Sebanyak 1 item atau buku ditemukan

Africa Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Exploring the Multi-dimensional Discourses on ‘Development’

From a multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary standpoint, this book challenges the teleological and unidirectional notions of development embodied in the idea of modernisation or ‘progress’ and offers a critique of the tendency to consider Africa as a basket case, which often gives the Western ‘self’ an undeserving privilege and superiority over the African ‘other’. Mostly authored by emerging African scholars, this 16-chapter volume addresses the historical application of development projects in Africa and their modern impact in economic, political, cultural, social, and infrastructural contexts, among others. The book, therefore, unearths development dynamics in specific African countries, examines the continent’s external relations, rethinks predominant ideas on development, and engages in critical examination of concepts and practices that have maintained hegemonic positions in the discussions on Africa’s development. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to bring these several voices and themes together into a concise conception of both the challenges and possibilities of Africa’s sustainable development. The book targets both the academic and policy worlds in Africa and around the world, as well as ordinary members of the public who seek to broaden their theoretical and empirical understanding on the changing dynamics on the African continent.

... state” (see Frimpong-Ansah 1992) to “the politics of the belly” (Jean-François
1993; see also Lindberg 2003) to the “criminalisation of the state in Africa” (Jean-
François et al. 1999), a great many discourses have emerged to inform us about
why Africa remains where it is today. This is also to show that from the end of the
Cold War to present, there has been a trend of stereotypical—and mostly
imperialist— Afro-pessimism that has characterised the discourse on Africa's
development.