Democracy and Development in Africa [Hardcover]

Claude Ake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996 | ISBN-10: 0815702205 | ISBN-13: 978-0815702207

Despite three decades of preoccupation with development in Africa, the economies of most African nations are still stagnating or regressing. For most Africans, incomes are lower than they were two decades ago, health prospects are poorer, malnourishment is widespread, and infrastructures and social institutions are breaking down. An array of factors have been offered to explain the apparent failure of development in Africa, including the colonial legacy, social pluralism, corruption, poor planning and incompetent management, limited in-flow of foreign capital, and low levels of saving and investment. Alone or in combination, these factors are serious impediments to development, but Claude Ake contends that the problem is not that development has failed, but that it was never really on the agenda. He maintains that political conditions in Africa are the greatest impediment to development. In this book, Ake traces the evolution and failure of development policies, including the IMF stabilization programs that have dominated international efforts. He identifies the root causes of the problem in the authoritarian political structure of the African states derived from the previous colonial entities. Ake sketches the alternatives that are struggling to emerge from calamitous failure--economic development based on traditional agriculture, political development based on the decentralization of power, and reliance on indigenous communities that have been providing some measure of refuge from the coercive power of the central state. Ake's argument may become a new paradigm for development in Africa.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 173 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815702205
• ISBN-13: 978-0815702207
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,941,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, knowledgeble, and very credible, January 3, 2001

By 

"dlk199" (Saskatoon, SK CAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy and Development in Africa (Paperback)

Claude Ake has once again written a very insightful book on the precarious situation currently facing Africa (more specifically Sub-Saharan Africa). His analysis, although sometimes a tough read, is well planned and descriptive, and he thoroughly explains his original thesis on what he believes is the best course for Africa to embark on both politically and economically. His discussion of current and past trends and efforts at the development and democratization of Africa is very informative, original, and well-researched. Ake's use of statistics and examples of events are very accurate and do not appear (on further research) to be misused or taken out of context to misrepresent what has occured and is occuring as fact. This book has proven very useful to my studies in the democratization processes currently transpiring througout Africa and offers a fresh insight and ideas for future developments.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rating for Content, December 14, 2008

By 

stinky hippy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy and Development in Africa (Paperback)

I was assigned this book as a reading for an international development class. The book is has it's highlights, but it functions on the assumptions of dependency theory, generally considered to be an outdated developmental mindset. It raises some good points, but I my opinion it tries too hard to blame all of Africa's problems on colonialism. I have spent a few years in Africa and I can say that there are far more important problems for us to be focusing on. Blaming the colonists will give us someone to point the finger at, but it doesn't solve the immediate issues that Africa faces.
To be fair, this book was published about twelve years ago, and the author died in a plane crash before he could finish editing the book.
Overall, I was impressed with the amount of research and the depth of thinking, but I do not agree with the Ake's focus.