the interaction over time between geography and factor endowments on the one hand, and the development of economic and political institutions on the other, offers principle lessons from Botswana’s experience to other natural resource rich developing countries.