Beyond the 'African Tragedy': Discourses on Development and the Global Economy / Edition 1

by Malinda S. Smith

Overview

Well researched and insightful, this volume examines the historical and contemporary discourse on African development and the continent's place in the global economy. The chapters critically explore the roles played by various global and local social forces in the construction of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), offering critical insights on financing for development, the WTO and agriculture, ICTs and FDIs and the war on terrorism. NEPAD has been endorsed by the African Union, the Group of Eight and the United Nations System in order to address Africa's deficit through the forging of a global development partnership. This timely resource is suitable for students and policy makers concerned with development in the African post-colonies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754648246
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/28/2006
Edition description:	1
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Malinda S. Smith is Associate Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics (Africa) in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, Canada, where she coordinates the Certificate in Globalization and Governance. Dr Smith also serves on the executive of the interdisciplinary Middle East and African Studies Program (MEAS) in the Faculty of Arts.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Discourses on development and the global economy: beyond the 'African tragedy', Malinda S. Smith. Part 1 Discourses on Development and Governance: Discourses on development from dependency to neoliberalism, Francis Owusu; Towards a political economy of African development discourse, Jímí O. Adésínà; Towards a critique of the political economy of NEPAD, Ishmael Lesufi; When 'good economics' does not make good sense, Ian Taylor; Towards humanising governance in the African political space, Adekunle Amuwo; The seductive discourses of development and good governance, Cosmas Mbuh; Global governance of HIV/AIDS and development, Obijiofor Aginam. Part 2 African Development and the Global Economy: Globalization, the Cotonou agreement, and the African Union, Chaldeans Mensah; Gender, Financing for development and poverty reduction, Zo Randriamaro; Accumulating capital for African development, Abdella Abdou; Challenges of foreign direct investment flows to Africa, Simon Pierre Siqué and Jacob W. Musila; The World Trade Organization, global trade and agriculture, Korbla Peter Puplampu; Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and African development, Patience Akpan-Obong; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'As African policy-makers move from dependency models to challenging the North at its own game, this welcome introduction to the controversies of Africa's New Partnership for Economic Development constitutes a comprehensive overview of the new dialectics of African political economy. In so doing, its transcendence of the discourse of "tragedy" and the binaries of pessimism and optimism challenges the academic world to take a similar paradigmatic shift.' David Moore, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 'This book is a must-read for academics, NGOs, institutions, government officials and anyone wanting to understand the African moment and begin to imagine a different African future.' New Agenda

From the Publisher