Contents

Editorial Africa at 50: Looking to the Future...... 1 Debates & Think Pieces Beyond his Place, Beyond his Time: Nkrumah’s Heritage in the New Millennium ...... 3 Kofi Anyidoho Return to a Wider Vision of Social Development: Social Policy in Reframing a New Agenda ...... 10 Jìmí O. Adésínà Academic Freedom: A Realistic Appraisal ...... 13 Philip G. Altbach Challenges to Africa’s Economic Development and Barack Obama’s Policies toward the Continent thus Far 15 Abdul Karim Bangura Discourse on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Sustainable Socio-economic Development and the Challenge of the Academy in Africa ...... 24 Teboho J. Lebakeng International Symposium on African Revival...... 30 Iba Der Thiam The Impossible Task of Managing the Euro ...... 34 Samir Amin The Political Imagination of State Reform: Reflections on the Making of Political Community after Apartheid in South Africa ...... 35 Suren Pillay Reports Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibility of Academics and Researchers in Africa ...... 39 Ibrahim Oanda Ogachi The January 2011 South Sudan Self-determination Referendum and Possible Consequences for Sudan and the Region ...... 40 Sam Moyo, Mahmood Mamdani & Ebrima Sall The Political Process in Sudan and the 2011 Referendum...... 42 Reim Atabani Second Nyerere Intellectual Festival: Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African Studies .... 46 Bernard Mumpasi Lututala 2010 Distinguished Africanist Awards: Professor N’Dri Assie-Lumumba and Professor Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo...... 47 CODESRIA Publications Mahmood Mamdani bags Honorary Doctorate at Addis Ababa University ...... 48 CODESRIA Publications CODESRIA Activities Research ...... 50 Training, Grants and Fellowships ...... 52 South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development (SEPHIS) ...... 53 New Publications ...... 54 CODICE...... 55 CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 1

Editorial Africa at 50: Looking to the Future

As many West and Central African countries are celebrating nent. The setting of the MDGs was already, in itself, a kind of fifty years of independence this year, CODESRIA and the Kwame testimony that the goals of independence have not been Nkrumah Chair in African Studies of the University of Ghana, achieved. Legon, organised an international symposium to reflect on The Copenhagen World Summit on Social Development held in dreams and realities of African independence. Highlights of the 1995 constituted a first attempt by the international community symposium will be published in the next issue of CODESRIA to make global and national development processes more inclu- Bulletin. In this issue, we publish sweet memories of one of sive. Fifteen years after the 1995 Copenhagen Summit, a cur- Africa’s most illustrious sons – Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana – sory glance at social developments in Africa would lead one to through the inaugural lecture of Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, a member conclude that important as it was, the summit’s decisions have of CODESRIA Executive Committee, which he gave at his instal- not led to inclusive social development for most African coun- lation as the first occupant of the Kwame Nkrumah Chair in tries. According to Jimi Adesina, social development in this pe- African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, in March riod has been hampered by various social and economic crises this year. On behalf of the entire African research and academic and the resultant ‘adjustments’ and reforms have further com- community, CODESRIA congratulates Prof. Anyidoho on this plicated the problems. His article, in this issue of the Bulletin, well-deserved appointment and wishes him a very successful calls for a wider vision and a longer gaze on society and a move tenure in the advancement of scholarship in Africa and beyond. towards gender equality and social solidarity, and to make the The Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Studies was established reforms more relevant to quick recovery and faster social at the University of Ghana, Legon, two years after the Mwalimu progress. Julius Nyerere Chair in Pan African Studies was established at Indigenous African epistemologies and languages are inesti- the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with Professor Issa mable treasures, and the fact that they were not integrated into Shivji as the first occupant. Hopefully, we will soon witness the colonial knowledge systems is not an excuse to relegate them to birth of other chairs in pan-African studies named after great the periphery of the modern knowledge system and replace them women and men of Africa and the African Diaspora such as by the so-called ‘universal’ systems which are, essentially, prod- Ruth First, Cheikh Anta Diop, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Amilcar ucts of Western scientific traditions. These systems, established Cabral, Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Marcus by the colonial administrations, have also succeeded in discon- Garvey. Such Chairs can help both in making the works of great necting the African academy from the various social institu- pan Africanists known to the younger generations of Africans, tions that could have enhanced endogenous knowledge and to also initiate critical reflections on the challenges facing production. One important consequence of all this is the partial our continent and its peoples in the 21st century. alienation of some of the intellectuals of this continent, who are Professor Anyidoho’s interesting lecture takes us through the wallowing in a pool of ‘borrowed’ cultures. Indeed, the African academic, philosophical, political and physical influences that knowledge system is a bifurcated one, and in the African intel- clearly mark Nkrumah out as a pan-Africanist of distinction. lectual community the ‘non-europhone’ intellectuals (Ousmane Nkrumah’s erudity, clarity of vision, courage, revolutionary spirit, Kane) constitute a large marginalised group. Teboho Lebakeng’s and some of his successes and many other issues, are chroni- article calls for a shift from Eurocentricism which has severed cled in the lecture. Kwame Nkrumah’s story is that of an extraor- African intellectualism and polity, and painted African knowl- dinary symbiosis between visionary leadership and the will of edge systems negatively and as the root cause of the conti- the people as well as that of an individual and a nation inextrica- nent’s contemporary problems of underdevelopment. bly woven together. The lecture, spiced with dramatic excerpts Indigenous knowledge, she argues, is the key to sustainable and anecdotes, posits that Nkrumah ended up being a contro- social and economic development; it is through these that we versial figure because ‘he was too far ahead of his time’, which can reverse what she calls the current situation of ‘epistemicide’ made it difficult for his contemporaries to fully understand him. and ‘linguacide’ that Africa is currently suffering from. The ma- There is therefore a need to re-visit Nkrumah’s legacy, as we re- jor problems facing the African academy in this context are sur- conceptualise and work towards the free, united, respectable mountable if only we would make conscious efforts to know and respected, economically developed and democratic Africa ourselves and how much we have and are contributing to world that he envisioned. civilisation. The current debates on the Millennium Development Goals This issue also contains an article calling for an appraisal of (MDGs), that most countries of Africa are said to be far from ‘academic freedom’. The author, Philip G. Altbach, reveals that achieving, are a reminder that the journey towards genuine free- this universally practised right, which has become a core value dom, peace and development has hardly begun in our conti- for good quality higher education, has been much confused CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 2 with other issues of academic and institutional welfarism, poli- snake’ by which each European state would remain monetarily ticking and accountability in contemporary times. It is time to sovereign, managing its own economy and currency, but still re-think and re-define the term, especially in the context of inter- operating within the limits of free trade. nationalisation and other kinds of profound transformations The international economy is gradually shifting base, presently going on in the higher education sector. However, it is not cer- from Europe to Asia, and it is envisaged that it would reach tain whether Altbach’s call for a return to some kind of orthodox Africa, making it the continent of the 21st century. This will surely approach to academic freedom will get many supporters in Af- require some deconstruction and reconstruction, unprecedented rica. The Kampala Declaration, whose 20th anniversary was cel- changes and new discoveries. Africa must prepare adequately ebrated in a major CODESRIA conference held in Oran, Algeria, to face the challenges, so there is a need for a revival. This is in March this year, was informed by a broader view of intellec- why Thiam talks of an ‘International Symposium on African tual and academic freedom (see brief report in this issue). Renaissance’ in his article. He however warns against a Renais- The present crises of legitimacy and management facing the sance that takes after the European Renaissance of the 15th cen- Euro have attracted the attention of one of Africa’s eminent tury which focused only on culture. Instead, the African revival intellectuals, Prof. Samir Amin. Underscoring the inseparability must permeate the entire African community in all its ramifica- of a state and its currency for the proper functioning of capital, tions. Recalling the black race revival of the 19th and 20th centu- he submits that creating the Euro in the absence of a European ries and the pioneering efforts of Cheikh Anta Diop, Franz Fanon state is an aberration, a decision deliberately taken to keep the and Aimé Cessaire, he outlines necessary steps to be taken to oligopolies in power and forestall any challenge. This article fulfil the dreams of Africa, past and present. suggests an alternative in what he calls a ‘European monetary

Ebrima Sall Executive Secretary

Alex Bangirana Head, Publications CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 3

Debates & Think Pieces

Beyond his Place, Beyond his Time: Nkrumah’s Heritage in the New Millennium*

Introduction ing made is for an evolutionary approach The problems of a nation, even a small to African political culture and African one, cannot all be solved in the life span Kofi Anyidoho development. The final argument is that of any one man, or even in any one gen- University of Ghana it is better to err on the side of caution eration. The problems of Africa belong to Legon than to stumble in pursuit of rapid many generations of men. The mountains progress. It is a call against Nkrumah and that loom so formidably today will be dis- obscenities into the tropical heat. The his Convention People’s Party’s favour- tant hillocks behind the generations of demonstrations gave way to several ite guiding principle of the African libera- tomorrow. But overweening ambition to weeks devoted to a series of brilliant lec- tion struggle, captured in the slogan ‘Self erect what they think will be their own tures given at the Arts Centre in Accra Government Now’, also inscribed in his immortal monuments drives some men in under the title ‘What Went Wrong’? It often cited declaration that ‘We prefer tempestuous haste to telescope all his- was at one of those lectures that a leaflet self-government with danger to servitude tory into a lifetime, and they seek to de- with the opening passage quoted above in tranquility’. stroy in the process all who will not submit was given the widest possible circulation. to their imperious will. ...It is not given to The claim has often been made that intel- man to make himself immortal. It will take To some, it may seem odd to begin a lec- lectually, Nkrumah was no match for the more than a lifetime to build a united na- ture dedicated to Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s political figures who led the opposition against his ideas and his political agenda tion out of the states of Africa. The vision heritage by citing at length words of ap- for Ghana and for Africa, in particular, Dr. was seen years ago, in the darkest days parent wisdom from Professor K.A. Busia, J. B. Danquah and Dr. K. A. Busia. There of slavery. It has come nearer to reality since the man who led the last major opposi- is no doubt that these two major figures then; but it is not the Hitlers who build the tion in parliament against Nkrumah and were among the best-educated and most things that endure (Busia 1962). was eventually obliged to seek refuge in exile. It is however appropriate that we articulate Ghanaian intellectuals of their In his own place, in his own time, Osagyefo choose Busia’s words as a relevant entry time. Indeed, as demonstrated in their Dr Kwame Nkrumah woke up one dawn in point into a reassessment of the signifi- various writings, their studies had given a far away land, and discovered that he cance of Nkrumah’s heritage. The Busia them a deep knowledge of African his- could not return home. For six years and passage comes from the concluding tory and cultural institutions. As a scholar, more, he lived in exile, waiting, hoping that pages of The Challenge of Africa. This is Danquah is still widely recognised for his the people of Ghana would change their a brief but significant work in which the classic work Akan Doctrines of God, mind, that they would reclaim the vision one time professor of sociology draws on among others. And it is generally ac- of freedom and self-determination he had fundamental human values inherent in knowledged that it was from his research tried to inspire them to, and they would aspects of his native Akan culture as a into ancient African history that he pro- surely welcome him back. Somehow, we basis for his critique of the intellectual posed the name Ghana for the Gold Coast never did. His thoughts gathered into a foundations of the independence move- as an independent state. As indicated lump in his throat and stayed there for so ment along lines advocated by Nkrumah. above, Busia’s The Challenge of Africa, long that the lump became malignant and Busia is very careful not to mention brief as it is, may be considered a classic was later diagnosed as cancer of the Nkrumah, but his words of caution may study in human values, a study directly throat. And he died, only for his body to very well be answering to Nkrumah’s based on insights provided by a close be brought home to widespread mourn- warning that his generation of African study of aspects of ancient Akan tradi- ing and a state burial still remembered as leaders and the people of Africa could not tions, such as funeral rites and the belief the most heavily attended in our history. afford the luxury of waiting on ‘the evo- systems on which the rites are based. On the day of the great betrayal, the day lution of history. We must give History a It goes without saying that Danquah, Ghana repudiated her most precious gift revolutionary push’. Busia and many others of their circle were of the twentieth century, not too long af- It is important that we pay attention to beneficiaries of the finest Western-type ter the guns fell silent around Flag Staff what has been called the Nkrumah vs. of education available to a select group House, the people poured out into the Danquah-Busia tradition in Ghanaian poli- among the African elite, the kind of edu- streets with wild jubilation, led by stu- tics as first and foremost the product of cation generally associated with the Ox- dents and some faculty members of the two contending intellectual traditions. A ford-Cambridge tradition. It is not only University of Ghana, Legon, many of them closer look at the Busia quote above privileged education, but also education wearing academic gowns and screaming should reveal that the essential case be- for privileges. The Oxbridge model of edu- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 4 cation is one that is best suited to the In the meantime, J. B. Danquah, ‘the graduated from Lincoln University in 1939 world view and aspirations of young men doyen of Gold Coast politics’, and his with a BA in Economics and Sociology; and women who have been brought up colleagues - among them William Ofori top of his class from the Lincoln Theo- under conditions of social reality which Atta, Edward Akuffo Addo, J. W. De Graft logical Seminary in 1942 with a Bachelor teach them to believe that they are among Johnson and V.B. Annan - continued to of Theology; from the University of Penn- the very best, and that they naturally de- press for ‘substantial changes to the con- sylvania, also in 1942, with an M.Sc in serve the best of what life has to offer. In stitution introduced in 1946', changes that Education, and again from U-Penn with short, they are entitled to reserved, perhaps would pave the way for them to assume an M.A. in Philosophy in 1943. Back at ancestral seats, in the House of Lords, a the leadership mantle. ‘They confidently Lincoln, in between increasing responsi- safe distance from the House of Commons. expected that their education, their social bilities and involvement in student politi- standing, their background and their lead- cal organisation, he signed up for the PhD It is significant that even in the colonial ership qualities would make them natural in Philosophy. His doctoral thesis, titled dispensation, in spite of racial stereotyp- heirs when the colonial government ‘Mind and Thought in Pre-literate Soci- ing, in spite of serious doubts about the handed over power’ (Rooney 2007:48). As ety: A Study in Ethno-philosophy with intellectual capacity of people of ‘the noted by Kwame Arhin, ‘Dr Danquah and Special Reference to the Akan people of darker races’, especially the African, it was his friends thought of the UGCC as a the Gold Coast’, was eventually aban- not uncommon for Oxford and Cambridge group for uniting and embracing all the doned to enable him devote full attention to open their doors to carefully chosen chiefs and peoples of the Gold Coast for to his new responsibilities as a key mem- young men of promise, who were expected the purpose of asking for the permission ber of the fast-growing Pan-African move- to be groomed into potential candidates to rule themselves ‘within the shortest ment. His relocation from the United for eventual OBE’s, cynically termed by possible time’... They would negotiate States to the United Kingdom, to work as some as ‘Obedient Boys of the Empire’. with those authorities a slow but system- Joint Secretary to the all-important 1945 Admittedly, the Oxbridge tradition has atic grant of authority...’ (Arhin 2000: 10). Pan-African Congress at Manchester, ef- often turned out brilliant and ‘rebellious’ Arhin’s observation coincides with that fectively brought to an end his quest for products, much to the annoyance of their of June Milne who also notes that the a doctoral degree. However, a copy of the mentors. On the whole, however, it was other leaders of the United Gold Coast uncompleted thesis available at the Kwame expected that the future of the empire Convention (UGCC) who were arrested Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra suggests would be safe in the hands of these and imprisoned with Nkrumah, following that the work was all but finished. young, even if somewhat inexperienced, the 1948 riots ‘made it clear that they re- potential OBEs. It is important for us to note that in order gretted inviting him to become the gen- to secure funding for his travel to America, It is important to note as well, that many eral secretary of the UGCC, even blaming he had to rely on support from members members of this elite group did not owe Ako Adjei for recommending him. They of his extended family. He even had to their privileged status only to the ben- wanted to conduct the liberation strug- travel to Lagos as a stow-away in order efits of their Oxbridge type of education. gle in an orderly manner, step by step, to get help from one such family member. Many of them came from royal lineage or under conditions prescribed by the colo- Even more significant, most of his educa- belonged to families that had established nial government’ (Milne 2000:42). tion in the US was gained while he worked themselves as members of the profes- Unfortunately, this guy just showed up at various menial jobs to support himself: sional elite or the merchant class within and proceeded to spoil everything. Leg- from library assistant to such ‘sordid and the colonial system. Often, it was this kind end has it that when he stepped off the degrading jobs’ as ‘selling fish in Harlem’ of background that provided the re- boat in Takoradi ‘his total possessions and ‘handling of rotting animal entrails’. sources for an Oxbridge type of educa- had been a couple of suits and a change ‘Often, during these difficult days, he tion. Both Dr Danquah and Dr Busia are of shirts, shoes, and underwear which he slept in railway stations until the police of direct royal descent. carried in a small suit-case’ (Rooney 2007: moved him on, he slept in parks until The British might not have been too wor- 21). To the above list of possessions, we heavy rain forced him to move and he even ried about the prospects of handing the probably should add a few books and slept on the subway between Harlem and Gold Coast over to their carefully prepared manuscripts, as well as his almost com- Brooklyn’ (Rooney 2007:29). A reading of surrogates, under a new and disguised pleted but long abandoned PhD thesis. ‘Hard Times’, Chapter Four of Nkrumah’s kind of indirect rule. After all, hardly any He apparently had no particular residen- autobiography (1957:35-47), offers ample of them would ever have dreamed of cut- tial address of his own in the metropolis testimony not only of the hardship he had ting off their imperial umbilical cord in to go to, and, after some two weeks of to endure but also his determination to haste and without proper consultations reunion with his mother in Tarkwa, was survive this long period of agony. Even and necessary preconditions. Besides, obliged to spend the next few years in more significant, was his determination they were always properly dressed in accommodation provided by benefactors. to turn this period of adversity into an three piece suits for formal occasions, and opportunity to learn new ways of survival, Kwame Nkrumah had left the Gold Coast the best among them spoke English with a chance to make new friends, take on eleven years earlier, in 1935, with the dream a flawless Oxbridge accent that must have new, even if difficult challenges. In the of pursuing higher education. Having put Daniel Jones to shame. The future of process, he gained a wide range of friends failed the entrance examination for Uni- the empire would and should be safe in and experiences, all of which were to play versity of London, he went, instead and their hands, even under a so-called in- a crucial role in his early maturity as an upon advice from Nnamdi Azikiwe of Ni- dependent Gold Coast, call it Ghana or unstoppable fighter for freedom and so- geria, to the United States. He eventually whatever. cial justice. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 5

It was under these conditions that Kwame launching of his own Convention Peo- the National Association for the Ad- Nkrumah was to become a candidate for ple’s Party, is one story that has been told vancement of Coloured Peoples activist politics in the cause of the eman- so often we need not go into it here. In- (Padmore 1953:61). cipation of Black people. The rising tide stead, I would like to propose that the Among these various influences, how- of Black nationalism, especially as cham- greatest mistake made by Danquah and ever, Nkrumah himself admits that his pioned by Marcus Mosiah Garvey, was his colleagues was not the invitation to greatest debt was to the intellectual and clearly a natural destination for his politi- Nkrumah. Their most fatal error was to revolutionary ideas and tactics of Marcus cal tutelage. In an important essay titled have underestimated the force of the in- Garvey: ‘... of all the literature I studied, ‘Kwame Nkrumah – the Pan-African tellectual and revolutionary foundations the book that did more than any other to Revolutionary’, Kofi Awoonor makes a of Nkrumah’s political convictions and fire my enthusiasm was Philosophy and strong case for a direct link between strategies. If they had, for instance, had a Opinions of Marcus Garvey published in Nkrumah’s eventual political philosophy chance to read his completed but unpub- 1923’ (Nkrumah 1957:44-45). Commenting and agenda and the kind of drudgery he lished manuscript Towards Colonial on the Garvey influence on Nkrumah, had to endure in the United States, espe- Freedom, they might not necessarily have Awoonor observes that ‘It was also cially as a Black person in those years of agreed with him on various points and Garvey who led him to his Pan-Africanist active political struggle against slavery, rac- conclusions. But they probably would at idealism and practice, defining for him the ism, and capitalism (Awoonor 1994:1-34). least have taken him a bit more seriously existence of a global African family, in- as a potentially dangerous opponent who The case being made here for the impact cluding the concept of the diaspora deserved to be treated with respect, rather of Nkrumah’s background of growing up ...which later became the cornerstone of than with disdain. Their greatest error was in modest and sometimes humiliating cir- his internationalism’ (Awoonor op. cit:xi- to have seen him at first and perhaps for a cumstances as a working class ‘black’ xii). Nkrumah’s eventual adoption of the long time as a mere rabble-rouser and trou- person, must also take in one very impor- Black Star, Black Star Line, and the na- blemaker, a man with no real pedigree as tant aspect of his place of origin. He was tional colours of red, gold and green bear an intellectual. born into the small rural community of ample testimony to the impact of Nkroful in 1909. It was barely eight years Nkrumah may have abandoned his doc- Garveyism and the Garvey movement on after the European colonisers had set the toral studies. But he was no half-baked his project for a self-defining African revo- boundary that split the ancestral territory intellectual. He had read widely, gaining lution. Lessons learned from the Garvey of his Nzema people into two, one part to intellectual breadth and depth not only movement must have helped Nkrumah’s the British on the Gold Coast, the other from Hegel, Marx, Engels, Lenin and remarkable success in leading the expan- half over to the French in the Ivory Coast. Mazzini, but also from some of the best sion of the base of the UGCC from one As a child, he must have grown up watch- minds working in the service of the Pan- central committee and office to hundreds ing his people as they tried to adjust them- African struggle in the earlier decades of of branches and offices across the coun- selves to this sudden complication the twentieth century. They included Du try in a relatively short time. Following introduced into their lives by alien colo- Bois, Kwegyir Aggrey, Nnamdi Azikiwe, his break with the UGCC and its leader- nial powers. It is my view that the need CLR James, George Padmore, Casely ship, the newly established Convention for the removal of such colonial bounda- Hayford, among others, and indeed People’s Party became the immediate ben- ries must have come to Nkrumah quite Blyden and Horton of the 1860s to 1880s. eficiary of the Garvey-inspired techniques early in life. This view is expressed even Each one of these, in his own way, was an and tactics of mass political mobilisation, more emphatically by Kwame Arhin: ‘... it activist intellectual, a public intellectual complete with remarkable success in get- is just possible that Nkrumah’s intense totally devoted to the struggle for the ting ordinary, even poor, citizens to pro- Pan-Africanism is related to his early ex- emancipation of African people. The cu- vide much of the financial and other periences connected with the practical re- mulative impact of these minds on resources needed to sustain the move- sults of the arbitrary division of the Nkrumah seemed to have brought him to ment and its campaigns. Anyi-Baule peoples between the British a clear conviction that it was not enough As part of a recent graduate seminar on and French colonial powers along the to be a brilliant intellectual. The ultimate Post-colonial Literature, I had my stu- Gold Coast and Ivory Coast boundaries’ goal of intellectual enterprise must be the dents read Towards Colonial Freedom (Arhin 2000:3). ability to use insights provided by intel- as a good example of what has been de- lectual analysis as building blocks of The leaders of the United Gold Coast scribed as a discourse of decolonisation. strategies for the African liberation strug- Convention must have meant well when From the long discussions that followed, gle. As noted by George Padmore: they accepted Ako Adjei’s suggestion that it was clear to me that the students were Nkrumah should be invited to return to the During his twelve years’ stay abroad, amazed at the force and clarity with which Gold Coast as the first full time paid secre- he had made an intensive study of the Nkrumah’s analysis exposes the ultimate tary of the party. As one historian puts it, history of political and national lib- goals of imperialism and various strate- ‘They did not realise what a deep gulf sepa- eration movements and had helped in gies designed for the achievement of rated their views and their aims from those formulating the tactics and strategy those goals. They were also impressed of the revolutionary leader they were about of the Pan-African Congress held in by the carefully thought-through pro- to invite to join them’ (Rooney 2007:48). Manchester in October 1945, under the gramme of action Nkrumah proposed for direction of Dr W. E. Burghardt Du the struggle against imperialism and its The story of Nkrumah’s dissatisfaction Bois, the foremost Afro-American offshoots, colonial and neo-colonial domi- with the basic ideas and programme of scholar and champion of Negro lib- nation. Above all, however, some of the the UGCC, his eventual split and the eration, and one of the founders of students expressed anxiety over his fu- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 6 ture, his life. As one of them put it: ‘Given rious setbacks, but its general import must sacrifice that took the form of armed strug- the power of the forces Nkrumah was tak- not be dismissed so lightly: gle against some of the best equiped ar- ing on so openly, how did he expect to be mies in Europe, often aided by deadly left alone to carry on with his plans?’ It tasted good. To the surging crowds collaborators and traitors in their midst, at the Lagos racecourse, to the thou- the lofty ideals of even the most revolu- My answer was that, somehow, Nkrumah sands who packed the polo grounds tionary, most visionary leader were bound did not allow anxiety over his own life to in Accra, to the multitudes that lined to amount to nothing but a dream. In the stop him from doing what he believed was the streets of Nairobi, Kampala, particular case of Nkrumah, his official not only right but needed to be done. Abidjan, Freetown, or Dar es Salaam, biographer makes the following observa- Again, somehow, the forces he was tak- it tasted good indeed. tion: ‘There was fertile ground on which ing on so openly did move against him, ‘It is the hour of truth’, proclaimed to work for mass participation in the anti- but not fast enough. And in the little space President Senghor in Dakar. colonial struggle. A high degree of politi- he had, he was able to lead the world into cal awareness already existed among the directions that forever changed the po- ‘At long last, the battle has ended!’ people in towns and countryside. This litical history of a whole continent and its Kwame Nkrumah exulted, watching was being expressed in a growing resent- extensions into the Diaspora. the red, green, and gold colors of Ghana fluttering in the night breeze, ment of colonial rule’ (Milne 2000:36). But then, maybe, I am in danger here of ‘Ghana ...is free forever...’ Perhaps this was the one thing that each exaggerating the impact of a single man Independence, however, carried more pro- of these leaders eventually seemed to on the course of the history of a whole found implications – more than an indi- have lost sight of – that the spirit of free- people. It may be truer to argue, as CLR vidual, or even a national triumph. dom resides in the collective will and James has done, that the African world of Nkrumah’s exultation was tempered by struggle of a people, not in the lofty ide- the 1940s into the 1950s was more than the knowledge that Ghana was an exam- als of one leader, however gifted, how- ready to fly off in revolutionary directions. ple for all the people of Africa. ‘If we ... ever self-sacrificing. Any disconnect Nkrumah – with a few others of his gen- succeed’, he informed his countrymen, between the vision of a leader and the eration – just happened to be the one who ‘we shall aid ... other territories ... the will and spirit of the people can only lead had enough courage and clarity of vision sooner to reach conditions under which to one thing – collapse of the independ- to give that world the long awaited ‘revo- they [too] may become independent’. Simi- ence dream itself and tragedy for the lead- lutionary push’: larly, in Tanganyika, the great day was ers and the people alike. marked by the lighting of a beacon on the The dozen years that have unfolded For a few magical years, Nkrumah seemed summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, a flame to since the winning of independence by to have carried the will and the spirit of shine symbolically for all who sought free- the Gold Coast in 1957 are some of the the people with him. And during those dom. Julius Nyerere had some years ear- most far-reaching and politically in- few years, amazing progress was re- lier given the explanation: ‘We, the people tense that history has known. African corded, in spite of active and negative of Tanganyika, would like to light a can- state after state has gained political opposition and sometimes blatant sabo- dle and put it on top of Mount Kiliman- independence with a tumultuous rush tage and repeated attempts on his life. that was not envisaged, even by the jaro which would shine beyond our most sanguine of the early advocates borders, giving hope where there was de- The Convention People’s Party (CPP) of independence. The names of lead- spair, love where there was hate and dig- government led by Kwame Nkrumah, ers obscure the political reality. What nity where before there was only made massive investments in agriculture is to be noted is that Kenyatta, humiliation. In Tanganyika, as elsewhere and manufacturing to lay a foundation for Nkrumah, Banda, to take the best- in Africa, independence meant more than the emergence of our country as a mod- known names, were all imprisoned by freedom from colonial rule. It meant the ern industrialised nation. These socio- the British Government and had to be freedom to build a new life, a better world’ economic investments exceeded what had released to head the independent (July 1987:1-4). been achieved by Malaysia, India, South states. The British Government, as did Korea, and Indonesia, that were the newly the French and Belgian, found that What we may call the African independ- independent countries in the era. despite their soldiers, their guns and ence imperative constitutes one of the planes, they could not rule. The colo- most rapid and most hopeful, even if Nkrumah justified the primacy of the state nial mentality having been broken, the short-lived, moments in world history. in economic investment and development only way to restore some sort of or- Thirty African countries gained their po- on the observation that colonialism pre- der ... the only way to have a viable litical independence from reluctant but cluded the emergence of a viable capital- society was to transfer the man in jail somewhat helpless European powers ist class and private sector in the colonial to be the head of state (James within five years from Ghana’s historic economy. He concluded therefore that it 1969:114-115). moment on 6 March 1957. A large part of was the responsibility of the state to as- sume the role of prime mover in the eco- It has been customary for some time now, the credit must go to such visionary lead- nomic development of the newly especially for a generation too young to ers as Nkrumah, Nyerere, Azikiwe, independent country (Duncan 2009:27). have been personally touched by the Kenyatta, even Banda, despite how each events of that great moment in African of them later turned out. But we cannot Many there are who have questioned this and world history, to dismiss independ- overlook the role played by the ordinary line of thinking and the action programme ence as a fluke, a mirage. Independence citizenry of the various countries. With- it engendered, but have offered no work- as a movement certainly has suffered se- out their support, without the sacrifices able alternative that was not likely to re- they were prepared to make, in some cases turn the fate of the newly independent CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 7 states into the suffocating embrace of the Clearly, the expansion of national assets ence, industry and technology. On our erstwhile colonial empire. On the contrary, on such a massive scale in such a short political horizon, I can see Ghana within the political and economic histories of time must have posed major management the framework of a united Africa, mak- Ghana’s independence age-mates such as and maintenance challenges. Perhaps this ing her voice and strength felt in the Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea was where the trouble began. Many have counsels of the world. If ever there was seem to suggest that the Nkrumah option wondered what happened to the over 200 time for unity, concord, concerted ac- was indeed a difficult but ultimately worth- million pounds Nkrumah’s government is tion and relentless personal sacrifice while way to go, provided there was pru- said to have inherited as foreign reserves. at home, this is it (Nkrumah 1960). dent management and internal political will He certainly did not divert it into secret That vision of a self-defining Ghana pros- and consensus, strong enough to stand personal Swiss and other bank accounts. pering in the global arena ‘within the up to inevitable hostility from the erst- We can or should see where most of it framework of a united Africa’ was indeed while colonial and imperial order. went – into a phenomenal expansion of a compelling dream for which Nkrumah national assets. But for how much profit The new nation of Ghana did itself proud will always be remembered. Those who for the nation at large and for how long? by embarking on the most massive pro- doubted the wisdom of that vision have We may never be able to answer this ques- gramme of development ever recorded in since discovered that African people tion with absolute certainty, given the the space of a few years – and which cov- have tried every other option, but to no abrupt end to the Nkrumah dream and pro- ered every sphere of national life: for edu- avail. And as if to spite Africa, Europe, gramme of action. But of one thing we are cation, a national network of brand new her erstwhile imperial majesty, has re- quite sure – nothing else that we have secondary schools distributed evenly cently seized upon that same dream, and tried since then has worked sufficiently across the country, a number of technical is now busy running ahead with it, albeit as to put the lie to the Nkrumah dream institutes and teacher training colleges, with certain technical difficulties. and programme. and two new universities, one devoted to During what must have been his last visit science and technology, the other to the Among the many slogans that Nkrumah’s to Ghana, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere paid a production of graduate teachers; in followers often recited, to the annoyance private visit to the W.E.B. Du Bois Me- health, the introduction of a free health of those who had reason to hate him, was morial Centre for Pan African Culture. He care system and the building of new clin- the claim that ‘Nkrumah Never Dies’. stood for a while in front of the tomb of ics and polyclinics for various communi- Maybe this was indeed too much of a pre- the man known to history as the Father of ties; in transport, the launch of a national sumption. But among some of our peo- Pan-Africanism. Then he turned to the airline, which took off on its maiden voy- ple, there is the saying that a person may small group that had gathered around age with an all Ghanaian crew (Captains die and be buried, but his or her tongue him, especially members of the manage- Agyare, Ampomah and Dorkenoo); in never rots. By the tongue, they mean ment board of the centre. ‘This is good, trade and industry, the establishment of words, but more than words, they mean very good indeed. But you must do a simi- as many state owned enterprises as pos- the person’s ideas, especially as en- lar honour for Nkrumah. After all, it was sible, at one point 60 new ones within shrined in various memorable sayings (or Nkrumah who brought Du Bois back to twelve months, the expansion of the one writings) and as translated into action. No Ghana, to Africa.’ And then, almost in a old harbour and the building of a new one matter how we assess Nkrumah’s life, no whisper, as if speaking to himself, we from scratch, complete with the new mu- matter what final judgment we come to on could hear him say: ‘I wonder how many nicipality of Tema, and a national ship- his role in the history of Ghana, of Africa of us understood what he was trying to ping line, Black Star Line (after Marcus and of the world, one thing stands out - tell us then?’ Garvey’s historical model); in science and that he was indeed a man of action, posi- Often, the loftiest vision of independence technology, the establishment of the tive and sometimes negative action. But is clouded by colonially conditioned re- Ghana Atomic Energy Commission; in re- above all, he was a man of ideas, a vision- sponses of the professional and political search and high level intellectual work for ary intellectual whose ideas shine brighter, elite. Nkrumah was, of course, fully aware industrialisation, the Council for Scien- like a star in a dark sky, the farther we move of this challenge. His error, if indeed it tific and Industrial Research as well as away from his own place, his own time. was an error, was to alienate and even the Ghana Academy of Science and Let- Few things stand stronger and last longer antagonize most of the elite, to assume ters; in arts and culture, the Institute of than ideas that have the force and the that once he managed to win over the so- Arts and Culture, Institute of African Stud- purity of fundamental truths, especially called masses to his side, he would in due ies - with a national dance company, Bu- truths that relate to the ultimate desires course subdue the opposition of the elite. reau of Ghana Languages, School of of all human beings, desires such as free- As it turned out, the opposition was not Translators, Ghana Television, and Ghana dom. With a remarkable gift for words, only stronger than he imagined, but also Film Industry Corporation; in agriculture, Nkrumah was able, often, to state his great unforgiving, and would go to any length massive subsidies to individual farmers, ideas in unforgettable images: to neutralise his efforts, or indeed elimi- especially cocoa and also tobacco farm- nate him if need be. What he was to even- ers, and a country-wide network of state There is only one way to Africa’s sur- tually come up with as his final option, farms, several of them run by the state- vival: a union of African States ... I may have been his gravest miscalculation. sponsored Workers Brigade, a network have visions of great cities in Ghana with large factories and cultural insti- The complexity of his dilemma was such of silos for eventual storage of surplus tutions, inhabited by people who are that we must turn to Femi Osofisan, liter- food during bumper seasons – all of them happy, cheerful and resilient, ventur- ary artist and master of words, to capture criminally abandoned after Nkrumah’s ing unto the realms of knowledge, sci- it most poignantly in the language of po- overthrow; and on and on. etic drama: CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 8

Nkrumah: We will rebuild those castles Nkrumah: You see another alternative Nkrumah Chair, to be part of the intellec- so that, when next you go to Cape then? Teach me, you who have trav- tual task force that must refocus and Coast, you’ll see, not a tomb crammed elled so widely and for so long – is clarify those dreams and hand them over with the noisy wailings of the past, there some other option for a nation to the new and future generation of Gha- but a monument of progress, a glitter- like ours, already three hundred years naians and Africans. The way I under- ing testimony to the genius of the behind the rest of the world? stand it, there was some fundamental black race, to the immense possibili- lesson Nkrumah tried to teach us. It is a ties of human freedom! That’s the mis- Du Bois: I don’t know, I confess. All I can say is – good luck, my son. lesson I can best explain through the me- sion of our new nation, Doctor, why dium of a parable, or rather a dilemma tale: we name ourselves Ghana, and I want (Osofisan:n.d) you especially to believe in us. Dr Du Bois’s wish of good luck was clearly Once upon a time, there was a man well meant. But Nkrumah ran out of luck born into rather fortunate circum- Du Bois: It’s a beautiful dream ... a tall stances. At birth, he was endowed dream... sooner than he was prepared for. There is now some debate as to whether his politi- with an unusually rich land, a land blessed with unimaginable wealth. But Nkrumah: But we’ll get there, I swear it to cal opponents at home or the combined there was this neighbour who coveted you! We’ve survived the last three forces of neo-colonialism, working espe- his inheritance and decided to turn his centuries, haven’t we? Three hundred cially through the American Central Intel- fortune into misfortune. There were years during which our land became ligence Agency, must take the greater the whorehouse of European adven- rumours that this neighbour was not credit/blame for sabotaging and finally only greedy and envious; he was a turers ... They stripped us of our gold grounding Nkrumah’s beautiful Pan-Af- and diamonds, of our timber and co- juju man as well. Our friend of good rican dream. However we choose to share fortune fell ill. All the greatest healers coa. And finally the British colonised the ‘blame-credit’, it is important that we us. But it’s over now, we have won of the land tried their best to save his do not overlook one little but essential our freedom. We’ve recovered the life. He recovered somewhat, but was detail – Nkrumah’s ultimate inability to sell right to shape our own destiny. warned that the cause of his illness his dream not only to his formal opposi- could be traced to this neighbour who Du Bois: I want to believe that. That’s tion, but especially to significant numbers wished him dead. Somehow, for rea- why I came here, isn’t it? But, with all of his own following, including leading sons not entirely clear to most peo- I see around, tell me frankly – have members of his own party and cabinet and ple, our good friend decided to go to the British left? some of those entrusted with his personal this very neighbour for medicine that Nkrumah: I don’t understand ... security. could restore him to full health. Few people were surprised when it turned It is as if his mother’s words to him as a Du Bois: Tell me I am wrong. Because, I’m out that the more help our friend got sorry, the people I see around you offer child had caught up with him in a cruel from his neighbour the worse his con- me little assurance. For the British can- twist of irony: ‘You see the big trees in dition became. They say that the story not be said to be gone, when they the forest? They stand alone’ (Milne is not over yet, and there is a real fear have left so much of themselves be- 1999:4). But the final burden of the irony that one of these days, his neighbour’s hind – inside all of you... is that the fall of the tall mahogany or iroko various slow poisons will finally fin- Your ardour is infectious! But still – or silk cotton, is much more than an indi- ish him off. The greatest surprise is what about the educated elite? Can vidual’s calamity; it is a tragedy for every that the one man who tried to warn you build a modern nation without the other member of the forest, from the nim- our friend against his wily neighbor collaboration and the commitment of ble climber plant to the tiniest living thing, became his greatest enemy. your educated elite? to even the mighty eagle soaring up in the A few years ago, a symposium was or- skies, seeking new shelter against the storm. Nkrumah: We will re-educate them. Make ganised to mark Nkrumah’s birthday. A them learn from the masses. Jane, a character in Femi Osofisan’s play number of speakers insisted that the prob- Nkrumah-ni…Africa-ni! tells us that lem with Nkrumah was that he was too far Du Bois: Like rolling a river up the hill. ‘once a dream is born, in the name of free- ahead of his time. At the end of it all, Capt. Nkrumah: It can happen, Doctor, yes. It’s dom, we cannot halt it ... Such dreams ... (rtd) Kojo Tsikata pointed out that it was the saying among our people, that tend to be carnivorous, and there’s noth- both unfair and incorrect to keep saying mountains have been known to sur- ing we can do about it. At least that’s what that Nkrumah was too far ahead of his render, when the river is stubborn. history tells us. Sometimes, they eat up time. To put it that way, is to put the blame Du Bois: But, will you have time? those who give birth to them’ (Osofisan on him for doing the right things at the 2009:56). These are very sobering words, right time. The truth, he suggested, was Nkrumah: We will have to create it. but we can at least take consolation in that we were too far behind the times. We Du Bois: And if they decide to fight back? the knowledge that the dreams that must be honest enough to admit that we If your elite resort instead … for in- Nkrumah gave birth to and which even- are the ones who need to catch up with stance, to throwing bombs? tually ate him up, are still here with us, Nkrumah’s vision, and in so doing, catch Nkrumah: Then we’ll have no choice but despite determined and repeated attempts up with the rest of the world. to kill them. The challenge for us is to to eliminate them. With the benefit of hindsight, we must take hold of those dreams and run with revisit and reassess Nkrumah’s legacy in Du Bois: That’s what I’m afraid of: Your them into a more viable future for our chil- the light of where we now find ourselves Preventive Detention Act. dren. That is why I feel humbled and privi- in this new millennium, beyond his time, leged to have been chosen, through the beyond his place. I have no doubt that CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 9 such reassessment should help us see our Pan-African thought and struggle. The the foundation work, from the Venerable way clearer into the future we carelessly University of Ghana, through the Kwame Emeritus Professor J.H. Kwabena Nketia, threw away. Mr Vice-Chancellor, I intend Nkrumah Chair, is in a very good position pioneering scholar in African Studies who to dedicate much of my tenure as the first to not merely copy the good example of is quietly sitting here among us today, to occupant of the Kwame Nkrumah Chair Dar es Salaam, but to draw on Ghana’s his successor Professor K.A. Dickson in African Studies not only to my personal multiple connections with the history of and to Professor Kwame Arhin, who first research agenda, but also to one or two Pan-Africanism to fashion a unique pro- raised a proposal for the establishment of specific projects that may help point us gramme of intellectual debate and cultural an Nkrumah Chair, to Professor George P. in the right direction. events that could easily and quickly grow Hagan who kept the mission of the Insti- Given the abundance of myths, half- into one of the most significant events tute alive through some troubled times, truths and blatant lies that have been ped- on the university’s calendar. The plan is to my good friend K.E. Agovi who joined dled about Nkrumah and the African for the first occupant of the Kwame the ancestors a bit too soon, to Professor liberation project he led with such remark- Nkrumah Chair to lead a planning com- Irene Odotei, who brought a new spirit of able, even if short-lived success, it is im- mittee to put together a comprehensive intellectual activism into the work of the portant that we move quickly to reclaim programme for the festival, with the Insti- Institute, to Professor Takyiwaa Manuh, whatever reliable information there may tute of African Studies and the who lobbied successfully for an endow- still be around. To this end, I propose to CODESRIA African Humanities Institute ment for the Nkrumah Chair, to Professor launch a project titled Homage: Personal Programme as joint coordinating units but Brigit Sackey who held the fort briefly and Testimonies of the Independence Era and working in collaboration with other de- helped to settle me into the Institute, to its Aftermath. Homage is a proposed partments, such as the School of Perform- Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, video/television series that will feature ing Arts and the Departments of History who has moved so quickly and efficiently personal testimonies of significant indi- and Political Science. Unlike the annual to make sure this installation takes place viduals who were key players and/or keen Dar es Salaam festival, the Legon festival and in grand style. To my colleague, sis- witnesses to some of the most important should be held once every two years. The ter, and friend Dr Esi Sutherland-Addy and events leading up to and immediately fol- idea is to devote each intervening year to the entire installation planning commit- lowing Ghana’s Independence, through finalising publications and other products tee, and all fellows and staff of the Insti- Nkrumah’s overthrow and into the era of from each edition of the festival. This tute, I offer my deepest gratitude for this military rule. Drawing on my experience should also allow reasonable time for fund gift of a ceremony worth remembering. I as host and executive producer of GTV’s raising and careful planning. The maiden salute the incredibly rich and creative African Heritage Series and of the docu- edition of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-Afri- foundation work accomplished by found- mentation project of the CODESRIA Afri- can Intellectual and Cultural Festival is ing fellows of the Institute, especially Dr can Humanities Institute Programme, I am intended to be held in September 2010, Ephraim Amu, Professor Mawere Opoku, currently working on a line-up of potential around the next anniversary of Nkrumah’s Dr Efua T. Sutherland, Professor Joe de witnesses to probably the most significant birthday. It is envisaged that core festival Graft, Dr Jawa Apronti, among others, and era of Ghana’s history, an era that needs activities will include an international their noteworthy successors such as Pro- to be carefully documented for posterity. symposium as well as a cluster of cultural fessor Kofi Asare Opoku and Professor events, such as film shows, literary read- F. Nii-Yartey. I join the director of the In- A second, more ambitious project I wish ings/performances, dramatic and musical stitute and the Vice-Chancellor in thank- to propose is entitled the ‘Kwame shows, as well as a package of activities ing AngloGold-Ashanti for providing an Nkrumah Pan-African Intellectual and specially designed for the younger ones endowment for the Nkrumah Chair, and Cultural Festival’, a bi-annual intellectual in schools and colleges. Every effort will the Ghana@50 Secretariat for facilitating and cultural festival to be organised un- be made to produce professional video access to the endowment. I am grateful to der the auspices of the Kwame Nkrumah documentaries on each major event for Professor Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor, Chair- Chair in African Studies, in honour of eventual wider circulation. man of the Council of State, for sharing Nkrumah’s dedication to a tradition of with me countless hours of conversation Mr Vice-Chancellor, colleague faculty vigorous and liberating Africa-centred on the historical and contemporary strug- members, students, distinguished ladies intellectual and cultural activity, such as gles of African peoples and in particular and gentlemen, I must take this opportu- was outlined in the major address he gave Nkrumah’s singular contribution to that nity to appeal for support in cash and in on the occasion of the formal opening in struggle. I share the joy of this special kind for the success of the work of the 1963 of the Institute of African Studies. honour and privilege with my wife, Pro- Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Stud- Inspiration for such a festival comes from fessor Akosua Anyidoho, my daughters, ies. The two projects outlined above are the example of the Annual Mwalimu Dr Nana Akua Anyidoho and Akofa important as ideas, but they must be Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival Week Anyidoho, and other members of my fam- translated into a programme of action that of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tan- ily who are here in the hall, all of whom will bring honour to the legacy Nkrumah zania, under the auspices of the Julius have been a constant source of strength has left for us. It is my hope that I can Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African for me in all my endeavours. Studies. The maiden edition of the Nyerere count on the necessary support for our festival was held from April 13-17, 2009. A plans to translate these ideas into action. Mr Vice-Chancellor, my sincere thanks to you for presiding over this installation close study of the full line-up of events I salute the foresight and fortitude of vari- ceremony. But, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, may suggests that such a festival is certain to ous directors of the Institute of African be you did not notice, as you led me in provide a critical impetus for the promo- Studies, from the founding director Pro- the procession towards this hall, that my tion of a major international dialogue on fessor Thomas Hodgkin who led much of CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 10

steps were a bit sluggish, my gait not so Nkrumah’s voice as it calls out to us from July, R.W., 1987, An African Voice: The Role of certain. I can now confess that I walked the shadows, reassuring us that all is not the Humanities in African Independence. into this Great Hall with a slight feeling of yet lost. I thank this great audience for Durham: Duke University Press. unease, a vague sense of sadness and a restoring my faith in our collective future. Milne, J., 2000, Kwame Nkrumah: A Biography. feeling that I was about to perform a eu- London: Panaf Books. logy for a great man we all once repudi- Note Nkrumah, K., 1963, Address to a Conference of ated, an ancestral pathfinder who is still * This paper was delivered as the Installation African Freedom Fighters, Accra, Ghana. being demonised by some among us. Lecture for the Kwame Nkrumah Chair in However, as I settled back into my seat African Studies at the University of Ghana, Nkrumah, K., 1957, The Autobiography of and took a good look around me, as I read Legon. Kwame Nkrumah. Edinburgh: Thomas the several hundred faces that smiled back Nelson and Sons Ltd., pp. 44-45. at me from every corner of this hall, as I References Nkrumah, K., 1960, ‘Tradition and Culture’, A listened carefully to your introductory Arhin, K., 2000, A View of Kwame Nkrumah Speech delivered at Kumasi. December 10. remarks and to those of Professor 1909-1972: An Interpretation, Accra: Sedco. Osofisan, F.. A Nightingale for Dr. Du Bois. Work Adomako Ampofo, as I watched my com- p. 10. rade and brother Professor Olufemi Taiwo in Progress. Awoonor, K., 1994, Africa: The Marginalised perform his well-cafted oriki that made Osofisan, F.. 2009, Nkrumah-ni…Africa-ni! Continent. Accra: Woeli Publishing Services. my already big head grow even bigger, as Lagos: Concept Publications Ltd. I listened to the drums and watched the Busia, K.A., 1962, The Challenge of Africa,. Padmore, G., 1953, The Gold Coast Revolution. dancers in their invocation of ancestral London: Frederick A. Praeger Inc. & The The Struggle of an African People from voices and presences, a sense of total calm Pall Mall Press. Slavery to Freedom. London: Dennis took over my thoughts. The mood and quiet Duncan, E., 2009, And Nkrumah Died. Daily Dobson. vibrations that floated through me from Graphic. Monday, November 2.. this wonderfully rich and diverse audience Rooney, David, 2007, Kwame Nkrumah: Vision has offered me new hope, the hope that James, C.R.L., 1969, A History of Pan-African and Tragedy. Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers. our world may yet be ready to listen to Revolt. Washington DC: Drum and Spear Press. p. 48.

Return to a Wider Vision of Social Development: Social Policy in Reframing a New Agenda*

Introduction generating another round of social and As we mark the fifteenth anniversary of economic crises and acute vulnerability the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit on Jìmí O. Adésínà in the world’s poorest regions. The re- Social Development and the social Rhodes University cent estimate by the World Bank (2009) development commitments entered into South Africa suggests that an additional 46 million peo- at the historic summit, we are confronted ple will fall into severe poverty; an addi- with two contradictory realities. On the tional 53 million will become poor. It is one hand, we have perhaps never been hope over adversity, it nonetheless, re- also estimated that between 200 000 and further away from realising the flected the ideational constraints of a vi- 400 000 children will die annually if the commitments made in Copenhagen. On sion of human existence that was in retreat. crisis continues; that is anything between the other hand, we are at a historical Such concessions are reflected in the plea 1.4 million to 2.8 million new cases of child moment for returning to a wider vision of for the inclusion of ‘social development mortality between 2009 and 2015 (World social development. goals’ in Structural Adjustment Programmes Bank 2009: 11). (Copenhagen Declaration # 6). The fragility of the average growth rate Copenhagen+15: An Assessment The Copenhagen +5 Copenhagen +10 re- of six perc ent that sub-Sahara Africa ex- We can address the lessons of the global flections also painted grim pictures of the perienced in 2006 and 2007 (largely due experience on social development since state of the social world (cf. Deacon et al. to the commodity boom) is being exposed Copenhagen at two levels: one existen- 2005, Mkandawire and Rodriguez 2000). by the decline in demand for the primary tial, and the other ideational. While poverty was declining in East Asia commodities on which much of the growth at significant rate, in sub-Saharan Africa was based. Existential Challenges an additional 182 million people sank into Even before the financial crisis, aggregate severe poverty between 1981 and 2005, The 1995 Copenhagen summit was held current account balance of low and mid- and 80 million new poor were created. under conditions of widespread entitle- dle income countries as a percentage of ment failure and growing inequality, even In 2010, however, we are confronted with Gross Domestic Product was in the nega- after a decade of neoliberal orthodox eco- two additional challenges. The current tive throughout the first decade of the nomic reforms. While the Copenhagen economic crisis, triggered by the sub- twenty-first century. The improvement in commitments represent the triumph of prime mortgage market failure in the US, is 2002 and 2003 has been reversed, and will CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 11 worsen; which raises the question of the Even so, the Copenhagen Commitments ally exclusive objectives. The terms of the financing of public expenditure, broadly. #2 and #9 aimed for higher ideals: those distinction ‘instrumental’ versus ‘norma- of full employment and universal access tive’ put false labels on something that is For many developing countries, the chal- to education. By contrast, the Millennium much more complex. lenge is also at an institutional level, and Development Goals, five years later, we see these more acutely in sub-Saharan In much of the international development marked a particularly low ebb in the dimi- Africa. Successive cycle of neoliberal re- circles, the poor have become a demo- nution of vision and the triumph of ‘real- forms have left many countries in a state of graphic category: largely unproductive, ism’. It has been argued that the MDGs acute institutional crisis and undermined unable to help themselves, and in need of built on the Copenhagen commitments by the little capacity for endogenous policy handouts. Yet, as we find in South Asia giving specific timelines for achieving the learning that many of these countries built and sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion goals (Deacon et al 2005). Perhaps. But it in the period between 1960 and 1980. of the working poor within the total em- did so at the cost of a fundamental retreat ployment remains quite high. While in this For many of our societies, the conse- from the higher ideals of the two commit- instance it reflects precarious labour mar- quence of obsessive anti-statism was to ments or even the agenda set out in the ket conditions, we are nonetheless reminded fundamentally damage the nation-build- Millennium Declaration of September that those impoverished by socio-economic ing project. The institutions and policy 2000. Not only did the idea of full employ- policies (by acts of commission or omission) instruments for building social cohesion ment not feature, the objective of univer- and social relations are not without were severely undermined in the process sal access to education was reduced to agency or productive capacity. of ‘reform’. Often, for the poorest coun- universal basic education as an objective tries, there are no substitutes for the col- in the twenty-first century! Whatever the shifts in the language of lective, public provisioning of these international policy discourse from ‘HIPC Detached from the wider set of policy in- services. In the sub-Saharan African con- to PRSP and pro-poor policies’, the nor- struments that produced major advance- text, people did not simply fall through mative framework (even at an ontological ments in access to education, we have the cracks; they died (Adesina 2007). level) remains wedded to the economic ended up with the goal of universal pri- paradigm that defined much of our col- Ten years of severe retrenchment of pub- mary education being ‘financed’ by over- lective existence in the last three decades. lic education has produced not just a lost crowding (Adesina 2007). In most cases, In this seemingly gloomy landscape, the decade of books in libraries and chalk in policy interventions became stranded at works of the International Labour Organi- classrooms, it subverted the culture of the level of ‘helping’ the most vulnerable. sation, on ‘decent work’ reminds us of scholarship and destroyed (in several It might not be as bad as the late 1970s what is possible when we lift our gaze to cases) the conveyor belt of intergenera- and the 1980s when the poorest were de- a higher horizon. tional transmission of knowledge, essen- ployed as ideological weapons against tial to scholarship, when those able to do the poor and the ‘precarious non-poor’ Finally, I will argue that we have not had a so emigrated. Reversing the trend is turn- but it is a severe diminution of vision more auspicious opportunity, in the last ing out to be much more complicated than nonetheless. As Deacon et al., (2005:4) three decades, than now to fundamentally simply finding new money to finance edu- reminded us, ‘services for the poor also rethink the social development agenda. cation. I will return to this diminution of tend to become poor services’. The les- The recent economic crisis - not simply a vision in a moment. son of history, Walter Korpi and Joakim ‘financial crisis’ - finally drew the line un- Palme (1998) reminded us, is this: the more der the neoliberal profligacy of the last More troubling is the impact of climate thirty years. change and the paradox of such an we focus on the ‘poor’ the least likely we impact: the most vulnerable regions and are to succeed in reducing poverty. The A starting point, I will argue, is the return peoples are those who have contributed most successful cases of poverty reduc- to the wider vision of society and lifting the least to greenhouse gas emission or tion were concerned with enhancing so- of our collective gaze to a longer term the culture of conspicuous consumption cial equality not poverty, per se. horizon. Here, I will refer to the works done that has put our planet at great risk. For Equally important is the retreat, among under the auspices of the UNRISD (Ge- most communities, the threat is existential. many scholars in the field, from the wider neva), and the work we are doing at Rhodes vision and the multi-tasking of social University (South Africa) on Trans-forma- Ideational Challenges: narrowing of policy. In its place emerged the mono-crop- tive Social Policy. We use this as the basis vision, lowering of gaze ping of Social Policy. Social policy was for rethinking and widening our vision of Equally important in assessing the social reduced to protecting against destitution. social development and the social policy development landscape of the last fifteen In an apparent attempt to delineate what instruments for achieving these. years is the crises of ideas and imagina- separates social policy experts from the tion; a narrowing of vision and a lower- ‘neoliberal’ economists, we have retreated Wider Vision; Raised Gaze: ing of gaze. The focus on ‘absolute from addressing the production functions Social Policy and Social poverty’ and the broad appeal to accom- of social policy; much the same way that Development modate social development objectives in progressive economists think that to A starting point is the recognition that: the design of structural adjustment pro- speak of ‘macroeconomic stability’ is to successful efforts at building socially in- grammes in the Copenhagen commit- betray a higher ideal. A problematic dis- clusive developmental agenda have al- ments, for instance, reflected a retreat from tinction has been drawn between the ‘nor- ways depended on visionary agenda the wider vision of social policy and de- mative’ ends of social policy and its setting; second, that social policy has velopment outcomes, broadly, not just ‘instrumental’ uses, as if these are mutu- multiple functions. those of social development. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 12

Successful economic and social develop- Related to this is the need to move be- or protection from destitution, but to the ment efforts derive from visionary agenda yond the mono-cropping of social policy. transformation of social relations as well. setting that embraces a wide vision of In this regard, we refer to the multiple func- Nowhere is this more apparent than in the society and a gaze planted on a long-term tions of social policy (UNRISD 2006, area of gender relations and equality. So- horizon. While it is true that successful Mkandawire 2007, Adesina 2007), which cial policy regimes grounded in solidarity cases depend on the use of ‘evidence’ include: and norms of equality are much better in (scholarly studies, impact assessment, producing social cohesion and inclusivity. • etc.), this is often in the service of the Production; Finally, social policy for a wider vision of visionary agenda, not the reverse. Indeed, • Protection; social and economic development agenda for many of these cases, what the ‘evi- setting is not simply something that ‘the dence’ suggested was that they should • Reproduction (social and de- state does.’ It is more useful to see it as not and could not do what we now hail mographic); multifaceted, with diverse delivery mecha- them for doing. • Redistribution; nisms - within and outside the state. State- In the most successful cases of social • Social cohesion and nation-building. community partnership in setting social development, economic growth and the policy agenda, delivery, monitoring, and transformation of gender relations, the The links between production, protection, fine-tuning is not only about fiscal visionary agenda derived from the norms reproduction, and social cohesion func- sustainability in low-income countries but of equality and social solidarity. They tions undergirded the Bismarckian model ensuring community buy-in and owner- embrace the idea, in Richard Titmus’s as it did the Beveridgean model. The 1942 ship. In building inclusive societies, they phrase, of a ‘Good Society’ or ‘A Better Beveridge Report (1942) sets out as the also facilitate what Amartya Sen (2009) Life for All’ in the language of African anti- second of its three principles, the idea that refers to as ‘Public Reasoning’. colonial movements and leaders. The ‘social insurance should be treated as one What these call for is a fundamental re- shared vision combines the agency of part only of a comprehensive policy of think in how we defined and shape the those previously disadvantaged with the social progress’. Beveridge’s second re- social development agenda. This has sev- buy-in of other segments of society. The port in 1945 was concerned with ‘full em- eral implications. I end by highlighting two initial coalescing of social forces is sus- ployment’. These are two sides of the same such implications: tained by the norms of Encompassing coin in vanquishing what Lord Beveridge Social Policy (Korpi & Palme 1998), which referred to as the ‘five giants on the road First is an acknowledgment of the impor- rest on universal access, supplemented to reconstruction: Want, Disease, Igno- tance of policy space. Successful social by targeted instruments to protect the rance, Squalor and Idleness’ (Beveridge policy regimes are grounded in local his- vulnerable, inter alia. The universal cov- 1942). The Bismarckian model was more tories and available socio-cultural re- erage not only enhanced social and po- directly driven by the imperatives of in- sources. That applies to Finland as it does litical commitment; it made reforming the dustrialisation, nation-building, and wean- Rwanda. It requires coherent national level system and recovery from crisis easier and ing the working class off revolutionary efforts in building institutional capacity faster (Kangas and Palme 2005). ideas. Similarly, the ‘Nationalist model’ for policy learning. It requires local (Adesina 2009) was driven by the assump- policymakers to take seriously the wider It is useful to reiterate that social policy tion that independence was the initial step vision of inter-sectoral synergies that instruments are not about ‘public goods’, on the long road to post-colonial recon- make for success in any one area. To il- at least not in the Samuelson (1954:387) struction, with the objectives of rapid eco- lustrate a very simple case: you cannot sense of the ‘collective consumption of nomic development and defeating ‘the have an effective and universal primary goods’: ‘each individual’s consumption trinity of ignorance, poverty and disease’ education system without good teachers of such goods leads to no subtraction (Mkandawire 2006). The Nordic model and authors of textbooks, the infrastruc- from any other individual’s consumption addressed similarly multiple functions. ture for book production, etc. These re- of that good’. Rather, they are social and quire viable higher education and economic commons because they involve Combining production with dignity (‘de- research and development infrastructures. the idea of a collective, common good (not cent work’) was possible because the la- You cannot pursue the objective of uni- ‘goods’). Equity, rather than ‘non-exclud- bour market functioning was rooted in the versal basic education at the expense of ability’ or ‘non-rivalry’, is the determinate same normative framework that bound the higher levels of education or a coher- condition for access, and access may be economic and social policies: equality and ent national system of innovation. structured on the basis of gravity of need solidarity. The outcomes were low levels rather than presentation of demand. of inequality, low poverty rates, and bet- Second, successful financing mecha- ter social development outcomes in nisms are first local. They derive from an In all these cases, expansive social policy health, education and international com- acknowledgement of the agency of local agenda were not things that countries did petitiveness; much better outcomes than peoples. These are not simply about the at high levels of ‘development’ but at a the alternative social policy model that is state’s capacity to tax but the collective much earlier stage. For many of these rooted market transactional logic. As capacity for resource polling and social cases, expansive social spending was Mkandawire (2007) reminded us, funds building. International development fundamental to stimulating and sustain- transformative social policy enhances la- assistance works when it complements ing economic development and the trans- bour market efficiency and innovation. rather than supplants local efforts and formation of social relations, and social initiatives (national or sub-regional). funds were sources of development financ- Transformative social policy relates not ing: electrification, industrialisation, etc. only to the transformation of an economy CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 13

Note years on: the need for effective social Mkandawire, T., ed., 2005, Social Policy in a * Keynote Address delivered at the High-level policies nationally, regionally and globally’, Development Context, Basingstoke: Panel Discussion of the 48th Session of the GASPP Policy Brief No.6., January. Palgrave Macmillan. Helsinki: STAKES. United Nations Commission for Social Mkandawire, T. And Rodriguez, V., 2005, Development UN Headquarters, New York, Kangas, O. and Palme, J., eds., 2005, Social ‘Globalization and Social Development after NY. 3 February 2010. policy and economic development in the Copenhagen: premises, promises and Nordic countries, Basingstoke: Palgrave policies’, Geneva 2000 Occasional Paper References Macmillan. 10, Geneva: UNRISD. Adesina, J.O., 2009, ‘Social Policy in Sub- Korpi, W., & Palme, J., 1998, ‘The Paradox of Samuelson, P.A., 1954, ‘The pure theory of Saharan Africa: a glance in the rear-view Redistribution and Strategies of Equality: public expenditure’, The Review of mirror’, International Journal of Social Welfare State Institutions, Inequality, and Economics and Statistics 36(4): 387-389. Welfare, 18: S37-S51. Poverty in the Western Countries’, Ame- Sen, A., 2009, The idea of justice, London: Allen Adesina, J.O., ed., 2007, Social Policy in Sub- rican Sociological Review, 63(5): 661-687. Lane. Saharan African Context: In Search of Mkandawire, T., 2007, ‘Transformative Social Inclusive Development, Basingstoke: UNRISD, 2006, ‘Transformative Social Policy: Policy and Innovation in Developing Palgrave Macmillan. lessons from UNRISD Research’, UNRISD Countries’, The European Journal of Research and Policy Brief No.5. Geneva: Beveridge, W. H. B., 1942, ‘Social insurance Development Research, 19(1): 13-29. UNRISD. and allied services: report’, [including] Mkandawire, T., ed., 2006, African Intellectuals: appendix G. memoranda from organisations. World Bank 2009, World Development rethinking politics, language, gender and London: H.M.S.O. Indicators 2009, Washington DC: The development, London: Zed Books. World Bank. Deacon, B., Ilva, M, Koivusalo, E.O., and Stubbs, P., 2005, ‘Copenhagen Social Summit ten

Academic Freedom: A Realistic Appraisal*

veryone seems to favour academic instruction to the students’; and ‘to de- freedom. Indeed, if university lead velop experts for various branches of the Eers or ministers of education were Philip G. Altbach public service’. With the agreement of asked, they would claim that this privi- Center for International Higher university presidents, the AAUP ex- lege is universally practised. Yet, prob- Education, Boston College, USA panded the purview of academic freedom lems concerning academic freedom exist in 1940 to include professorial expression almost everywhere - created by changing on topics outside the direct academic ex- academic realities, political pressures, when he developed the research univer- pertise of the professor. In other words, growing commercialisation and market- sity in Berlin in 1818. The German aca- professors had a wider range of freedom isation of higher education, or legal pres- demic freedom idea was limited in scope. of expression, although the statement sures. Academic freedom needs to be It included lehrfreiheit - the freedom of emphasises professorial responsibility carefully defined so that it can be de- professors to teach in their classrooms and recognises some restrictions. fended in the global climate of complex- and to do research in their direct areas of In both the German and American cases, ity. A new, and probably more delimited, expertise. The Humboldtian ideal did not academic freedom included protection of understanding of academic freedom is include freedom to express views outside academic appointments through a tenure needed in the age of the internet and the the professor’s area of expertise and nine- system: professors could not be fired for global knowledge economy. teenth century Germany often disciplined academics who expressed dissenting their research or views on a range of top- ics. Professors came to be protected in A Bit of History opinions about politics and excluded so- cialists or other dissenters from holding roles as members of the academic com- Academic freedom has a long history in academic appointments. It should also be munity as well. They could not be disci- higher education but has always been noted that students were guaranteed plined because they might oppose contested by forces outside the univer- lehrfreiheit - the freedom to study what university leadership on issues relating sity. Since the time of Martin Luther and they wished. to academic governance or policy. This Socrates, professors have been perse- broader definition, stemming from both cuted for their views - by state or reli- The American Association of University German and American traditions, seems gious authorities or by powerful interest Professors (AAUP) first focused on aca- to be widely accepted globally in coun- groups who do not like dissenting views demic freedom in 1915, and its statement tries that have a traditional commitment or uncomfortable truths. emphasised three main principles: ‘to pro- to academic freedom, although it is pos- mote inquiry and advance the sum of hu- Modern academic freedom was perhaps sible to point to many violations of the man knowledge’; ‘to provide general first codified by Wilhelm von Humboldt accepted norms. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 14

Contemporary Confusion concepts of academic freedom developed sanctions for their teaching, research or At the same time, definitions about aca- by von Humboldt and expanded in the expression - including firing, jail or even demic freedom are being expanded and AAUP’s 1940 statement. violence. Groups like Scholars at Risk pro- vide assistance to such academics and contracted beyond generally accepted Academic freedom, after all, is the right of publicise their problems. norms. professors to teach without constraint in Some now define academic freedom as their field of expertise, do research and In some countries, restrictions exist on virtually everything that permits effective publish, and express themselves in the what can be researched, taught and pub- teaching and research - faculty involve- public space (newspapers, the internet lished. In some cases, the restrictions are ment in governance, adequate budgets and so on). Academic freedom generally explicit, but in most cases the ‘red lines’ for academic institutions, suitable condi- protects the employment of professors as that cannot be crossed are not clearly tions for teaching and learning, such as well as provides the most ironclad spelled out. Yet, academics may be sanc- appropriate classrooms and access to guarantees possible - through a formal tioned if they violate these terms. tenure or civil service system, or other technology. This stretches academic free- The list of such countries and fields of arrangements. dom to include everything necessary for a inquiry is unfortunately rather long. successful university. At the other end of A statement issued by professors at the In the United States, which has in general the spectrum, some countries or universi- University of Cape Town in South Africa effective protections for academic free- ties claim adherence to academic freedom and quoted in the famous 1957 United dom, problems are emerging. Courts have where there are policies in place that re- States Supreme Court decision states: strict what can be taught in the classroom recently ruled that academics who speak or themes for research and publication. It is the business of a university to out against the policies of their own uni- provide that atmosphere which is versities and are penalised for such ac- Contemporary realities have also created most conducive to speculation, experi- tions are not protected by academic complexities. The internet, distance edu- ment and creation. It is an atmosphere freedom. The growing number of part-time cation and related technological innova- in which there prevail ‘the four essen- teachers in many countries have no ef- tions, as well as the rise of multinational tial freedoms’ of a university - to de- fective protection of their academic free- media conglomerates that increasingly termine for itself on academic grounds dom, since they are often employed for control the distribution of knowledge, who may teach, what may be taught, just one course or for a short and often have raised questions about the owner- how it shall be taught, and who may indeterminate period of time. The owner- ship of knowledge. Issues related to aca- be admitted to study. These ideals ship of knowledge by multinational cor- demic freedom are involved in these neatly summarise many of the essen- porations or even by employing technological debates. tial ideas of academic freedom. universities has become an issue of con- Is academic freedom a necessary condi- Academic freedom does not essentially tention in some countries. tion for high quality ‘world-class’ univer- concern how universities are managed, Is it a violation of academic freedom for sities today? whether they are adequately funded or an external organisation to control publi- even how the faculty is compensated. The evidence seems to show the require- cation through ownership rights? Is aca- Academic freedom does not ensure that ment. The various international rankings demic freedom violated if governments professors have a role in governance but of universities give those institutions with impose curricular requirements of various should guarantee that they can speak out a high degree of academic freedom the kinds, as is the case in a significant number on internal management issues without top scores. Few highly ranked universi- of countries? fear of sanction. ties systematically violate traditional In short, academic freedom is under con- norms of academic freedom. A high de- Academic freedom does not relate to ac- siderable stress today, and expanding the gree of academic freedom is particularly countability. Universities may legitimately definition of this key concept to include important for the social sciences and hu- demand appropriate productivity from basically everything makes the protection manities, but all fields benefit from free- faculty members. Professors’ work may of the essentials of academic freedom in- dom of inquiry and a sense that the be evaluated, and inadequate performance creasingly difficult. The complexities of university is committed to the free expres- may lead to sanctions or even, in extreme the twenty-first century require careful at- sion of ideas. cases, firing, but only after careful proce- tention to the core principles of academic dures that do not violate academic free- freedom so that they can be protected in The Need for a New Consensus dom. Academic freedom protects an increasingly difficult environment. Academic freedom is without question a professorial freedom of teaching, research core value for higher education. In the and expression - and nothing else. Note knowledge economy of the twenty-first * ‘Academic Freedom: A Realistic Appraisal’ Current Problems century, academic freedom needs some was first published in the International rethinking, with all the pressures on higher Traditional academic freedom is under Higher Education, Number 57 Fall 2009, a education engendered by massification, threat in many places today, creating the publication of the Center for International commercialisation and accountability. need for more attention to be paid to con- Higher Education. It is reproduced with What is needed is a return to the core temporary challenges. These crises range permission. from professors being subject to severe CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 15

Challenges to Africa’s Economic Development and Barack Obama’s Policies toward the Continent thus Far*

Introduction The external difficulties have exacerbated the internal structural imbalances of Afri- As a member of the Council for the De- Abdul Karim Bangura can economies and, together with velopment of Social Science Research in Howard University neoliberal structural adjustment policies, Africa (CODESRIA) based in Dakar, Sen- Washington DC, USA egal, I have been allowed to grapple with inequitable socioeconomic and political the realities of Africa’s economic devel- structures have led to the disintegration of African economies and increased so- opment efforts. When I think about the as well as the World Bank’s Can Africa cial and gender inequity. In particular, continent’s economic development chal- Claim the 21st Century? are to be assessed. lenges and Barack Obama’s policies to- African manufacturing industries have ward the continent thus far, what comes The uneven progress of democratisation, been destroyed; agricultural production to mind are Africa and the world trading and in particular of the expansion of space (for food and other domestic needs) is in system; mobilising financing for devel- for citizen expression and participation are crisis; public services have been severely opment in Africa; citizenship, democracy to be noted. The contribution of citizen’s weakened; and the capacity of states and and development; education, health, so- struggles and activism to this expansion governments in Africa to make and imple- cial services and development, and gen- of the political space, and for putting criti- ment policies in support of balanced and der equity and equality in development. cal issues of development on the public equitable national development has been Thus, I segment my discussion in this agenda, must also be acknowledged. emasculated. The costs associated with paper into four major sections: (i) chal- these outcomes have fallen dispropor- lenges to the space of Africa’s own think- External and Internal Obstacles tionately on marginalised and subordi- ing on development, (ii) external and to Africa’s Economic nated groups of African societies, internal obstacles to Africa’s economic Development including workers, peasants, and small development, (iii) Barack Obama’s poli- The challenges confronting Africa’s de- producers. The impact has been particu- cies toward Africa thus far, and (iv) a call velopment come from two inter-related larly severe on women and children. for action. In the end, I draw some con- sources: (i) constraints imposed by the Indeed, these developments have re- clusions. hostile international economic and politi- versed policies and programmes and have cal order within which African economies dismantled institutions in place since in- Challenges to the Space of operate, and (ii) domestic weaknesses dependence to create and expand inte- Africa’s Own Thinking on deriving from socioeconomic and politi- grated production across and among Development cal structures and neoliberal structural African economies in agriculture, indus- I recall the series of initiatives by Afri- adjustment policies. The main elements try, commerce, finance, and social serv- cans themselves aimed at addressing the of the hostile global order include, first, ices. These were programmes and development challenges of Africa, in par- the fact that African economies are inte- institutions which have, in spite of their ticular the Lagos Plan of Action and the grated into the global economy as export- limitations, sought to address the prob- companion African Alternative Frame- ers of primary commodities and importers lems of weak internal markets and frag- work for Structural Adjustment. Each time, of manufactured products, leading to mented production structures as well as these initiatives were counteracted and terms of trade losses. Second, reinforc- economic imbalances and social inequi- ultimately undermined by policy frame- ing this integration have been the poli- ties within and among nations inherited works developed from outside the conti- cies of liberalisation, privatisation, and from colonialism, and to redress the inap- nent and imposed on African countries. deregulation, as well as an unsound pack- propriate integration of African econo- Over the past several decades, a false age of macroeconomic policies imposed mies in the global order. The associated consensus has been generated around through structural adjustment condi- social and economic gains, generated the neoliberal paradigm promoted tionality by the World Bank and the In- over this period, have been destroyed. through the Bretton Woods Institutions ternational Monetary Fund (IMF). These This reality should inform our reflections and the World Trade Organisation have now been institutionalised within the on the NEPAD. We must conclude that, (WTO). This stands to crowd out the rich WTO through rules, agreements, and pro- while many of its stated goals may be well- tradition of Africa’s own alternative think- cedures, which are biased against Afri- intentioned, the development vision and ing on development. It is in this context can countries. Finally, the external and economic measures that it canvases for that the proclaimed African initiative, the internal policies and structures have com- the realisation of these goals are flawed. New Partnership for Africa’s Develop- bined to generate an unsustainable and As a result, the NEPAD will not contrib- ment (NEPAD), which was developed in unjustifiable debt burden which has crip- ute to addressing Africa’s development the same period as the United Nations pled Africa’s economies and undermined problems. On the contrary, it will reinforce Economic Commission for Africa’s the capacity of Africa’s ownership of strat- the hostile external environment and the (UNECA) Compact for African Recovery, egies for development. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 16 internal weaknesses that constitute the cans on the continent and in the Diaspora cans had other United States Presidents major obstacles to Africa’s development. must take action at the national, conti- used similar words. Indeed, in certain areas like debt, the nental and international levels to imple- As far as I can assess, just as he has done NEPAD steps back from international ment the measures described in the section at home in lecturing African Americans goals that have been won through global titled ‘Call for Action’. on their shortcomings but has done noth- mobilisation and struggle. ing significant for them besides appoint- Barack Obama’s Policies toward The most fundamental flaws of the ing Eric Holder to what has become a Africa thus Far NEPAD, which reproduce the central ele- second-tier cabinet level position since ments of the World Bank’s Can Africa In September 2008, Whitney W. the creation of Homeland Security, as a Claim the 21st Century and the ECA’s Schneidman, an adviser on Africa to the result of the terrorist attacks on the World Compact for African Recovery, include campaign to elect then Senator Barack Trade Center in New York City and the the following: Obama as President of the United States, Pentagon in Washington, DC, Obama has stated Obama’s three objectives for the thus far done nothing substantive to (a) the neoliberal economic policy frame- African continent as follows: point to in terms of Africa’s economic work at the heart of the plan repeats (a) to accelerate Africa’s integration into development, besides visiting Egypt and the structural adjustment policy pack- Ghana and lecturing Africans about their ages of the preceding several decades the global economy; shortcomings. This situation may be the and overlooks the disastrous effects (b) to enhance the peace and security result of the economic crisis and two wars of those policies; of African states; and (Afghanistan and Iraq) Obama inherited (b) the fact that in spite of its proclaimed from George W. Bush. Consequently, two (c) to strengthen relationships with recognition of the central role of the dominant paradigms seem to undergird those governments, institutions and African people to the plan, the Afri- Obama’s foreign policy for now: (i) power civil society organisations commit- can people have not played any part and coercion and (ii) world order. The dis- ted to deepening democracy, ac- in the conception, design, and formu- cussion in the rest of this section seeks countability and reducing poverty lation of the NEPAD; to explain this suggestion. in Africa. (c) notwithstanding its stated concerns These objectives, Schneidman made very Power and coercion is an area of study within the fields of International Peace and for social and gender equity, it adopts clear, are geared toward Obama’s goal ‘to Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and Interna- the social and economic measures that strengthen our common security, invest have contributed to the marginalisation tional Development (ID) that is rarely ad- in our common humanity and, in this way, of women; dressed by scholars. Despite its ability to restore American leadership in the world’ achieve peace and development, it is sel- (Schneidman 2008). (d) in spite of claims of African origins, dom respected. An analysis and under- its main targets are foreign donors, On January 13, 2009, Secretary of State standing of coercion is, however, crucial particularly in the G8; Hillary Clinton, outlined in a testimony to the building of a comprehensive peace (e) its vision of democracy is defined by before the Senate Foreign Relations Com- and development paradigm. It might ap- the needs of creating a functional mittee Obama’s Africa policy as being pear rather contradictory to the ultimate market; ‘rooted in security, political, economic and goal of peace and development, given the humanitarian interests’ (Corey 2009). She forceful and destructive means at which (f) it underemphasises the external con- added that Obama’s foreign policy objec- power and coercion can be implemented ditions fundamental to Africa’s devel- tives for Africa also include ‘combating by political actors - i.e. individuals, opment crisis and, thereby, does not al-Qaeda’s efforts to seek safe havens in groups, states, regional and international promote any meaningful measure to failed states in the Horn of Africa; help- organisations. But it is arguable that vio- manage and restrict the effects of this ing African nations to conserve their natu- lence and coercion are sometimes a nec- environment on Africa’s development ral resources and reap fair benefits from essary reality to enforce rule of law. efforts. On the contrary, the engage- them; stopping war in Congo; ending ment that it seeks with institutions autocracy in Zimbabwe and human dev- Force does not have to be destructive in and processes like the World Bank, astation in Darfur; and supporting Afri- nature to be effective. The threat or po- the IMF, the WTO, the United States can democracies like South Africa and tential use of force might be just as vi- Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, able, interwoven with diplomacy, to Ghana’ (Corey 2009). and the Cotonou Agreement will fur- control another actor. When an actor’s ther lock Africa’s economies disad- However, as Josh Gerstein and Zachary peace and security is threatened, force vantageously into this environment; Abrahamson (2009) have demonstrated, becomes an effective policy instrument. and Obama’s Africa policy has been more talk ‘Force is neither the normal nor the only than action. They pointed out how some (g) the means for mobilisation of resources means of state power, but it is the specific of the changes Obama has discussed for will further the disintegration of Afri- means through which, as a last resort, a Africa amounted to ‘words about future can economies that we have wit- state can enforce its sovereignty’ (Weber nessed at the hands of structural ad- words’. In fact, they restated some of the in Scott 2001:34). Although there are other justment and WTO rules. terms Obama has used to admonish Afri- viable avenues to achieve peace, the use cans, such as ‘tribes’, which would have of military force is the most effective when In order to address the preceding devel- raised some serious objections by Afri- a state is under a direct threat. opment problems and challenges, Afri- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 17

Power is the capacity to coerce another Physical force, however, does not always remarkably consistent in the realm of for- actor to yield to the aggressor’s will or achieve peace and development in a con- eign policy and his unflagging support for interest. According to Scott, flict area. In fact, it may very well escalate the United States imperial agenda. Accord- the situation. Therefore, we must recog- ing to Ruff, while sectors of liberal opinion Power is a social relation between nise that coercion also functions in the and antiwar activists may feel disillusioned agents, who may usefully be called sense of one party being influenced by by Obama’s later pronouncements, the ‘principal’ and the ‘subaltern’. A the will of another. This is coercion with- Obama’s record shows that those disap- principal is the paramount agent in a out direct force. pointed supporters have mainly engaged power relationship, while a subaltern in self-deception for the following reasons. is the subordinate agent. The princi- One of the most famous diplomatic con- pal has or exercises power, while the tests of the last half century between To begin with, in the New York Times of subaltern is affected by this power states involved the building and deploy- July 14, 2008 and in a major Washington (2001:2). ment of nuclear weapons throughout the speech the following day, delivered just A state’s desire for self-preservation, world between the United States and the ahead of his ‘fact finding trip’ abroad that survival, and protection is obvious. Since Soviet Union. One theory about this con- included stops in Afghanistan and Iraq, security for any state is by no means test was that nuclear weapons acted as a Israel/Palestine and Europe, Obama de- guaranteed, a state must act within its best deterrent against invasion, while simulta- tailed the ‘five goals essential to making interest to preserve its chance for survival neously assuring that any country that America safer’: (i) putting an end to the and defence in the world. Thus, in unstable possessed them resisted using them be- war in Iraq, (ii) pursuing the ‘War on Ter- situations, countries will either form cause of the disastrous consequences of ror’ against al-Qaeda and the Afghan alliances or act independently to ensure being destroyed in turn by the opposing Taliban, (iii) ending United States oil de- stability in the region. States generally side. ‘Deterrence is a means of safeguard- pendence, (iv) securing all nuclear weap- practise peace in world affairs; under great ing peace to the extent that maintaining a ons and materials from terrorists and pressure, however, they may use coercion status quo is peaceful; most of the time ‘rogue states’, and (v) rebuilding United to make important gains in security (Lerche, disruptions of the status quo lead to ten- States’s alliances. With whatever minor Jr. and Said 1979:34-45). Forms of coercion, sion or war’ (Treverton in Thompson and refinements, those mid-July statements whether through force or diplomatic Jensen 1991:18). Historically, there have amounted little more than the repetition pressure, are appropriate for the sake of been trends in the realm of deterrence that of positions mapped out some time ago peace and development and upholding the are a tacit part of international relations and articulated from the start of Obama’s interests of the superseding actor. theory. As Treverton puts it, campaign, most often to elite audiences in less public venues, and entirely within Through coercion, a state may be forced Throughout most of history, deter- the mainstream of Democratic Party poli- to bend to its adversaries. Thus, coercive rence has been more a fact than a strat- tics. While it still remains unclear just how power is the capacity to influence other egy. Weaker powers did not attack Obama would uphold and maintain United stronger ones unless they were driven states to a particular conclusion. Coer- States imperial power, especially in the to desperation or led by desperados; cive power can thereby assure conform- event of unforeseen new crises, nor how understanding that commonsensical ity to the aggressor state’s desires. much he would continue George W. Coercive power may be applied in one of proposition, groups, then states, ar- ranged their forces and policies accord- Bush’s obscene executive abuse of power two ways: (i) through the use of force or ingly. This arrangement was what we under the cover of the ‘War on Terror’, threat, or (ii) by applying pressure through now call ‘deterrence through denial’; Obama’s positions have long conveyed diplomacy. Coercive bargaining employs groups were deterred from attacking the clear message that there will be little, inducements rather than threats to entice by the knowledge that they would be if any, change in the overarching strate- the adversary to bend to its particular in- defeated on the battlefield (1991:15). gic course and direction of the imperial terests in conflict. Charles Lerche, Jr. and state (Ruff 2008). Abdul Aziz Said state that ‘A policymaker Examples of power and coercion in history may be able to obtain the consent of an- are abundant. Force, properly mandated, Obama’s election is historic in its sym- other government in another atmosphere applied and controlled, can halt bolism: a black man as the chief executive or agreement ... More commonly, the de- unrestricted violence and possibly of the remaining global superpower. It has sired approval may be forthcoming after genocide between actors in a conflict. In nothing to do with challenging the ‘right’ some measure of positive inducement: the African Peace Paradigms (2008), I of that superpower to dominate the world promise of direct benefit, a modification discuss five such African cases: (i) the - ‘for the world’s own good’, of course. of policy in another area’ (1979:60). The Epic of Sundiata Keita; (ii) Emperor Haile Obama’s global outlook is firmly situated ability of the state to effectively use coer- Selassie’s Magnanimity after Italy’s at the centre of the long-established rul- cive power rests upon four conditions: (i) Defeat; (iii) the Soft Revolution of ing-class consensus on the United States capability, or whether sufficient force Madagascar; (iv) the Bushongo of Congo prerogative to intervene anywhere and at could be made available; (ii) credibility, or during the Torday, Holton-Simpson and any time to make the world safe for capi- whether others believe that the force Hardy Expedition; and (v) the Political tal, couched, as always, in the rhetoric of would in fact be used; (iii) relevance, or Longevity of El Hadj Omar Bongo in Gabon. ‘freedom’, ‘democracy’, and ‘stability’. whether the force could affect the real in- Obama therefore personifies a deep As it concerns Obama and power and co- strand of liberal interventionism with roots terests and decision-making process of ercion, in his essay titled ‘Obama and the the other side; and (iv) legitimacy, or the extending all the way back to the early Empire’ (2008), Allen Ruff provides ample ‘progressive’ imperialism of a Teddy perceived right to engage in force in a evidence to show that Obama has been specific situation (Schellenberg 1996:134). Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Given CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 18 the disastrous results of the Bush re- ric of an American global mission, Obama soldiers, to that country. He talked about gime’s ideologically driven Iraq adventure stated that ‘The American moment is not increasing the number of ‘boots on the and the impasse with Iran, however, over, but it must be seized anew. To see ground’ in Afghanistan in order to ‘con- Obama’s promised course appeals to American power in terminal decline is to front ... terrorists where their roots run most of the elites and the general popu- ignore America’s great promise and his- deepest’. Like any tough-talking politi- lace because it seems more ‘realistic’ and toric purpose in the world’. He then high- cian, he didn’t mention how many of less ‘unilateral’ (Ruff 2008). lighted a litany of twenty-first century those ‘boots’ will wind up ‘in the ground’ threats and challenges as follows: along with the soldiers wearing them, or On ‘renewing American leadership’, the enormous casualties to be suffered Obama earlier on articulated his major for- ... They come from weapons that can by Afghan civilians. Pledging to pursue eign policy positions in the form of an kill on a mass scale and from global the ‘real war’, the one against al-Qaeda address before the non-governmental and terrorists who respond to alienation and the Taliban, Obama openly spoke of bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations or perceived injustice with murderous military strikes against ‘high-value terror- (CFR), historically the most important for- nihilism. They come from rogue states ist targets’ in Pakistan’s Waziristan prov- eign-policy formulating body outside the allied to terrorists and from rising ince. Obama’s inexperience was showing, State Department. Obama laid out the powers that could challenge both as this kind of outrageous violation of an framework and strategic vision for his in- America and the international foun- allied nation’s sovereignty is not sup- tended audience, the elite who’s who of dation of liberal democracy. They posed to be explicitly acknowledged, let the foreign policy establishment. These come from weak states that cannot alone advertised in advance (Ruff 2008). included the upper echelons of the for- control their territory or provide for eign relations and national security state their people. And they come from a Obama called for ‘more troops, more heli- bureaucracies, corps of think tank and warming planet that will spur new dis- copters, more satellites, and more Preda- academic policy wonks and, most impor- eases, spawn more devastating natu- tor drones in the Afghan border region’. tantly, the key CFR patrons from the ‘com- ral disasters, and catalyze deadly con- Convinced that ‘success in Afghanistan flicts... (Ruff 2008). manding heights’ of the corporate world. is still possible’, Obama promised to ‘pur- While certainly promising a change in di- Absolutely nowhere in his list of major sue an integrated strategy that would not rection from the course of Bush’s failures international threats facing America was only increase United States troop strength and outright blunders, Obama systemati- there a hint that the United States itself in Afghanistan’, but would ‘work to re- cally promised to stay the grand strategic has played a historic role, directly and move the limitations placed by some North course of global predominance pursued indirectly, in shaping that dangerous Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) al- by every President across the twentieth world. Nor was there any mention that lies on their forces’. He added that ‘To Century. Obama pledged the continuation America’s drive to dominate the world, defeat al-Qaeda, I will build a twenty-first- of a struggle to reclaim and guarantee including its energy resources and the century military and twenty-first-century United States imperial hegemony, euphe- permanent war economy that is required partnerships as strong as the mistically described as ‘leadership’ in a for this, has anything to do with the loom- anticommunist alliance that won the Cold world that has grown increasingly hos- ing catastrophe of the ‘warming planet’ War to stay on the offense everywhere tile to American domination. This hostil- (Ruff 2008). from Djibouti to Kandahar’. Neither ity is caused, according to Obama, by the Hillary Clinton, nor John McCain or On Iraq, Obama stated that the United arrogant unilateralist contempt for allies, George W. Bush himself could make a States must bring its war on that country failed diplomacy and mismanaged military more explicit statement of unrestrained to a ‘responsible end’ in order to ‘refocus adventurism of the Bush regime. Invok- imperialist ambition (Ruff 2008). attention on the broader Middle East’. His ing Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry central point is to pacify the situation in On Iran, Obama promised no departure Truman and John Fitzgerald Kennedy as Iraq in order to get on with the larger im- from the longer trajectory of United States the pantheon of a tough but enlightened perial project of winning and maintaining policy toward that country. The bottom liberal interventionism that supposedly strategic control over the region and its line for Obama is that Iran must concede carried the ‘torch of freedom’ and the oil reserves. While failing to mention the to Washington’s demands on all fronts, promise of ‘democracy’ from the Second invasion and occupation of Iraq as the halt its nuclear programme, its alleged World War to victory in the Cold War, major source of violence in the country, ‘sponsorship of terrorism’ and ‘regional Obama promised a return to a pragmatic and focusing on the Sunni-Shiite civil war, aggression’, or pay the price through in- and rational revival of the United States Obama argued that Iraq’s Sunnis and creased sanctions and, if need be, direct as ‘the leader’ of a ‘free world’ (Ruff 2008). Shiites would most likely settle their dif- intervention. While liberal pundits have Offering to reward friends (i.e. those in ferences without the United States pres- noted and right-wingers have denounced support of the United States agenda) and ence. He then astoundingly went on to Obama’s willingness to ‘sit down and talk’ penalize foes (i.e. any opposition) and suggest that the contending sides could with the leadership in Tehran, Damascus ready to ‘walk the walk’ with an unsur- be pressured toward an agreement by the and elsewhere, few have noted that such passed military to be augmented by tens threat of an imminent American with- negotiations would be based on sets of of thousands of new soldiers, Obama as- drawal, as if the overwhelming majority preconditions and the constant threat of sured his CFR audience of his willingness of Iraqis do not want the United States ‘realpolitiek’ penalties: i.e. the use of co- ‘to place boots on the ground’ anywhere, occupation to end (Ruff 2008). ercion and threat of force. Obama has with or (when necessary) without the sup- called for stronger international sanctions On Afghanistan, Obama promised to move port of those ‘partners’ ready to follow against Iran to persuade it to halt uranium at least two combat brigades, some 10,000 the American ‘lead’. Steeped in the rheto- enrichment. He co-sponsored the Durbin- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 19

Smith Senate Bill, the Iran Counter Prolif- partners who are truly committed to up their own engagement. Iran has eration Act, which calls for sanctions on peace, while isolating those who seek drawn closer to Venezuela, and Tehe- Iran and other countries for assisting Iran conflict and instability’. Ruff points out ran and Caracas have launched a joint in developing a nuclear programme. that as Chicago area Palestinian activist bank with their windfall oil profits Obama authored and introduced, as the Ali Abunimah has recounted from his (Ruff 2008). primary sponsor, the Iran Sanctions Ena- personal contact, Obama knows perfectly In sum, according to Ruff, Obama seeks bling Act in May 2007. The bill would well that the Israeli occupation is the real to uphold the ‘national interests’ of the make it easier for state and local govern- source of ‘conflict and instability’ - thus United States’s imperial project. Obama’s ments to divest their pension funds from Obama’s speech to AIPAC was more than promise of the reversion to Clinton-era companies that invest in Iran’s energy a statement of obedience to the Zionist policy but no actual change in the Mid- sector. As Ruff asks and responds, ‘Di- lobby; it was part and parcel of his loy- dle East status quo, his talk of diplomacy vestment and sanctions for Iran, yes. Di- alty oath to the empire and the fundamen- reinforced always by the threat of mili- vestment and sanctions aimed at Israel’s tal continuity of United States Middle East tary force ‘beyond self-defense’ and uni- nuclear weapons? Out of the question’ policy (Ruff 2008). lateral interventionism, his call for ‘regime (Ruff 2008). On Cuba and Latin America, during a May change’ and counter-revolution in Latin Interventionism will remain a key compo- 23, 2008 speech before the Miami-based America, none of these bode well, espe- nent of Obama’s international ‘peace right-wing Cuban American National cially for all those still hungry for some- through strength’ strategy. As he put it: Foundation (CANF), Obama promised to thing more material than the rhetorical maintain the existing trade embargo promise of ‘change’ (Ruff 2008). We must also consider using military against the island ‘as leverage for win- force in circumstances beyond self- It is therefore not surprising that just four ning democratic change’. He said that he days in his occupancy of the White defense in order to provide for the would lift restrictions on family travel and common security that underpins glo- House, Obama ordered his first missile remittances to the island but would offer bal stability - to support friends, par- strikes in Langham province along the to start normalising relations with the ticipate in stability and reconstruction, Afghan-Pakistan border that killed at least country if it released all political prison- or confront mass atrocities (Ruff eighteen people. Obama believes that the 2008). ers. This is a reversion to the Clinton area is a hiding place for Taliban fighters, Administration’s position. In essence, the an area Bush struck thirty times in 2008 On Israel, Obama stated in 2007 that ‘For blockade will remain in place as will the killing more than two hundred people more than three decades, Israelis, Pales- United States insistence on ‘regime (MacAskill, 2009). tinians, Arab leaders, and the rest of the change’ and a ceaseless opposition to world have looked to America to lead the Cuba’s self-determination in place since On the diplomatic front, on January 21, effort to build the road to a lasting peace: the Kennedy era (Ruff 2008). 2009, the day after his inauguration as President of the United States, Obama ... Our starting point must always be a Obama has also promised a continuation rang and spoke to Egyptian President clear and strong commitment to the of United States support for ‘regime Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister security of Israel, our strongest ally change’ in Venezuela, neither more nor Ehud Olmert, Jordan’s King Abdullah, and in the region and its only established less than a reversal of the Bolivian revo- President Mahmoud Abbas of the Pales- democracy’. lution. While his CANF speech spoke of tinian Authority. White House staff said In the Senate, Obama unflinchingly sup- the lack of democracy in Cuba, it seemed that Obama emphasised his determination ported increased economic and military to suggest something else in regard to to help ensure that the current Hamas- aid to Israel and came out strongly in fa- Caracas. In his words, ‘... We know that Israeli cease-fire holds. In expressing his vour of Israel’s July 2006 attack on Leba- freedom across our hemisphere must go commitment to pursuing Arab-Israeli non (Ruff 2008). beyond elections. In Venezuela, Hugo peace, Obama said that he would help the Chavez is a democratically elected leader. Palestinian Authority with a major recon- In speeches before the American Israel But we also know that he does not gov- struction effort in Gaza. Analysts have Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and ern democratically. He talks of the peo- said that the calls were an opportunity elsewhere, Obama has consistently con- ple, but his actions just serve his own for Obama to make a commitment over an firmed the United States-Israeli ‘special power’. As Ruff notes, much the same Arab-Israeli peace deal from the very be- relationship’ and the ‘unwavering sup- might be said of George W. Bush, except ginning of his term (North Korea Times, port’ of Israel as a cornerstone of United for the detail that Bush probably was not January 21, 2009). States Middle East policy. Feeling com- ever democratically elected at all, but that pelled to counter claims by critics and is not the Obama agenda (Ruff 2008). In terms of law and world order, power opponents, Obama consistently voiced should be limited to universalising legal the belief that Israel’s security is ‘sacro- Voicing opposition not only to Hugo ways and means of peacefully resolving sanct’ and affirmed ‘an unshakable com- Chavez, but to the inroads in self-deter- conflicts among and within groups and mitment to the security of Israel and the mination from Bolivia to Nicaragua, the nations, regardless of their cultural affili- friendship between the United States and CFR speech raised another concern: ations or biases. The current world order Israel’. In order ‘to secure a lasting settle- While the United States fails to ad- is based on the precepts of international ment of the conflict with two states living dress the changing realities in the relations, which concern the relationships side by side in peace and security’, Obama Americas, others from Europe and among the world’s governments: their told the CRS elites that ‘we must help the Asia - notably China - have stepped peoples and cultures, politics, security Israelis identify and strengthen those and economics, and a host of other char- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 20 acteristics. Strictly defined, they are the The International Law Dictionary and through Law in Traditional Akan and relationships among the world’s state Directory defines international law as ‘the Ashante Societies of Ghana; (iv) the governments and the connections of body of legal rules and norms that regu- Hadza of Tanzania; and (v) the Code Pas- those relationships with other actors (such late activities carried on outside the legal toral of Mauritania. as the United Nations, multinational cor- boundaries of states’ (www.August1.com). In terms of Obama and world order, dur- porations, and individuals), with other Administered by the United Nations, the ing one of the presidential debates with social relationships (including econom- International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the Republican nominee John McCain, ics, culture, and domestic politics), and highest judicial authority of international Obama’s citing of former Secretary of State with geographic and historical influences. law. ICJ’s Article 38 of its Statute lists the Henry Kissinger in his answer to a ques- sources of international law: (i) interna- A variety of existing theories abound that tion on foreign policy left me, and I am tional conventions, whether general or explain international order. However, these quite sure many other listeners and view- particular, establishing rules expressly are generally classified as conservative, ers, flabbergasted. Reading Kurt Nimmo’s recognised by the contesting states; (ii) liberal, and revolutionary worldviews. The article titled ‘Kissinger again Shills Obama international custom, as evidence of a conservative worldview generally values and the New World Order’ (2008) gave me general practice accepted as law; (iii) the maintenance of the status quo and dis- an inkling why Obama was citing general principles of law recognised by counts the element of change in interna- Kissinger. It appears that Obama had been civilised nations; and (iv) subject to the tional relations. This perspective focuses the consumer of what Nimmo calls provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions on the laws of power politics, which are Kissinger’s ‘ebullient editorial lauding the and the teachings of the most highly considered timeless and universal. The coming depression for the International qualified publicists of the various na- conservative approach tends to value Herald’. According to Nimmo, in that tions, as subsidiary means for the deter- order. In this perspective, war is viewed piece, Kissinger argued that the rapidly mination of rules of law (ICJ, Article 38). as the natural order of things. Next is the unfolding economic depression with the For international law to work, it must be liberal worldview which values reform of accompanying misery for billions of peo- accepted and adhered to by the nation the status quo through an evolutionary ple ‘generates a unique opportunity for states which are signatories to it. Interna- process of incremental change. Liberal- creative diplomacy’ to usher in ‘a world tional organisations created by interna- ism values freedom, especially free trade financial order’ and force sovereign na- tional agreement or consisting of nation and free exchange of ideas. War is not a tions ‘to face the reality that its dilemmas states such as the United Nations func- natural tendency but a tragic mistake to can be mastered only by common action’. tion as a relationship builder and enhancer be prevented or at least minimised by in- In other words, it is time for a world gov- of nation states. Created on June 26, 1945, ternational agreements and organisations. ernment and a New World Order, a phrase the United Nations remains the most in- Third is the revolutionary worldview Kissinger repeated several times in the fluential among international organisa- which values transformation of the sta- article. As Kissinger put it, ‘An interna- tions. The events leading to the ongoing tus quo through revolutionary and rapid tional order will emerge if a system of com- United States’ war on Iraq, however, un- change. Focusing often on the unfair and patible priorities comes into being. It will earth the more influential arm of the United exploitative aspects of international rela- fragment disastrously if the various pri- States. tionships, the revolutionist sees the need orities cannot be reconciled’. Put differ- to radically change those relationships. Owing to the sovereignty of nation states, ently, if nations do not embrace the War is viewed as a product of underlying the essence of law is subjected to a na- ‘international order’ in response to the exploitative economic relationships. For tion’s specific need resulting in differ- ‘banksters’ engineered global depression, there to be international relations, policy ences in interpretation. As the world they will be left to twist in the wind. As makers of nation states must be willing to continues to shrink, there is a growing Kissinger warned: behave in a cooperative manner, thereby need for a universalised interpretation of becoming signatories to laws applicable law. In an effort to introduce better world The nadir of the existing international to all parties that have ratified the said cohesion and prevent global mayhem, the financial system coincides with simul- laws. These agreed upon laws and scopes peace through law paradigm brings to- taneous political crises around the globe. Never have so many transfor- of relationships are administered and gov- gether commonalities and irons out dis- mations occurred at the same time in erned by actors such as international or- parities that are characteristic of the so many different parts of the world ganisations and multinational corporations. different interpretations of law by vari- and been made globally accessible via ous actors. If one gives credence to Bish- Law is an essential element in the suste- instantaneous communication. The op’s ideas, there are customs that are nance of a stable functioning society. One alternative to a new international or- shared by all nation states and general source defines it as ‘All the rules of con- der is chaos (Nimmo 2008). legal principles that are applicable to duct that have been approved by the gov- every society (Bishop 1971). The para- Obama, Kissinger argued, is the answer ernment and which are in force over a digm recognises the need for sustained to this opportunity, because the extraor- certain territory and which must be collaboration among actors. The five Af- dinary impact of Obama ‘on the imagina- obeyed by all persons on that territory’ rican examples I discuss in African Para- tion of humanity is an important element (LawInfo.com). Another source states digms (2008) are (i) King Moshesh/ in shaping a new world order’ (Nimmo that law is ‘The combination of those rules Moshweshwe/Moshoeshoe I (1786- 2008). and principles of conduct promulgated by 1870): Legal and Diplomatic Genius; (ii) legislative authority, derived from court Prior to the International Herald article, Gender, Justice and Peace in the Dikgotla decisions and established by local cus- Kissinger had mounted the floor of the in Malepole, Botswana; (iii) Peace tom’ (www.nacmnet.org). New York Stock Exchange and told CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 21

CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street’ hosts fear of a domino effect and its potential tion (FDIC) in the United States and in- Mark Haines and Erin Burnett that in es- for economic, political and social upheav- cluded banking reforms, some of which sence Obama would be the man tapped als and the fear of widespread anarchy were designed to control speculation. to realise the one world control grid. As provide the necessary tools to install this They are the same people who swapped Kissinger put it, Obama’s ‘task will be to new order, which for most people will ap- jobs at the IMF, the World Bank, the develop an overall strategy for America pear as the only possible outcome. The Clinton Administration; they played side- in this period when, really, a new world act of governing will change as a world kicks for Alan Greenspan and Ben Sha- order can be created. It’s a great opportu- body will be in charge of the financial, lom Bernanke, or at the headquarters of nity, it isn’t just a crisis’ (Nimmo 2008). economic and tax systems. Police, pris- the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ons and private relations inside and out- (Geithner); they are the same people who According to the Aangirfan (2009), side the family will come under its purview, masterminded events before and after the Kissinger has revealed what Obama is so too will national sovereignty of the current crisis. Obama picked Rahm going to try to do to bring about a New peoples and the right to express opinions Emanuel to be his chief of staff, a man World Order based on the following that are different from those of the single whose career straddled politics and Wall premises: thought of relativism, which will be seen Street’s great financial groups. Accord- (a) The alternative to a new international as the only solution that is available and ing to d’Orlando, there is more to order is chaos. desirable (d’Orlando 2008). Emanuel’s case: not only that his father was a member of the Irgun (‘National Mili- (b) The extraordinary impact of the Presi- Until a few decades ago, such a new world tary Organisation in the Land of Israel’- a dent-elect on the imagination of hu- order would have been an anathema, a militant Zionist group that operated in manity is an important element in nightmare, a first step towards a world- Palestine between 1931 and 1948) - he also shaping a new world order. wide dictatorship. Now world leaders are holds Israeli citizenship, has fought for being praised when they show concern (c) The ultimate challenge is to shape Israel, and represents the country’s armed for the well-being of the Earth’s peoples the common concern of most coun- forces. He also endorsed Obama before and social groups at a time of difficulties. tries and all major ones regarding the the leadership of the AIPAC. In Israel, The G20 summit convened on November economic crisis, together with a com- many view Emanuel as ‘our man in the 15, 2009 was billed as a time when the mon fear of jihadist terrorism, into a White House’ (d’Orlando 2008). strategy reinforced by the realisation ‘miracle’ would be found, one that would that the new issues like proliferation, entail a world central bank that regulates Thus, d’Orolando argues, Obama’s energy and climate change permit no a single currency of account and its rela- presidency will not change how the national or regional solution. tionship to local currencies. After a brief financial crisis will be handled. Contrary lesson and a quick diagnosis of the cur- to what many say or believe, the Obama (d) The role of China in a new world or- rent problems, during which G20 partici- Administration will strengthen the trend der is crucial. pants heard that ‘it was all the fault of to protect large institutions and industries As Maurizio d’Orlando (2008) continues Bush’s brainless laissez-faire advocates’, at the expense of small enterprises and with the same postulate, the depth of the the same people responsible for the cur- the man and woman on the street who current economic crisis is leading many rent crisis would supply the treatment for voted for Obama (d’Orlando 2008). people to favour a form of governance putting things right. All we have to do is that would place economic and political see who funded the most expensive presi- Call for Action life under the trusteeship of international dential campaign in the United States In terms of the external environment, ac- organisations. He adds that Obama’s new (more than a billion dollars at a time of tion must be taken towards stabilisation cabinet, which is made up of those re- great recession). Obama pulled it off of commodity prices; reform of the inter- sponsible for the crisis, will ensure the money-wise almost twice as much as Re- national financial system (to prevent debt, ascendancy of financial interests. Mean- publican candidate John McCain. In ad- exchange rate instability and capital flow while, no one is calling for the people to dition to traditional sectors like show volatility) as well as of the World Bank have power in the monetary sphere, business, media, academe, education, in- and the IMF; an end to IMF/World Bank thereby democracy being killed by finan- formation technology and the Internet, structural adjustment programmes; and cial power. law firms (closely linked to the world of fundamental changes to the existing According to d’Orlando, a new world or- creative financial mediation) and private agreements of the WTO regime, as well der has been in the making for quite some equity funds bankrolled Obama’s cam- as a stop to the attempts to expand the time and is now becoming ‘inevitable’. paign (d’Orlando 2008). scope to this regime to new areas includ- Many politicians and economists are For d’Orlando, in order to change noth- ing investment, competition, and govern- quick to say that great sacrifices need to ing, the appearance of everything has to ment procurement. Most pressing of all be made and that any ‘reasonable’ per- change. And according to him, it has been is that all African nations’ debts must be son will see that suffering and hardship business as usual as Obama’s new cabi- cancelled. are ‘necessary’. The current crisis affect- net is made up of the same, ‘reckless peo- At the local, national and regional levels, ing us is behind this global shift. It has ple’. Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, and development policy must promote agri- moved from real estate to banking and Robert Rubin are all extreme laissez-faire culture, industry, services, including finance and has now reached industry, advocates who believe in an unfettered health and public education, and must be agriculture, and the whole economy. From financial system, enemies of the Glass- protected and supported through appro- the heartland of the United States, it is Steagall Act of 1933 that established the priate trade, investment, and macroeco- reverberating throughout the world. The Federal Department Insurance Corpora- nomic policy measures. A strategy for CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 22 financing must seek to mobilise and build (a) for the reassertion of the primacy of ‘underdeveloped’ Africa and to feel justi- on internal and intra-African resources the question and paradigm of na- fied in treating Africa as standing in need through imaginative savings measures. It tional and regional development on of American ‘know-how’. must reallocate expenditure away from the agenda of social discourse and This ethnocentric view hampers innova- wasteful items including excessive mili- intellectual engagement and advo- tion and change and results in social iso- tary expenditure, corruption and misman- cacy; lation. This explains why some African agement. There must be creative use of (b) on Africa’s scholars and activists leaders often reject American solutions remittances of Africans living abroad; cor- within Africa and in the Diaspora to to their development problems, and see porate taxation; retention and re-invest- join forces with social groups whose no need to change what they feel is al- ment of foreign profits; and the prevention interests and needs are central to the ready a good thing from their own per- of capital flight and the leakage of re- development of Africa; spective. At worst, it leads to stagnation; sources through practises of tax evasion (c) on African scholars and activists and at best, it results in retarded growth and practiced by foreign investors and local relevant organisations to direct their development. The fragmentation of elites. Foreign investment, while neces- research and advocacy to some of United States development programmes sary, must be carefully balanced and se- the pressing questions that confront in Africa is the additional negative con- lected to suit national objectives. African policy and decision making sequence of this ethnocentric view. These measures require the reconstitu- at international levels (in particular, Since the United States government pos- tion of the developmental state. This form negotiations in the WTO and under sesses most of the needed technological of state is one for which social equity, the Cotonou Agreement), and do- and financial resources for development, social inclusion, national unity, and re- mestically and regionally; and or enjoys access to them, the United spect for human rights form the basis of (d) on our colleagues in the global move- States understandably ‘aids’ the devel- economic policy. It is a state which ac- ment to strengthen our common opment efforts of Africa only to the de- tively promotes and nurtures the produc- struggles in solidarity. gree that such activity enhances tive sectors of the economy and which We must ask our colleagues in the North American objectives. And since the actively engages appropriately in the eq- to intervene with their governments on United States is technologically and eco- uitable and balanced allocation and dis- behalf of our struggles and our colleagues nomically more powerful, transfers of re- tribution of resources among sectors and in the South to strengthen South-South sources, information, and personnel people. Most importantly, it is a state that cooperation. consolidate the dominant American posi- is democratic and which integrates peo- tion and further accentuate the depend- ple’s control over decision-making at all Finally, we must pledge to carry forward ency of an economically weak Africa. levels in the management, equitable use the positions and conclusions of this and distribution of social resources. conference. And we must encourage When development techniques are trans- other like-minded individuals and ferred from the United States to Africa, Recognising that, by raising anew the organisations to explore, together with only a fraction of the entire process of question of Africa’s development as an other interested parties, mechanisms and technical change is bound to emerge Africa-wide concern, the NEPAD has processes for follow-up to the delibera- within Africa when the technique is im- brought to the fore the question of Afri- tions and conclusions of this conference. plemented. It is those parts of the proc- ca’s autonomous initiatives for develop- ess that are taking part outside the United ment, we must engage with the issues Conclusions States that dictate the basic properties of raised in the NEPAD as part of our efforts the technique. These characteristics are to contribute to the debate and discus- The economic relationship between Af- shaped by the social organisation and the sions on African development. In support rica and the United States can best be factor endowment of the United States of a broader commitment to contribute to characterised in terms of the type of ‘in- where the inventions and innovations are addressing Africa’s development chal- terdependent’, albeit unequal, relation- made. And for those techniques that are lenges, we must work both collectively ships between developed and developing generated within American transnational and individually, in line with our capaci- nations. On the one hand, United States corporations, it is obvious that they will ties, skills and institutional location, to development assistance to Africa appears be geared toward those corporations’ promote a renewed continent-wide en- more as a means to strengthen American maximum profitability in their international gagement on Africa’s own development economic and geopolitical interests in corporations, and not necessarily adapted initiatives. To this end, we must deploy Africa; on the other hand, Africa benefits to the conditions in Africa. Most fre- our research, training and advocacy skills by having a peaceful relationship with the quently, Africa is able to choose only and capacities to contribute to the genera- United States and employing American among techniques generated in American tion and dissemination of knowledge of the aid to promote government programmes. transnational corporations. This limitation issues at stake; engage with and partici- More basically, then, the issue can be gives rise to a structural technical depend- pate in the mobilisation of social groups raised as to whether or not the present ency by Africa in terms of American around their interests and appropriate American mode of pursuing its interests projects in the continent. strategies of development; and engage in Africa cripples the ability of the conti- with governments and policy institutions nent to control its own destiny; for, im- This being the case, a more coherent at local, national, regional and continen- plicit in United States development American foreign assistance programme tal levels. We must continue our collabo- assistance is an ethnocentric view that for Africa calls for terminating project aid ration with our colleagues in the global prevents it from seeing what is good in and converting it to outright security as- movement. Furthermore, we must call: sistance. This will allow Africa to spend CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 23 its aid dollars on programmes that it per- Indeed, the modern system of communi- Thus, in pursuing its security interests, ceives important to its development cation has overcome the geographical the Obama Administration must rethink needs (a relationship that will parallel that barriers between Africans and Americans the United States policy within the frame- between the United States and Israel), and expanded their horizons. Africans, work of an equitable partnership with Af- putting Africa fully in charge of its own especially, have become more acutely rica. At the core, the administration must economic destiny. aware of the state of affairs in the United be cognisant of the fact that African states States than ever before. They are haunt- also have national interests. So, the ap- The major consequence of such a foreign ingly reminded of America’s affluent style propriate approach would be for the ad- aid policy, however, will hinge upon the of living. Many in the United States have ministration and African states to work American public’s attitude towards its gov- also been frequently moved to help Afri- together within a framework of an equita- ernment. This attitude, which must be con- cans work towards eradicating poverty ble partnership and find ways in which ditioned by trust, calls for clarity and and causes of disease and unrest. Many their respective interests can be harmo- honesty with which American leaders ex- in Africa grow restive to achieve a higher nised for the benefit of the people. Once plain the African situation and argue for standard of living, to emulate the Ameri- this mindset is established, it will then actions they believe are necessary to meet can way of living. Both Africa and the provide the crucible in which Africa- the critical challenge in that part of the world. United States stand to benefit from in- United States relations will henceforth be Such a foreign aid policy cannot be ex- creased prosperity in Africa and from mu- conducted. pected to lead the United States to a for- tual trade. Africa must also realise that it exists in a eign policy consensus, but it can play a As it concerns security, the first decade world in which political and economic role in generating domestic support for of the new century is witnessing a con- strength counts, where might is right, and African initiatives if it is explained hon- tinuation of the complex and profound not one which simply operates on moral- estly in terms of what it is and what it will changes in the international arena and ity. For Africa to be heard and make a posi- do. It should neither be explained as a the further advance of globalisation. De- tive impact, it must seriously consider the humanitarian programme nor as a devel- velopment and peace remain the para- conditions or structures that can sustain opment programme, since security assist- mount issues of our times. On the one economic and political growth. This ance programmes are not primarily hand, promoting development, safe- means that it must be stable and secure. designed to spark self-sustaining eco- guarding peace and enhancing coopera- The challenge to the various govern- nomic growth (Israel is a good example). tion, which are common desires of all ments and peoples of Africa is to build an A United States foreign aid programme peoples, remain imperative. On the other Africa that is noticed for its strengths and for Africa that is comprised of security hand, destabilising factors and uncertain- not for its misery and weakness. This calls assistance entirely would increase Afri- ties in the global arena are increasing. for an Africa that is economically integrated, ca’s maneuverability; and what it will do Security issues of various kinds are in- financially stable, and politically united. with this ability will depend on its priori- terwoven. Development remains more ties and capabilities. This will also allow pressing and peace more illusive. Note the African governments to increase their Africa, which encompasses the largest * Paper presented at the Conference on The odds of survival - no government can number of developing countries, is an Obama Administration, Africa, and the pursue effective development policies if important force for global development Diaspora: Promises, Prospects, and its future is in doubt. and peace. Africa-United States relations Realities, Washington, DC, January 25, This is why the application of security face fresh opportunities under new cir- 2010. assistance compels different rules. The cumstances. The two entities must there- References unpredictable nature of African politics fore pursue objectives for vibrant and and the uncertainties inherent in intra- lasting relations and the measures to Aangirfan. January 21, 2009, ‘Obama’s new African relationships, in particular, sug- achieve them. world order plans revealed’, Prison Planet. gest that such a security assistance Retrieved on March 4, 2009 from http:// Africa, the home of humans, has a long programme for Africa will carry with it the www.prisonplanet.com/ history, abundant natural resources and potential for excesses. This could lead to huge potential for development. After Bangura, A. K., 2008, African Peace Paradigms, charges of waste and inefficiency by its many years of struggle, Africans freed Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing critics. While such outcomes are inevita- themselves from slavery and colonial Company. ble, they can nevertheless be kept in check rule, wiped out apartheid, won independ- Bishop, Jr., W. W., 1971, International Law: through careful management. ence and emancipation, thereby making Cases and Materials, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: In essence, United States development a significant contribution to the progress Little, Brown and Company. assistance to Africa should be used to of humanity. Africa still faces many chal- Corey, C. W., January 24, 2009, ‘Africa: Hillary reinforce both actors’ political, economic lenges on its way towards development. Clinton outlines Obama’s Africa policy’, and moral objectives. If these purposes With the persistent efforts of African allAfrica.com. Retrieved on January 12, are sound, then United States aid will be- states and the continuous support of the 2010 from http://allafrica.com/stories/ come an effective form of foreign policy United States and the rest of the interna- rpintable/2009012009.html for strengthening America’s interests in tional community, Africa will surely over- Africa. The continent, on the other hand, come the difficulties and achieve Council for the Development of Social Science will be able to buy breathing space in rejuvenation in this new century. Research in Africa (CODESRIA), 2002, maintaining stability as it works to meet Declaration on Africa’s Development its development needs. Challenges. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 24

Publications. Retrieved on January 8, 2010 Lerche, Jr., C.O. and Said, A.A., 1979, Concepts Schellenberg, J.A., 1996, Conflict Resolution: from http://www.codesria.org/Archives/ of International Politics in Global Theory, Research, and Practice, Albany, NY: Past_events/declaration_on_africa.htm Perspective 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: State University of New York Press. Prentice-Hall, Inc. d’Orlando, M., November 15, 2008, ‘Obama, world Scheidman, W.W., September 29, 2008, ‘Africa: crisis and the new world order’, Asia News. IT. MacAskill, E., January 24, 2009, ‘President Obama’s three objectives for the continent’, Orders Air Strikes on Villages in Tribal Area’, allAfrica.com. Retrieved on January 12, Gerstein, J. and Abrahamson, Z., July 11, 2009, The Guardian. 2010 from http://allafrica.com/stories/ ‘Obama’s Africa: More talk than policy’, printable/200809291346.html Politico. Retrieved on January 12, 2010 from Nimmo, K., January 13, 2008, ‘Kissinger again Shills http://dyn.politico.com/ Obama and the new World Order’, Infowars. Scott, J., 2001, Power, Cambridge, UK, Polity Press. printstory.cfm?uuid=6BF48BEE-18FE- North Korea Times, January 21, 2009, ‘Obama Dials Thompson, W.S. and Jensen, K.M., eds., 1991, 70B2-A8B5E36AD522846F Middle Eastern leaders’, Retrieved on March Approaches to Peace: An Intellectual Map. International Law Dictionary and Directory, 4, 2009 from http://www.northkoreatimes.com Washington, DC: United States Institute of n.d.,. Retrieved on September 10, 2005 from Peace Press. Ruff, A., January 24, 2009, ‘Obama and the http://www.august1.com/pubs/dict/i.htm Empire’, Solidarity. ATC 36.

Discourse on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Sustainable Socio-economic Development and the Challenge of the Academy in Africa

The Problematic knowledge systems as universal. Flow- ing from western understanding and A major intellectual fallacy of our time is Teboho J. Lebakeng the continued fatuous assertion that conceptualisation of indigenous African South African Mission to knowledges, country development poli- knowledge systems were introduced to the United Nations the African continent through colonial- cies would typically focus on the adop- ism. The incontrovertible fact is that co- tion of ‘western’ practices with a view to lonialism introduced western knowledge modernising the society and transform- systems, as a particular form of knowl- was excluded from policy formulation in ing the productive sectors. This position edge, through imposition and systematic the social, economic, judicial, constitu- overlooked fundamentals about the na- attempt to destroy indigenous knowledge tional and educational areas. ture of knowledge as identified by, among others, Okere, Njoku and Devisch ‘that systems (Lebakeng 2004). This was un- From the point of view of western all knowledge is first of all local knowl- derpinned by a specific philosophical- colonialists, indigenous African knowl- edge’ (Okere, Njoku and Devisch 2005). cultural package: a package that denied edge systems, as ‘inferior’ forms of know- the humanity – as encapsulated in the ing, were to be replaced by contrived or Previously, knowledge production on the past, history and civilisation – of indig- universalised knowledge systems derived continent became characterised by enous African peoples. Denying the hu- from western scientific traditions. Essen- Eurocentric ethnographic reference manity of other peoples by the colonisers tially, these systems were suffocated be- (Lebakeng, Phalane & Nase 2006), and Af- has always been a way of justifying op- cause they were pejoratively and rican intellectuality was decoupled from pressing, exploiting and/or exterminating contemptuously considered to be part its sociality and polity. Inevitably, con- them. and parcel of a barbaric African culture spicuously missing in this calculus was With colonisation and the resulting by a dubious determination based on who the role of indigenous African knowledge epistemicide and linguacide, indigenous had power rather than their intrinsic merit/ systems which was assumed to be nega- African epistemologies and languages, demerit or ability/inability. Since coloni- tive. This omission was not accidental but which were clearly an estimable treasure sation, African cultures have been asso- fundamentally consistent with colonial prior to colonisation, were not tapped into. ciated with primitivism and paganism and, discourse on conquest. The implications Rather, they were marginalised and deni- as such, were incriminated as the root here are quite clear for the doubting grated at the expense of those deriving cause of socio-economic underdevelop- Thomases and sceptics that: Africa’s con- from the Judeo-Hellenic heritage. As ment in Africa. In this regard, develop- temporary problems of underdevelop- such, indigenous African knowledge as ment on the continent was seen as a ment are not a product of flaws in the an instrument of development, and Afri- process of acquiring western-style sys- continent’s indigenous African knowl- can languages as a means of transmis- tems, standards, expertise and problem- edge systems. After all, these were nei- sion and instruction did not receive the solving methods (World Bank 1998). ther antithetical to technological needed attention in colonial Africa. This Development was premised on a con- enthusiasm to innovate and invent nor meant that indigenous African discourse trived status which posited western scientific curiosity to discover. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 25

Notwithstanding the bleak picture painted posed obstacles, the post-colonial era tivists the concept is said to (i) overlook on the relationship between western provides a poignant strategic opportunity the suffering and poor around the world science and indigenous African to reverse epistemicide and linguacide, who suffer from environmental degrada- knowledge, some of the indigenous and duly reclaim indigenous African tion, (ii) fail to question the ideology of African science and technology inno- knowledge systems. economic growth and, (iii) be an ideology vations have survived the deliberate imposed by the wealthy industrialised Despite the current global knowledge onslaught by hegemonic western countries to introduce stricter conditions landscape resulting from epistemicide and scientific influences. Such survival is a and rules on aid to developing countries characterised by hegemonic discourses function of the resistance and choices (Le’le’ 1991). In other words, the concept necessitating a significant thrust and made by Africans to protect their natural is characterised by an ‘incomplete per- major reconfiguration and reconstruction, environment and knowledge heritage. ception of the problems of poverty and Mbembe (2001; 2002) clearly rejects/re- Nonetheless, like the biblical Pharaoh, environmental degradation, and confu- sists the Africanisation and nativisation western science has been hardening its sion about the role of economic growth’. project as an antidote. Mbembe fails to heart by refusing to recognise the status historicise, theorise, conceptualise and Since the early 1990s, a number of confer- of indigenous African knowledge contextualise nativism, and the broader ences and workshops around the world epistemologically, ontologically and objective of Africanisation, within its ob- have helped to raise the awareness of the cognitively. jective socio-economic and political re- importance of indigenous knowledge in It is germane to point out at this juncture alities (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2007). As sustainable development. There has also that there is generally recognition of the documented and acknowledged, the Af- been progress in moving indigenous role and impact of Islam on the African rican response to Western representations knowledge from the realm of folklore into continent (Olaniyan 1982) and the fact of Africa has been through the articulation the development domain (World Bank that, like its western colonial counter-part, of notions such as negritude, Pan- 1998). There is currently an acknowledge- it wrecked havoc on the continent. In Africanism and the African Renaissance. ment of the limitations which both North Africa, Nubians and other indig- epistemicide and linguacide have im- enous African ethnic groups were physi- The Relevance of Indigenous posed on development in Africa. In fact, cally and culturally annihilated through Knowledge in Sustainable Socio- scanning the literature points to the fact Arabisation and Islamisation. In fact, his- economic Development that the theme of utilising existing knowl- torically, the Arab-led slave trade of Afri- Historically, it is exactly two decades since edge to create appropriate solutions runs cans predated the Atlantic Slave Trade of the concept of sustainable development through development literature (Puffer the West by about a millennium. The com- was launched into the political arena. 1995). It may not be accidental that the mon denominator between them was that Since then, it has become the watchword growing interest in the potential contri- they both challenged the humanity of for international aid and development bution of indigenous knowledge to sus- Africans through domination, pillage and agencies, the key jargon of development tainable development is becoming misrepresentation. Although its impact on planners, recurring theme of conferences manifest at the time when current devel- the social fabric and history of Africa is and the slogan of developmental and en- opment models have proven unsuccess- very significant, it has generally been vironmental activists (Le’le’ 1991). The ful. Millions of marginalised African underestimated and underplayed by many concept developed in the face of seeth- people all over the continent are still ex- scholars. Among the reasons for this ing problems besieging the African con- cluded from the mainstream of develop- could be included inclusive Pan- tinent and other regions of the developing ment initiatives, processes and end-goals. Africanist sentimentalism. In this sense, world. Although there are various defini- It would appear that what is complicat- the hybridised vulgarity Mazrui refers to tions of the concept, it is most commonly ing the relationship between indigenous as AFRABIA, implying a historical con- and widely used to mean ‘meeting the knowledge and sustainable development vergence of Africa with the Arab world needs of the present {generation} with- is that the literature on indigenous knowl- should be properly understood as a re- out compromising the ability of future edge does not provide a single defini- sult of conqueror-conquered relation- {generations} to meet their own {needs}’ tion of the concept. The problem of lack ships. It is because of such aspects of his (WCED 1987). The operative word is of a single definition derives from using writings that Mazrui is considered to be a ’sustainability’, which implies continued indigenous and traditional and local in- ‘vacuous’ intellectual if not an intellec- existence, in the long-term, of a situation terchangeably or synonymously. Indig- tual salesman of Islamic values. or condition. Comparatively speaking, sus- enous knowledge is, generally speaking, It is against this background that con- tainable socio-economic development is a the knowledge used by indigenous in- temporary African philosophical fundamental departure from the concept of habitants of a land to make a living in a rationalisations and political representa- development that was narrowly defined to particular environment (Warren 1991). tions should be understood. Not as es- mean economic growth engendered by a Local knowledge refers to the knowledge sentially a negation, but a profound rapid and sustained expansion of produc- possessed by any group living off the affirmation, of indigenous African knowl- tion, productivity and income per head. land in a particular area for over a period edge systems through reversal of both However, despite being the development of time but not necessarily indigenous to epistemicide and linguacide. Hence the paradigm of the 1990s, the concept of the land. Contrary to some prejudiced as- need for a project that speaks to and en- sustainable development has been sub- sertions about its backward and static gages African authenticity: one that is not jected to telling strictures for what is per- nature, indigenous knowledge is creative, just combative but more importantly ceived to be its contradictions and experimental and constantly incorporates liberatory. Admittedly, and with all its im- implications. According to Le’le’, for ac- in selective manner outside influences CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 26 and inside innovations to meet new con- According to the 1998/1999 Development instrumentalism and positivist notions ditions. Indigenous knowledge is dy- Report, knowledge, not capital, is the key about development (Mafeje 2001). namic and results from a continuous to sustainable social and economic de- Notwithstanding the rosy picture painted process of experimentation, innovation velopment. The challenge for the devel- regarding the relevance of indigenous and adaptation. In this way, it recognises opment community is to find better ways knowledge systems, it is critical to note the need, on one hand, for cultural conti- to learn about indigenous institutions and that indigenous knowledge is not to be nuity and, on the other hand, for reform practices and where necessary adapt romanticised or nostalgically embraced as and change. Indigenous knowledge is modern techniques (i.e., global best prac- a panacea. Although Africa has a relatively cultural knowledge in its broadest sense, tices) to the local practices. Only then will rich body of indigenous knowledge and including all of the social, political, eco- global knowledge be rendered relevant to related technologies which are embodied nomic, technical, aesthetic and spiritual the local community needs (World Bank in the continent’s cultural and ecological aspects of an indigenous community’s 1999). According to Burford, Ngila and diversities, not all indigenous practises way of life. It is precisely this dynamic na- Rafiki, the greatest threat to the economic are beneficial to the sustainable develop- ture that has not allowed indigenous knowl- stability, and one might add, to sustain- ment of a local community. Not all indig- edge to fossilise into historical oblivion. able socio-economic development, of the enous knowledge can a priori provide African continent is the gradual erosion Indigenous knowledge, in all its ethno- the right solution for a given problem. of indigenous knowledge and the accom- graphic sense and particularism, is impor- Typical, and somewhat controversial, ex- panying destruction of natural wealth – tant for several reasons. First, it can help amples are slash, burn agriculture and fe- plants, animals, insects, soils, clean air communities find the best solution to a male circumcision. and water – and human cultural wealth, development problem by being an appro- such as songs, proverbs, folklore and An approach that is romanticised could priate appraisal for development para- social co-operation. This robs people of lead to a lack of historical perspective and digms being implemented in the continent. their ability to respond to social and en- failure to appreciate that there are aspects Second, it represents the successful ways vironmental change, both by removing of indigenous knowledge that need to be in which people have dealt with their en- the resource base, and by attacking the dispensed with. What this means is that vironment (Puffer 1995). Third, it is closely foundations of human identity (Burford, although indigenous knowledge systems related to survival and subsistence and Ngila & Rafiki 2003). We thus posit that are desirable, feasible and necessary, it is provides a basis for local-level decision the goal of sustainable development in important that they are subjected to seri- making in various fields of activities. Africa calls for re-acknowledgement of ous epistemological appraisal. After all, Fourth, it plays a major role in truly par- the objective is not to replace univer- ticipatory approaches to sustainable de- the power and contemporary relevance salism with particularism but to locate the velopment. Fifth, harnessing indigenous of indigenous knowledge and its system- particular as a central component of the knowledge provides firm development atic integration into development policy universal. Due to the interdependency of underpinnings. Sixth, it is critical to con- formulation and education systems. various cultures, the concept of indig- flict resolution regarding disputes arising As an ideal towards which African peo- enous (which is not specific to any cul- from competing claims to land by return- ple should strive, this imposes a number tural context) is becoming flexible and its ing refugees and internally displaced per- of challenges with serious implications. fluidity allows little room for autonomous, sons. Seventh, building on indigenous Among these challenges could be men- internally coherent and self-contained knowledge systems contributes to local tioned the need to reclaim indigenous cultural wholes, particularly in the post- empowerment and development, in- knowledge systems of Africa. This is im- colonial world. Hence, indigenisation dis- creases self-sufficiency and strengthens portant because indigenous knowledge course in sensu stricto is difficult to self-determination (Thrupp 1989). Eighth, is increasingly being seen as central to sustain. Given this state of affairs, Afri- it provides a powerful basis from which sustainable socio-economic development cans cannot and should not call for alternative ways of managing resources and rational resource use. There appears essentialising discourses and ap- can be developed. Ninth, tapping into the to be a growing awareness in developing proaches. An exaggerated cult of cultural, intellectual resources associated with countries all over the world that, after original, national or religious identity can indigenous knowledge is not only cost ef- years of Western science hegemony and easily degenerate into essentialism, and fective but also relevant and indispensa- continued and persistent ‘underdevelop- in turn, create a jaundiced and exclu-sionary ble for environmentally and ecologically ment’, the reality is that indigenous knowl- culture of ‘we’ and ‘them’. Nonetheless, the sensitive activity. Tenth, indigenous edge is, indeed, the ‘missing link’ in failure of ‘modern’ approaches to devel- knowledge provides the basis for prob- sustainable socio-economic development. opment has called for a fresh and urgent lem-solving strategies for indigenous/lo- Such reorientation is in stark contrast to search for more appropriate and effective cal communities, especially the poor the traditional views that saw knowledge ways. Herein lies the relevance of indig- (World Bank 1998). Eleventh, indigenous as a major obstacle to development. knowledge represents an important com- enous knowledge systems. Additionally, such an understanding of ponent of global knowledge on develop- A critical challenge is to leverage indig- development would require that received ment issues and helps to leverage other enous and global systems effectively to wisdom about the meaning of progress, forms of knowledge so that poverty and resolve development problems (Payle & in particular the identification of ‘devel- other ills can be addressed jointly with Lebakeng 2005). At this point we do not opment’ with western industrialisation be the poor. These are some of the reasons wish to indulge in the debate as to critically revisited and debunked. As Mafeje why it is important to build on the indig- whether indigenous knowledge should be advised, we need to abandon American enous, as argued in a collection edited by integrated into the mainstream or whether Masoga and Musyoki in 2004. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 27 it is a science which is separate from what do they learn about indigenous African to move from savaging to salvaging in- is considered to be mainstream but still inventions and innovations developed by digenous African knowledge. Among equal. Elsewhere, we articulate the posi- institutions and communities within their those who have been involved in ensur- tion that the latter is the case (Lebakeng respective countries. And when local con- ing that a strong indigenous Africanist & Payle 2003). However, despite meth- tributions are indeed taught, these are recollective tradition affirms itself conti- odological approaches, that does not pre- referred to with terminology which may nentally could be counted Claude Ake, clude intersection between the two as the generate contempt rather than respect for Paulin Houtondji, Es’Kia Mphahlele, core of both is the desire to negotiate and indigenous African people and their in- Archie Mafeje, Wamba dia Wamba, Dan navigate nature for the benefit of human- novative genius. This perpetuates and Nabudere, Mogobe Ramose, Ngugi wa ity. This is so despite the legendary impact feeds the idea of a hierarchy of knowl- Thiong’o, Sophie Oluwole, Jacob Ade of scientific advancement on mankind. edge, with science at the top of such hier- Ajayi, Okere Theophilus, Wole Soyinka, archy, rather than an understanding that Kwesi Prah, Kwame Gyekye, Victo Ocaya, Challenges Facing the African there are various pyramids of knowledge, Odera Oruka, Theophile Obenga and Academy each with its own logic (Ramose 1998). Kwasi Wideru. The list is illustrative but Historically, colonisation with the ‘right Yet, as Okere so poignantly points out, hardly exhaustive. science remains only one of the many to conquest’ as the principal feature of Given the variations in their intellectual forms of knowledge and the west only the relations between conquerors and projects and their intuitive sense of dis- one of its producers (Okere 2005). conquered, manifested itself concretely cretion in both their conceptualisations in the sphere of education as epistemicide Since independence, the role of African and representations, these scholars could and linguacide. Among the central ques- education has been inextricably interwo- not be said to have represented a singu- tions which immediately come to mind are ven with the quest for national develop- larity of epistemology or methodology. the following: (i) to what extent have Afri- ment and modernisation. The relationship Their common denominator is that they can universities succeeded in their between education and national develop- were all not serviceable to western epis- knowledge production, in producing rel- ment in Africa continues to be a question temological paradigms. This, in contrast evant indigenous African knowledge? of critical concern in many countries. to the younger generation of academics and (ii) what are the epistemological para- Hence, following independence, African and intellectuals, is thus often perceived digms under-girding university curricula? governments invested heavily in educa- as muted and distant to the struggle to Given the experience and reality of the tional expansion and diversification. The reverse epistemicide and linguacide. university in Africa since western coloni- inherited colonial systems were expanded Whether one refers to it as opportunism sation and its victimisation, such as in and modified to serve new economic and or careerism, the fact is that it is an exis- the case of Sankore during the Moroccan social needs identified by African gov- tential reality: knowledge production is invasion in the 1590s and the decision to ernments. However, this did not help to now being driven by the imperative of deport several of the university’s schol- improve the lives of the majority African globalisation whose core values come ars, there is a deep disconnect between people. For the most part, educational down to profit-making. It is noteworthy higher education institutions and various policy decisions and implementation re- that despite the accomplishments of some fields of social practice. These universi- mained highly centralised and reflected of this older generation, African universi- ties are characterised by theoretical ex- the will of ruling elites. Results have not ties lack a conducive environment to re- troversion as a result of being steeped in matched expectations and educational tain high-class scholars. The replacement western intellectual traditions and epis- systems have, in most cases, caused new of individuals with appropriate academic temology (Houtoundji 1997), and colonial problems for nation-building. The reform leadership by technicists and managers languages are the mode of communica- of inherited educational systems that in the form of directors, deans and vice- tion and articulation of issues. This has largely functioned to maintain the colo- chancellors has not helped the situation. given rise to a telling distinction that since nial order of dependency and elitism has Accordingly, Mazrui identifies a need for colonisation and the post-colonial period, been an essential part of this task young Africans to struggle to conquer there are hundreds of universities sited (Woolman 2001). Their main objective has African self-contempt which arose as a in Africa but no African universities. been to recouple and reconnect African psychological by-product of Eurocentrism intellectuality with its sociality and polity. Such universities generally ignore not (Mazrui 1978). only the ancient history of the continent Despite this state of the academy in re- Moreover, currently the indigenisation of and its important contribution to world spect to the nature and production of academic and intellectual discourse is civilisation, but also indigenous African knowledge, numerous African scholars, conducted under the conditions of socio- systems of knowledge in philosophy, re- academics and intellectuals have noted economic and political crisis across the ligion and government (Qunta 2007). and challenged the unpalatable derailment continent. Education, especially higher Clearly, the colonial knowledge produc- of the development of indigenous knowl- education, became the main target for tion and orientation dominate and char- edge, neglect of traditional practises and structural adjustment policies. The effects acterise the development of universities marginalisation of local institutions in and impact of structural adjustment are in Africa. Pedagogy in African universi- Africa. These scholars, academics and seen in the fact that education is now ties is still fraught with misrepresentations intellectuals have demonstrated that west- geared towards the market. There is a and distortions regarding African history ern received wisdom is not sacrosanct and strong role played by corporate or com- and civilisation. From an early age, stu- needs to be reviewed by seeking indig- mercial interests in driving research. With dents learn the major western scientific enous truths and knowledge. They em- regard to students, the tendency is to be interventions, and rightly so, but seldom phasised the need for the African academy CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 28 extrinsically motivated by utilitarian or Prah calls ‘the door into peoples’ culture, Isn’t it the time that Africans took seri- bread-and-butter issues such as to pass without the use of indigenous languages, ously the reminder from an African wit in examinations with the anticipation of se- development cannot be realised. the person of the late distinguished South curing a job or promotion. Added to this, African social scientist Professor Archie However, twenty, nineteen, nine and the global economic order has continued Mafeje regarding the guiding principle in seven of the fifty-three member states are to under-develop, impoverish and indebt Socratic thought: Know thyself? Only classified as Francophone, Anglophone, the African continent. Universities have when Africans know their own history, Arabophone and Lusophone respectively. been among the first casualties for budget contributions to world civilisation can This state of affairs means that, four dec- cuts, especially in the social sciences, arts they appreciate indigenous African ades after political independence, the sta- and humanities. knowledge systems. tus of African languages leaves much to As a result of the combination of the above be desired. Several obstacles are said to Clearly, Africanisation holds that differ- factors, the condition of mimetic and de- hamper the use of African languages in ent foundations exist for the construction contexualised character of knowledge re- education. The following are commonly of pyramids of knowledge. It thus dis- mains unchanged in post-colonial Africa. used arguments: (i) that African languages claims the view that any pyramid of knowl- This necessitates a new research agenda have limited capacity to express techni- edge is by its very nature superior to all within the African academy and an emer- cal concepts; (ii) that African languages the others (Ramose 1998). Therefore, in- gence of a conscientious intellectual cadre do not have a vocabulary that is devel- scribing the African experience in the con- to carry it through. That agenda must oped enough to be languages of scholar- struction of knowledge and the design of speak to the mainstream, and protect in- ship and instruction at higher levels in education in Africa is recognising the ne- digenous knowledge and its main means the educational system; (iii) lack of refer- cessity for the authentic liberation of Af- of transmission, the African languages as ence books and reading and educational rica in the post-colonial period (Ramose a critical link to sustainable development materials; (iv) negative attitudes towards 2002). This would require that Europe, in Africa. Resolving theoretical and con- African languages, which continue to be including its (post)colonial discourse ceptual issues about the identity of in- widespread because the languages of the should be decentred from the learning digenous African knowledge systems is former colonial countries have remained experience, research and knowledge gen- in fact one of the many challenges con- the languages of power; (v) that the di- eration (Teffo 2002). fronting African philosophers, historians, versity and multiplicity of African lan- Indigenising the academy is not going to sociologists, educationists and anthro- guages have created a sort of dangerous be an easy task since the academy is im- pologists. African Tower of Babel. Many of these plicated in the colonisation of indigenous so-called obstacles have been exposed From the above issues of epistemology, people (Ka’ai 2005). Moreover, given the as a farce. For instance, the myth of the it is important that we now turn to those intellectual power relations, the task is African Tower of Babel has been chal- of language. Our point of departure is that going to be long and pregnant with intel- lenged and a theory posited that most of colonial education was responsible for the lectual resistance and casualties. what are regarded as autonomous lan- promotion of European languages to the guages are really dialects which can be put Already there are those who claim to sym- detriment of African languages and the into wider clusters enjoying a significant pathise with the broad concerns of resulting linguistic configuration that le- degree of mutual intelligibility (Prah 1998). indigenisation but doubt the existence of gitimised and produced the unequal divi- protagonists in the post-colonial era. Ac- sion of power and resources between Clearly, these clusters can only be har- cording to their argument, the debate of speakers of the former and those of the monised and grow through use, and not ‘indigenity’ only made sense in the con- latter (Mwandemere 2007). As such, the mere aspiration. Unfortunately, market text of colonial domination or rule. What issue of African languages in education discourse and practice in higher educa- is being overlooked in such arguments is is part of the continuing reflection on the tion have resulted in many instances of that, clearly, the university in Africa as an reform of African education systems. Cul- the closure of departments of languages extension of the epistemological para- tivation of oral and written fluency in Af- because they are not considered to be digm of the conqueror remains fundamen- rican languages is important in building cost-effective and useful in an instrumen- tally unchanged in decolonised Africa. self-esteem, preserving culture and ad- talist sense. Obviously, such closures and That this theme continues to preoccupy vancing the literary output and identity cut-backs for funding for fields such as the minds of many African scholars and of African peoples. Busia (1964) argues the arts and humanities threaten exactly intellectuals is more than an indication that schools could only preserve and those fields that are central to the goal of that the basic issues have to date not been transmit African culture by maintaining restoring the African heritage in the form satisfactorily resolved or even adequately African languages. The importance of of African epistemologies and African lan- addressed. This in itself speaks to the ethi- African language development is further guages. cal and political necessity to assert the right underscored by the historical reality that to be an African university through the re- early nation-building in Europe was Concluding Remarks versal of both epistemicide and linguacide. closely linked to the cultivation of ver- We should take our point of departure nacular languages and literature. These from the preamble of the World Declara- References experiences led the contributors to Be- tion on Education for All (WCEFA 1990) Burford, G., Ngila, L.O. & Rafiki, Y., 2003, ‘Edu- tween Distinction and Extinction: Har- that: ‘traditional knowledge and indig- cation, indigenous knowledge and globa- monisation and Standardisation of enous cultural heritage have a value and lisation’, http://www.scienceafrica.co.za/ African Languages edited by Kwesi Prah validity in their own right, and a capacity 2003/march/ik.htm to argue that without respect for what to both define and promote development’. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 29

Busia, K.A., 1964, Purposeful Education for Mwandemere, H., 2007, ‘African Development Ramose, M.B., 1998, ‘Foreword’, in Seepe, S., Africa, London: Mouton. – Lost in Foreign Languages’, The Patriotic ed., Black Perspectives on Tertiary Vanguard, October, 9. Institutional Transformation, University Friedman, S., 2007, Graduation Address, Rhodes of Venda & Vivlia Publishers: Florida, University. 13 April 2007. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S.J., 2007, ‘Tracking the pp. iv–vii. historical Roots of Post-apartheid Houtondji, P., 1997, Endogenous Knowledge: Citizenship Problems: The Native Club, Ramose, M.B., 2002, ‘Inscribing the African Research Trials, CODESRIA, Dakar. Restless Natives, Panicking Settlers and the Experience in the Construction of Ka’ai, T.M., 2005, ‘Indigenising the Academy: Politics of Nativism in South Africa’, Knowledge and the Design of Education in Indigenous Scholars as Agents of Change’, Leiden: The Netherlands. African Studies South Africa’, in Kasanga, L.A. & Lebakeng, World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Centre Working Paper no. 72. T.J., eds., Paradigm Shift in South African Education. Hamilton, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Higher Education, Sovenga: University of Odora, C.A., 1994/1995, ‘Policy, Power and the North, pp. 147-162. Lebakeng, T.J. & Payle, K.D., 2003, ‘Prospects the Control of the Premise of Diagnosis in and Problems of Mainstreaming Indigenous Africa’, Southern African Political and Rwomire, A., 1998, ‘Education and Knowledge in South Africa: Issues in the Economic Monthly, pp.52-54. Development: An African perspective’, in Academy’, Africa Insight, vol.33, no.4, J. Nwomonoh, ed., Education and Odora-Hoppers, C., 2002, ‘Indigenous Know- pp.26-32. Development in Africa, San Francisco: ledge Systems are the Missing Link in International Scholars Publications, pp. 3- Lebakeng, T.J., 2004, ‘Towards a Relevant Literacy, Poverty Alleviation and 23. higher Education Epistemology’, in: Seepe, Development Strategies in Africa’, Africa S., ed., Towards an African Identity of Higher Insight, Vol. 32, no.1, pp.3 -7. Seepe, S. & Lebakeng, T.J., 2007, ‘Redesigning Education, Pretoria: Vista University and the Transformation Debates’, Tribute, Okere, T., 2005, ‘Is There One Science, Western Skotaville Media. pp.109-119. September/October pp. 24-25. Science?’, Africa Development, Vol. XXX, Lebakeng, T.J., Phalane, M.M. & Nase, D., 2006, No. 3, pp. 20-34. Teffo, L.J., 2002, ‘Foreword’, in Kasanga, L.A. ‘Epistemicide, Institutional Cultures and the & Lebakeng, T.J., eds., Paradigm Shift in Okere, T., Njoku, C.A. and Devisch, R., 2005, Imperative for Africanisation of Universities South African Higher Education, Sovenga: ‘All knowledge is First of all Local in South Africa’, Alternation, Vol.13, no.1. University of the North. pp. i-ii. Knowledge: An Introduction’, Africa pp. 70-87. Development, Vol. XXX, No. 3, pp. 1-19. Thrupp, L.A., 1989, ‘Legitimising Local Le’le’, S., 1991, ‘Sustainable Development: A Knowledge: From Fisplacement to Em- Olaniyan, R., ed., 1982, African History and Critical Review’, World Development, Vol. Powerment for Third World People’, Culture, Lagos: Longman Nigeria Limited. 19, no. 6, pp. 607-621. Agriculture and Human Values, Summer. Payle, K.D. & Lebakeng, T.J., 2004, Losito, C., 2000, Culture and Development: A new pp.13-24. ‘Indigenous Knowledge Systems Within the Paradigm’, http://www.communityarts.net/ Ukaga, O., 2005, ‘General Introduction’, in Context of Globalization’, in Masoga, M. readingroom/archivefiles/2000/10/culture- Ukaga, O. & Afoaku, O., eds., Sustainable & Musyoki, A., eds., Building on the and-dev.php Development in Africa: A multifaceted Indigenous: An African Perspective. Challenge, Africa World Press: Trenton, Mafeje, A., 1988, ‘Culture and Development in National Research Foundation & The New Jersey. pp. 1-5. Africa: The Missing Link’, CODESRIA University of Venda. pp. 295– 301. Bulletin, no.1, pp. 7-8. Warren, D.M., 1991, ‘Using Indigenous Payle, K.D. & Lebakeng, T.J., 2005, ‘Sharing Knowledge for agricultural Development’, Mafeje, A., 1992, ‘African Philosophical bread with fellow-travellers: Creating space World Bank Discussion Paper 127, Projections and Prospects for the for dialogue between indigenous knowledge Washington D.C. Indigenization of Political and Intellectual systems and "western" science in South Discourse’, Seminar Paper Series No. 7, Africa’, Southern African Journal of Woolman, D.C., 2001, ‘Educational Recon- Harare: Sapes Books. Folklore Studies, Vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 44-45. struction and Post-colonial Curriculum Development: A Comparative Study of Four Mafeje, A., 2001, ‘The impact of Social Sciences Payle, K.D. & Lebakeng, T.J., 2006,. ‘The African Countries’, International Education on Development and Democracy: a Relevance of Indigenous Knowledge for Journal, Vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 27-46. 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Mbembe, A., 2002, ‘African Modes of Self- Qunta, C., 2007, ‘African achievements worth writing’, Public Culture, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. celebrating’, Pretoria News. August, 29. 239-273. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 30

International Symposium on African Renaissance

e have just entered a new cen being, had lasted a millennium, more pre- tury. Contrary to what many Iba Der Thiam cisely since the fall of the Roman Empire. think, it is going to be a cen- Emeritus Professor of History W Neither should we repeat the History of tury of deconstruction and reconstruction. Cheikh Anta Diop University of Florence with Durer or Francisco de Dakar & Deputy Speaker of the There is no doubt that the current world Hollande, the Médicis, Petrarch era, not Senegalese National Assembly equilibrium as roughly outlined in the af- to say the Chansons de geste of Erasmus, termath of the Great Discoveries and the Henri Estienne, Guillaume Budé, Italian and European Renaissance, and Europe to Asia. This movement will also Machiavelli, Clément Marot, Du Bellay, later refined by the 1884-1885 Berlin Con- certainly and especially spread to Africa. Ronsard or Montaigne, Michelangelo, ference, will undergo changes of a mag- Yes, I truly believe so. Our continent is going Raphael or Leonardo da Vinci . nitude never before witnessed. st to be the continent of the 21 Century. It was Fernand Braudel who wrote ‘each I do believe, indeed, that we shall soon Our continent is going to be the conti- epoch has its modernity if this word is to move, in the coming decades, from a uni- nent of the 21st Century, on the condition mean the contrary of apathy’. polar into a multipolar world with a strong that we all, men, women, youth, adults However, the lesson contained in this resurfacing of identity expressions on the and seniors dedicate ourselves to a spirit European experience for us is: ‘The intel- part of all civilisations, whether in Asia, of work everywhere and at all times, to lectuals of the Renaissance, first in Italy America and Africa, that are likely to claim the ethics of enduring and conscious ef- then in Europe think of themselves, man- that their history has existed for several fort associated with a high sense of disci- kind and the world in break off and not thousands of years. pline and a true and full commitment to continuity terms’. The end of the cold war will be followed serving the supreme interest of our home- It seems to me that our two approaches by an inevitable showdown between cul- land and continent; on the condition that find a common ground in this key-idea. tures, religions and civilisations; it may we stay united; on the condition that we not necessarily be an adversarial show- nurture peace, full peace and still more - While European Renaissance was down but rather something that can be peace, for peace is the sine qua non con- mostly relevant in the cultural area, that turned into a symphonic dialogue, dition for development; on the condition of Africa and its Diaspora should, though founded on mutual enrichment of ideas, that we elevate mutual solidarity and trust duly allowing for this dimension, addition- concepts, symbols, values and refer- to being a vital imperative; on the condi- ally spread to the other areas of human ences such that we can work out together tion that we are capable of formulating activity, including notably economy, sci- a new humanism, recast not according to the lineaments of a new humanism, based ence, technology, good governance and the unilateral codes, rites, customs, vi- on a liberation, re-motivation and mobili- even geopolitics. sions and scenarios of a single world, no sation ideology at the service of a great cause, marking a complete departure from It should not be an essentially elitist un- matter how dominant but according, from dertaking but instead a tidal wave that now on, to multifarious and successive a certain past. I am talking here of African irrigates the entire society and integrates contributions in which each people, each Revival into its problematic all the components of country, each race, each civilisation no My humble view is that, it is in similar the African community. matter the size, will bring their share. light that the concept of African Renais- Renaissance historians also discussed in So much so that, an era once marked by sance assumes full significance, value and an emergency character. length whether it represents in the His- an ethnocentric vision tainted with a seem- tory of Culture, such a clear departure that ingly immanent superiority, will now be However, I have to make it clear from the its actors and witnesses felt that they were succeeded by that of diverse cultural ex- onset that we are not suggesting that experiencing a real renewal of civilisation pressions, that of identity assertions on Africa should make a copycat of the West- of such a magnitude that they believed the part of all peoples who have lived ern Renaissance, for the simple reason they were pulling out of an endless night, long enough and have a message to de- that Africa is not Europe and that the chal- that of the Middle Ages, filled with ob- liver to the rest of the planet. th th lenges of the 15 and 16 Centuries are scurantism, regression and cold seclu- st Africa has to be prepared for this cardinal different from those of the 21 Century. sion, and entering a new world, in what change by laying the foundations of a fu- We simply need to study well when it may be described as a total revolution. ture described by the historian, Christopher came into being and its operational mode In a country like France, the champions Bayle as ‘the reality of tomorrow’. on the basis of our current ambitions, fu- of Romanticism said and repeated it so The geopolitical framing to which we have ture challenges and the spirit of the Afri- well that the power of habituation estab- been accustomed so far is bound to break up. can people. lished their opinion as an almost irrefuta- ble scientific fact. One indication is that the centre of inter- What some termed ‘African decline’ th national economy is now shifting from started only in the 15 Century, whereas Europe’s, when Renaissance came into CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 31

Reacting to this judgement, V.L. Saunier We learnt from him that Japan even knew Aimé Cesaire in 1955 followed and in turn observed that ‘an era in which the con- of a Black Shogun and that in the popular set other landmarks of African Revival. cept of human glory or outmoded nature culture of this country, a saying still goes In 1955, Présence Africaine published a of science or what have you becomes a that ‘to be a good Samurai, you need to thesis by Cheikh Anta Diop, titled: new notion, is not that which invented it: have some Black blood running through almost any idea to formulate it into such a your veins’. « Nations Nègres et Culture » (Negro general pattern alone which constitutes its Nations and Culture). The same author disclosed to us that main foundation, will be never or always’. ADN tests have proven that 1/5 of the This worthy son of Africa revealed in it that But, he moved quickly to add: ‘For each Chinese also have Black blood running Solon, Clisthenes, Pythagoras, Euclid, key idea, there is at least one era which through their veins. Archimedes, Eudoxe and Eratosthenes attributes more to it than its formula viz. had all studied Egypt, something that has, Relaying and as a committed pursuer of its prestige, glamour and freshness, mak- however, not been taught anywhere, prov- the struggles and resistances that these ing light out of a concept. It is in that era ing Chancellor Williams right when he revelations have triggered mostly since the that it is new. wrote that: ‘The Africans and their de- 19th Century, Marcus Garvey will encour- scent should assume responsibility and The African Renaissance concept came age in all oppressed Blacks the will to claim lead in historical research. If we leave it to into being in the sorrowful conscience of and aspire to dignity and freedom through the Whites to do almost all the research Maroon communities persecuted, victims a slogan which represented a programme and the basic historical writings on of violence, reduced to slavery, dragged per se: ‘Africa to Africans. Black Race Re- Blacks; then we must accept their vision away from their fathers’ land, packed in vival. Wake up Ethiopia. Back to Africa’. without complaint’. the wet and stinking holds of slave ships, Since that era, he linked the Egyptian civi- exposed to the hazards of long and pain- The following year, the same publisher lisation with Black Africa, Black race of ful voyages, landed onto unknown lands, published in December, 1955-January which he exalted the beauty, courage and deprived of their identity, language, reli- 1956, an article titled: ‘Alerte sous les dignity. gions, and civilisation, separated and tropiques’ or Alert in the Tropics. Since that era, he aspired to the establish- penned up in makeshift shelters like ani- The 1st Congress of Black Writers and ment of a Negro Parliament, asserted his mals in a cattle fair, numbered just like Artists was held at the Sorbonne in 1956, sheer goods and subjected to inhuman will to establish an African empire and to the second one took place in Rome in code and disgraceful laws. resuscitate the glory of Ancient Ethiopia. 1959, and without explicitly addressing All they got from this ordeal was much Speaking up in August 1920, in an electri- the concept, it defined the lineaments of suffering; notwithstanding this denial of cally charged environment, he wrote: an African Revival Project. ‘We, Blacks claim Africa and we are pre- freedom, the fact of being away from their The publication, in 1973, of Théophile pared to shed our blood to defend her rights. homeland and the hardships of exile, it Obenga’s work titled: ‘L’Afrique dans We shall draft a Code for the Black Race’. was by relying on their culture and their l’Antiquité’ or Africa in Ancient Times, faith in their race that they survived and In his public appeal to the Black race prior was part of this movement. resisted against all odds the most implac- to the 3rd Annual and International Con- The 1966 Dakar World Festival of Negro able adversity, the most ferocious cruelty gress of Negro Peoples of the World, Arts, held in an era of dominant and the most shocking humiliations. which convened, in New York, on August Negritude, those of Algiers in 1969 and Those struggles and battles, whether in- 31, 1922, and was attended by 100,000 Lagos in 1977, addressed in their own way dividually or collectively, contained the delegates and MPs representing the Black the same themes from a dominant cultural populations of Africa, Asia, Europe, Aus- seeds of African Revival, the scientific perspective. foundation of which has been laid since tralia, Central America, the United States the 19th Century by Godfrey Higgins and the Caribbean, he defined the para- Adding to these events were the publica- (1772-1833), François Lenormant (1837- digms of a programme ending a past his- tion of the same Cheikh Anta Diop’s: 1883) and John Baldwin, with the latter tory of submission and resignation and ‘Fondements Economiques et Culturels demonstrating the anteriority of the proposed ‘the establishment of a climate d’un Etat Fédéral d’Afrique Noire’, K. Cushite civilisation from time immemorial, of understanding and friendship between Nkrumah’s ‘Afrique Must Unite’, and across the whole of South East Asia; the the members of the Black race, discus- Professor Abdoulaye Wade’s ‘Un Destin work of Gérard Massey (1828-1917), author sions on the formation of a Government Pour l’Afrique’ in 1989; lastly, on enter- of the famous ‘L’Afrique est le berceau et of Black Peoples, exchange of views on ing the scene, Thabo Mbeki made of these l’Egypte la voix’ or Africa is the cradle and the international protection of Blacks, themes the number one objective of his Egypt the voice formula, Marcel Auguste debates on the condition and future of post-Apartheid policy. Since 1996, when Dieulafoy (1884-1920), and lastly Henry Blacks in various parts of the world, a re- the First Conference of Intellectuals and Rawlinson (1850-1895) whose research flection on the History of Black race that Men and Women of Culture of Africa and work revealed the presence, from time im- is yet to be written, the preparation of a the Diaspora was held in Dakar, re-con- memorial, of Blacks on the Indian Penin- Declaration of Black Race Human Rights’. vened in October, 2005 and was moved thereafter to Brazil; since the Symposium sula before the Aryans arrived. Such were the objectives and foundations held in this room on the United States of of Black Race Revival about 100 years ago. A meeting of all these authors was called Africa, followed by a Forum on Africa and by Runoko Rashidi to whom I would like Others, to mention only a few, like Cheikh World Governance; since especially your to pay here a deserved homage. Anta Diop in 1948, Frantz Fanon in 1952, decision, Mr. Chairman, to make African CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 32

Revival the central theme of FESMAN III, stakes of the 21st Century. It is one of the with the United States its proposed which will be held in our country in De- essential conditions for its accomplishment. AGOA, on the one hand, and Latin cember 2010, the African Revival concept America, the Islamic-Arab and Asian Studying our contribution to Universal seems to have been strongly established. world, a mutually advantageous coopera- Heritage and highlighting the permanent tion, on the other hand, we must do it Each of the events that I have just men- resistance of our populations should have with the recognition of our Diaspora as tioned constitutes, indeed, a landmark of two main corollaries: the 6th region of our continent. variable significance in this long march – first is the formulation of a strategy that towards African Revival. The second corollary consists in making will end once and for all the isolation and all aware of the key role played by the In the light of the foregoing, this Revival weakness of our continent, cutting it off African Peoples in the advent of Human should first rely on the restoration of our its Diaspora. Rights and the birth of the Free World. prestigious past, in other words, our The Black world, the African world is not history, making current and future I would like to recall that as soon as 1500 just limited to the 30 million sq. km corre- generations aware of the contribution of B.C., you could, referring to an Egyptian sponding to the surface area of our conti- our culture, not only to science and Pharaoh, proclaim, according to the Book nent. It spreads well beyond. technology, but also in every area of of the Dead, the following declaration human activity such that no one can, Since time immemorial, the African man which is an expression of an admirable henceforth, ignore that we are world has migrated to all regions of the planet. moral and political philosophy: ‘He gave civilizers and that our contribution to bread to the starving and water to the While I am speaking with you, there is universal heritage is worthy of respect thirsty. He clothed the naked’. evidence of Black populations as old as and consideration. 60 000 years on an archipelago of the I remember having written somewhere that This is neither a narcissistic and back- Bengali Sea, in the Adaman Islands. The ‘in 617, when Prophet Mohammad (PSL) ward-looking glorification undertaking nor newspaper ‘Le Monde’ dated March 28, decided to send from Mecca to Abyssinia one of misleading and exhilarating delight. 2000 reported on them in an article. an Arab community in order to move them away from ostracism and Quraysh Instead, it is a moral duty, an obligation In India alone, there are 350 million persecutions, a perfect illustration of a de- of truth, that makes us and others not to Dravidian Blacks living there. sire for Islamic/Christian dialogue and an continue teaching unacceptable false- You all know that Ivan Van Sertima dem- admirable example of tolerance, he based hood but to inscribe, instead, on the minds onstrated that Black people came before his choice on the fact that there lived a king proven scientific concepts that will cure Christopher Columbus in America. named Nadjachi who, by his own descrip- mankind of racism, cultural despise, truths tion, was ‘a just king who harmed no one’. that will impose on all consciences the They have today spread all over Latin sacred paradigm of equal dignity of all America, the Caribbean, the United States During the 13th Century, the Kurukan peoples and cultures. and Canada, Europe, the Islamic-Arab Fugha Charter, a contemporary document world including Iran, Turkey, Russia, Vi- with Magna Carta, went much further even This approach will provide the opportu- etnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Arab Penin- sketching a right falling today under the nity to rewrite entire pages of our history, sula, etc. 3rd generation categories. including those that are called with some exaggeration, ‘conquest’ and ‘pacification’. Finally, the world is not host to just a bil- Set aside Arab columnists’ testimonies, lion people corresponding to the current justice administration in Ghana, education The truth of the matter is that Africa has population of Africa, but now to close to in the Malian empire, science and schol- never been conquered. 1 billion 500 million Blacks and Africans. arship as reflected through Songhai hu- No ! Pacification has always been a myth. This is a formidable force that we have, a manism, I would like to recall the Zanj major asset of preeminent value because, Whether in the past, today like in future, revolts, the Haitian revolution of 1526, the contrary to what has been taught since the African people, as always, will remain glorious epic of Benkos Bohio in Colom- Malthus, an individual is not just a mouth firmly standing, proud and haughty, he- bia in 1599 (before being proclaimed king, to feed. He is also working arms and roic and resilient, never submitting, never governing his community in the Matuna mostly a thinking, reflecting, conceiving, accepting to resign themselves to being region up to March 16, 1621), that of imaginative, creative, inventive, organis- dominated whether under pre-colonial Zumbi in the Palmarès State between 1630 ing and acting spirit, at a time when the empires, at the time of slave trade and and 1667 in Brazil, the Haitian revolution, immaterial sphere imposes its victory in with Toussaint Louverture, his role dur- slavery, under colonial administration and the realm of knowledge and know-how. ing the savannah battle where 800 Blacks Apartheid or after independence. That dimension, which means studying under the command of Rear-admiral Even today, they continue to struggle the geography and composition of the Destaing saved George Washington’s through all their component parts for de- Diaspora and that of its history in order troops from a debacle as they were threat- mocracy, justice, dignity, freedom and eco- to establish a connection with Mother ened by Lieutenant-colonel Maitland, and nomic and social advancement. Africa as a 6th region, should be the 3rd all the scores of admirable heroes painted This concept of a permanent resistance line of action of African Revival. by Abdoulaye Wade in ‘Un Destin Pour of the African populations constitutes a l’Afrique’ not to mention the multiple and Indeed, if we want to successfully build powerful asset which African Revival heartbreaking resistances opposed by Euro-Africa on the basis of real develop- should take advantage of, if it were to Muslim Black slaves in many countries of ment partnership agreements and set up successfully meet all the challenges and CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 33

South America and the Caribbean where greater share in global governance or in The top 20 highest growth rates around they had been resettled against their will. other words, in bodies such as the United the world were found in Africa, within the Nations Security Council, the World same period, and these include Equato- Set aside the role played by Haiti in the Bank, the International Monetary Fund rial Guinea 963 per cent, Angola 75 per liberation of South America, the partici- or the World Trade Organisation, etc. cent, Mozambique 306 per cent, Sudan pation of African troops in the Crimea and 283 per cent, Nigeria 201 per cent and Mexican wars, World War 1 and World Still, we are being denied this legitimate right. Chad 197 per cent. War 2 or in other words, in the victory We can put an end to this ostracism if we against militarism, fascism and Nazism; set In 1998, 17 African countries were in- are able to implement, as soon as possi- aside, the heroic, worthy and admirable volved in conflicts. They are today only ble, the United States of Africa which will struggle that Afro-Americans have led five of them. enable us, without renouncing our States, since 1619, with emblematic figures like our hymns or our flags, to speak in one The African Renaissance machine, as we Nat Turner in 1831, to obtain their civic voice in the name of 53 African States can see, has now been definitively and political rights, a clear expression of a subject to ceding a bit of sovereignty. launched under favourable auspices. will to totally break away from a past his- tory of labelling, pain and stigmatisation; We shall succeed if we create an African But most especially, it is in our culture it is also in Africa that the ‘rainbow soci- Central Bank operating a single common and the positive values it conveys that ety’ and ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ com- currency; if we have an integrated educa- we should find the reasons and motives mission concepts were invented to settle tional system, a common legislation al- for our unity, solidarity and commitment the mass violations of Human Rights; it lowing for the free movement of goods, to the service of African Revival. persons, capital and merchandise; a co- is again in Africa that the National As- Culture is, as someone said, the shortest ordinated and integrated African scien- sembly of Senegal adopted two historic path from a human group to another. laws: one establishing full parity in all elec- tific and technological research policy, tive functions and the other declaring founded on centres of excellence; if we And yet, there is some terrific revival and slave trade crimes against humanity. have exchange, coordinating and self-de- fantastic boom of music, fashion, cinema, velopment spaces, where articulate, virtu- painting, architecture, singing taking All these feats of arms and strong sym- ous economic and monetary policies place in the cultural domain with a power- bolic deeds have, so far, earned Black implemented with rigour and duly allowing ful development of rappers and reggae troops no equal dignity as founding fa- for infrastructures and ICTs will be debated enthusiasts but also of dance, photogra- thers of a Free World as it did, for exam- for the purpose of formulating relevant phy, handicrafts, jewellery trade which ple, for Americans, Canadians, the British, strategies for Africa to make the big jump convey the continent’s new message to all New Zealanders or Australians. forward that will pull it definitively out of regions of the world, thanks to greatly tal- Making an assessment of our contribu- under-development. Let me just note very ented artists and designers who have be- tion in the birth of civilisation, our contri- quickly that we have every reason for hope. come international icons and reliable assets. bution to the advancement of mankind Between 1998 and 2007, 18 African coun- All we need to do now is to arm ourselves through science and technology, our de- tries (seven of which outperformed China) with the conscience needed for African mographic weight which makes of the recorded a cumulative growth of over 100 Revival, because ‘conscience, as a wise African world one of the strongest com- per cent. man said, is always some form of power’. munity globally, we have a right to a

Africa: Reaffirming our Commitment Edited by Adebayo Olukoshi, Jean Bernard Ouédraogo & Ebrima Sall

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2010, 96 pp Price: Africa 3500 FCFA – Outside Africa: www.africanbookscollective.com Africa: Reaffirming our Commitment examines the economic foundations of our states and the question of the dignity of Africans as human beings. The objective of this book is not to lament or finger-point those who caused Africa’s ills, but rather to think of means and propose strategies that can be used to free ourselves from poverty and oppression, and most importantly, identify the main drivers that could accelerate Africa’s development. This publication proffers ways by which our economy ISBN: 978-2-86978-250-1 and our governments can be put at the service of all Africans. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 34

The Impossible Task of Managing the Euro

currency cannot exist in the ab What should have been done in the 1990s sence of a state. Together, a state was the establishment of a ‘European Samir Amin and its currency are the means monetary snake’; each European state A Third World Forum by which collective capital operates, would remain monetarily sovereign, man- Dakar, Sénégal above and beyond the various compet- aging its economy and currency accord- ing forces of fragmented capitals. The ing to its own opportunities and needs, current perception of a capitalist system all within the limitations of free trade (the controlled by the market and in the ab- rity and taxation regimes that cannot be common market). This monetary snake sence of the state (which in this case, is done away with under the current Euro- would ensure interdependence through reduced to the minimal role of maintain- pean system. fixed (or relatively fixed) currency ex- ing law and order) is not based on any The creation of the Euro was therefore change rates that could be adjusted oc- serious historical understanding of capi- putting the cart before the horse. The casionally based on negotiated tal. Neither is this perception based on any founders themselves have since admitted devaluations and revaluations. scientific theory that shows the ability of this, claiming however, that the idea was to Under this scenario, a longer-term view the market to maintain an optimal balance. force Europe to create a transnational state. of a ‘stiffening serpent’ would be realistic The Euro was created in the absence of a But this miracle did not happen. Towards – perhaps leading up to the adoption of a European state, at a time when the na- the end of the 1990s, I had occasion to ex- common currency. This process would be tion-states were themselves being press my misgivings about this move. My tempered by the slow and progressive stripped of the responsibility to manage expression on the matter (putting the cart convergence of production systems, real capital. The notion of a currency that is before the horse) has since been used by wages and social benefits. In other ‘independent’ of the state is in itself ab- one of the senior officials behind the crea- words, the serpent would have aided – surd. ‘Europe’ does not exist, in the po- tion of the Euro, who had at the time told not hamstrung – the process by means of litical sense. In spite of the naïve illusions me in no uncertain terms that my views a bottom-up convergence. This would of transcending national sovereignty, it were unreasonably pessimistic. At the have required the different countries to is in fact the national governments that time, I stated that such an absurd system agree to common objectives and exercise remain legitimate. The political maturity could only possibly work effectively if the political will to, among other things, con- necessary to accept a Europe born out of general economic climate remained fa- trol financial flows. This goes contrary to a ‘European vote’ still does not exist in vourable. What happened subsequently the absurd current system characterised any of the individual member countries. should therefore not have been a surprise: by deregulated financial integration. One can but only hope for this scenario as soon as a crisis (which initially ap- The current crisis provides the perfect at this point, but it will still take a long time peared to be financial) hit the system, it opportunity to abandon the way on which to arrive at true legitimacy for Europe. became impossible to manage the Euro, and respond effectively and coherently. this illusory currency is managed, and Economically and socially, Europe still replace it with a European monetary ser- does not really exist. The current entity The current crisis is set to persist and pent that conforms to the realistic oppor- composed of twen-tyfive to thirty states even deepen. The effects thereof are var- tunities available to the affected countries. remains deeply unequal in terms of capi- ied and unequal across the different Eu- Greece and Spain could start the process talist development. The oligopolies that ropean countries. By the same token, the by deciding to (i) ‘provisionally’ opt out control the economy of the region are social and political responses across the of the Euro; (ii) devalue their currencies; groups whose ‘nationality’ is dependent working class and the middle class, as well (iii) set in place exchange controls, at least on that of their leading stakeholders. as the political establishment, will vary as far as financial flows are concerned. These groups are predominantly British, from one country to the next. The con- These countries would then be in a strong German, French, and peripherally Dutch, flicts that will arise out of this crisis will be position to negotiate the rescheduling of Swedish, Spanish and Italian. Eastern and impossible to manage in the absence of a their debts, and after audits, to call for the part of southern Europe are connected to real and legitimate European state, pos- cancellation of debts associated with cor- northern and central Europe in the same sessed of a suitable monetary instrument. ruption and speculation (activities in way that Latin America relates to the USA. The responses of Europe’s institutions which foreign oligopolies participated and Under the current conditions, Europe is (CBE included) to the crisis (Greek and enriched themselves!). I am convinced little more than a common market, and is others) are therefore absurd and futile. that this would set a strong precedent. itself part of a global market in the hands The responses can be summed up in one of global financial oligopolies. From this term – austerity across the board. This is Unfortunately, the chances of such an exit perspective, as I have stated before, Eu- very similar to how governments re- from the crisis are slim. The decision to rope is the most globalised of regions. sponded in 1929-1930. And in the same manage the Euro, independent of the This situation, coupled with the impossi- way that those responses worsened the states, and the sacrosanct respect of the bility of a political union, means you have situation in the 1930s, we shall see the ‘law of financial markets’ are not prod- differentiated wages levels, social secu- same results today from Brussels. ucts of some absurd theory. They are de- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 35 signed to keep the oligopolies in control. The crisis will only be overcome when a I have tried my best to be concise in this They are key elements in the construc- radical left dares to take political initiative article, to avoid repeating views I have tion of a European collective, itself de- and build alternative anti-oligarchic for- previously made on the European impasse signed to preclude any challenge to the mations. Europe will either be Left, or not in these works: economic and political power of the be at all, I have stated. The current rally- Capitalism in the Age of Globalization, chap 6, oligopolies. ing cry by Europe leftist forces so far has 1997 been ‘the current Europe is better than In a widely published article entitled no Europe at all’. Breaking the current im- L’hégémonisme des Etats-Unis et l’effacement ‘Open letter by G. Papandréou to A. passe requires the deconstruction of the du projet européen, section II, 2000 Merkel’, the Greek authors of this imagi- current institutions and treaties. In its nary letter make a comparison between Obsolescent Capitalism, chap 6, 2003, original current form, the system will lead to un- Germany’s past and present arrogance. French 2002 precedented chaos. All scenarios are pos- On two occasions in the 20th century, the The Liberal Virus, chapter V, 2003, F 2002 sible, including that which we pretend not German ruling classes have taken a bel- to want to see – the resurgence of the far Beyond US Hegemony, chapter VI, 2006, F 2002. ligerent approach to create a single Euro- right. For the US, the survival of an emas- pean International Symposium on African The World We Wish to See, chap 3, 2008, F 2006 culated Europe, or its complete collapse, Revi entity in conformity with their wishes, will not change much. The idea of a united From Capitalism to Civilization, chapter VI, both times unsuccessfully. Their pursuit and strong Europe that forces the US to 2008, F 2008 of European leadership, ruling over a ‘Mark take note of its interests and opinions is La crise, sortir de la crise du capitalisme ou zone’ seems to be based on a similar over- in the current conditions no more than sortir du capitalisme en crise ?, chapitre I, estimation of Germany’s economy, which wishful thinking. 2008, English translation on course. is in reality relative and fragile.

The Political Imagination of State Reform: Reflections on the Making of Political Community after Apartheid in South Africa

n a recent visit to a government that made possible the transition to a post agency – as a citizen, not a re- apartheid South Africa, it was the fact that Osearcher – I began chatting with Suren Pillay the contending political forces imagined a friendly front desk consultant. After University of Western Cape/ the future of what South African citizen- some general conversation about state of Human Science Research Council ship might look like after apartheid, and the world, she – of Afrikaner descent – South Africa that this imagination was shaped by the confided to me that an Afrikaner savant historical particularity of state formation has predicted the end of the universe in private moments of doubt are silenced and in South Africa, by both its limits and its 2012. This savant also predicts that when that the sinews of public displays of possibilities. We must note that there was Nelson Mandela dies, his body will lie in kragdadigheid are stiffened, force has a long history of violence -colonial vio- state in a glass coffin for seven days. On given way to other more pressing misgiv- lence and legalized violence- that was the the eighth day, she whispered almost ings – about jobs and crime. sharp blade that came along with the dull without sound, ‘the blacks will kill all Terreblanche’s death is being understood compulsion of apartheid’s laws. the whites…’ Before I could wonder aloud as such by most people, rather than part of a systematic erasure of whites. We must note, too, that by 1988, a turning why she was sharing this with me, some- point was reached in the Cold War, as it one who considers himself black, she Gestures of reconciliation such as the dis- played out in Southern Africa. This turning elaborated, ‘then all the Indians…’ Sud- position of Nelson Mandela and other lib- point meant that a space for local initia- denly I was transformed from potential eration leaders, along with the nature of tive was possible, as both the Soviet Un- perpetrator to fellow victim, and under- the political settlement and the accept- ion and the United States were reversing stood why she felt obligated to convey ance of both African and South African their hot proxy war, played out with and this humanitarian insight to me. political identities in post-apartheid soci- through the blood of Africans seeking Despite this oddly revealing anecdote, I ety, played a vital role in ensuring that political independence and the right of believe that twenty years after Nelson these kinds of fears struggle to take root peoples to govern themselves. An ap- Mandela’s release, the pervasive allure of on a mass scale today. Of course, the ges- proach which the Cuban leadership best these genocidal visions have lost their tures of the leadership of the liberation appreciated and supported in its active grip. Talk about a racialized civil war in movements also reflected a pragmatic po- solidarity in Angola at the time. This turn- some circles, brought on again by the re- litical compromise with power: neither side, ing point in the Cold War in Southern cent murder of the white supremacist far it was clear, could militarily defeat the other. Africa also meant that the South African right wing Afrikaner leader Eugene What I want to talk about today is the state -up until then emboldened to go to Terreblanche, was unable to find traction question of political imagination. If there war ‘against terrorists’ by the tacit and in the wider society. The fear that once was, in hindsight, an important element active support of Western powers still CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 36 holding on the Monroe doctrine, began the White government official has be- belongs to all who live in it, black and to see the liberation movements less as a come too visible and accessible a target white". The second epithet was a quote foreign Communist orchestration, and for anti-government action. The need was from Dr. W. M Eiselen, an Afrikaner an- more as a genuinely home-grown African clearly to devise a system under which thropologist, and the then Secretary of political expression of a sovereign desire the Africans appeared to be managing the Department of Bantu Administration for self-determination. their own affairs. This, too, of course, was and Development. Eiselen argued that nothing new. Indirect rule had been care- "All the Bantu have their permanent It was in this context that the questions fully evolved by Lord Lugard for the Brit- homes in the Reserves and their entry into of peace and of justice were framed and ish colonies in Africa; Nigeria and the other areas and into the urban areas is answered, in ways that were heatedly former Gold Coast had been governed this merely of a temporary nature and for eco- debated then, and remain so. But they were way, but the Nationalists had taught their nomic reasons. In other words, they are debates which were always decided, as followers to regard British policy as their admitted as work-seekers, not as settlers". they are now, by the contending political constant and implacable enemy, so that forces in the country exercising their ca- In those contrasting epithets, between the British system of indirect rule cold not pacity to shape the outcome through ar- Eiselen’s vision and that of the Freedom be directly copied1… The Nationalists set gument, persuasion and mass mobilization. Charter, Mandela was not only pitting an to work to evolve a variation. It turned out Today, the means through which this is increasingly powerful African nationalist to be a hybrid of direct and indirect rule. It expressed tends to be juridical, fought political movement against one of the was given the grand name of self-devel- over in a constitutional discourse. We dominant ideologues of the Apartheid opment’. The ‘Native Commissioner’ was might disagree then with Clausewitz’s dic- State at the time. He was also setting out now ‘rechristened’ a Bantu Commissioner, tum that war is politics by other means, the political trajectory of two starkly dif- en vogue with the term ‘Bantu’, which and rather agree with Hannah Arendt who ferent visions of political community and the Nationalists insisted should replace argues that violence marks in fact the end, citizenship in South Africa, and posing the more compromising word ‘Native’...2 the limit, the failure of politics. The South the question of who would ‘belong’ to African transition out of apartheid has Mbeki, therefore, notes two important the nation-state? Who had a ‘right’ to created a new national legal order, but that points. Firstly, the formulation of apart- belong, and on what basis? Faced with legal order was shaped by a political im- heid was not peculiar to South Africa, but the prospect of creeping pincers of the agination that enjoyed and claimed its had a pedigree in colonial practice else- state’s intention to implement indirect rule sovereignty and was shaped by that sov- where in the colonial and African world. across the country, this was a foreboding ereignty. It was a transition that was made Secondly, apartheid had a specific ideo- question to pose. possible by the primacy of the political logical form which had to be reformulated Settler colonialism’s historians argued at rather than the prescripts of the univer- in relation to the specific historical condi- the time that European and Bantu settle- sal. It was also a peaceful transition made tions, taking on the historical burdens and ment of the land south of the Limpopo possible by prioritizing political justice tensions peculiar to settler colonialism in River, the land of South Africa, occurred over what it saw as the potential obstacle South Africa. at the same time. Neither grouping could, of relying on legal and specifically crimi- In an article published in the newspaper based on this view, claim a right to the land nal justice. For the political leadership at Liberation in 1959, Nelson Mandela re- based on first occupancy or indigineity. the time, defining locally what political hearsed his objection to the then draft Settler claims to having the right to the justice would look like was a right to be Promotion of Bantu Self Government land could have the same status as native defended, because it allowed the possi- Bill. He argued: "It will be seen, that the claims. And the fact that settlers now oc- bility to imagine an inclusive future to- African people are asked to pay a high cupied land after a hundred years of wars gether, whilst legal criminal justice price for this so-called ‘self-government’ of conquest meant that the right of might presented a future of victors and van- in the Reserves. Urban Africans -the work- was now turned into what the Israeli state quished. They feared revenge. ers, businessmen, and professional men calls ‘facts on the ground’3. Govan Mbeki, father to former President and women, who are the pride of our peo- In his critique of the empty land thesis, Mbeki, in his 1964 book gives an account ple in the stubborn and victorious march Govan Mbeki, attempted to dispel this of the peasant’s revolt in the 1930s in the towards modernization and progress -are spurious and historically questionable Eastern province of South Africa. The in- to be treated as outcasts, not even ‘set- claim by the historians of the apartheid tellectual and ANC leader, and later tlers’ like Dr. Verwoed"3. state and by the state itself. "Historical Robben Island prisoner, set out the Mandela bannered his article with two arguments that justify the White claim to challenge for the South African state at epithets that set in stark contrast alterna- exclusive rights in 88 per cent of the coun- the turn of the century in these terms: tive visions of political community in try are’ he argued, ‘absurd’. The true The problem was plain: apartheid had to South Africa. The first epithet was the record is that brown and black people were find a new way to administer Africans, opening resolution of the Freedom Char- spread throughout the subcontinent long because the pressure for more rights was ter, a document that had been adopted by before the first Whites arrived. Van growing too strong a challenge…The tra- the Congress of the People in 1955. This Riebeeck found the Nama at the Cape ditional system in South Africa had been event organized by various nationalist, when he landed in Table Bay. Boers found one of direct rule: White government of- trade union and grassroots political move- and fought the KhoiKhoi and Batwa when ficials sat over Chiefs. Everyone knew that ments that represented the diversity of they trekked to Namaqualand – an area the Commissioner was the boss. Yet now, South Africa. It stated that "South Africa which still bears the names of its original CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 37 inhabitants. Xhosa lived on the banks of alist movement. There were those who labour…being part of all these people, and the Buffalo River in 1686. Whites fought argued that South Africa belonged to the in the knowledge that none dare contest the Xhosas in the 1770s on the fringes of black majority and that white settlers in that assertion, I shall claim that I am an the Tsitsikama forest and drove them back South Africa did not have a guaranteed African’… ‘we refuse to accept that our from the Gamtoos to the Fish River in 1778. future there. ‘Black power’ was their slo- Africaness shall be defined by race, col- Zulu tribes once occupied the whole of gan. If there was a question that split the our, gender and historical origins’. Natal.’ Like a lawyer moving towards his anti-apartheid movements in South Africa Besides the speech’s recognition of di- final victorious summing up, Goven then, this was it: what would be the fate versity as unity to be lived in a single Mbeki then concluded decisively, based of the white settlers in a South Africa with- national identity, rather than many frag- on the recalling of the historical ‘facts’ I out apartheid? Where did they belong? mented racial and ethnic identities, there have just described, that "the White If South Africa represents a peaceful tran- was a statement about belonging at the man’s claim to rights of first occupancy sition then, it is the answer to this ques- core of this speech. A reassuring state- are false". But he did something fairly re- tion, perhaps more than any other, that ment. A statement that spoke with equal markable at this point. Rather than claim a swayed the forces of history in one direc- measure to anxieties and fears, but also historical and a historiographical victory tion rather than another. It was an answer to hopes and dreams. A vision that con- which turned historical knowledge into a that was enabled by this radical act of founds the historical universal laws of triumphalist political argument for the pri- political imagination to some extent. And wrong, right and revenge that so often macy of African claims to the land, he sub- that imagination is radical because it de- has turned ‘victims into killers’. That verted and set aside his own conclusion fied a certain political common-sense of makes perpetrators of wrongs scared to by ending with this crucial conclusion: what form justice took at the time in the take their foot off the necks of their vic- "But true or false, they are plainly irrel- world. It transcended the limitations im- tims for fear that the victim will turn on evant. It is the existing distribution of the posed upon it by the past. It also resisted them with the full vengeance of their population that should decide South Af- the prescriptions of universal imperatives might. It took a radical act of sovereign rica’s future -and present." (1984 [1964], where those imperatives ran the risk of political imagination to grasp that so p17). I have found this to be an important producing enemies rather than friends. much turned on fear, and by offering and illustration of a radical moment of the po- After all, those who choose to live side proving their commitment to overlook litical imagination. Firstly, it seeks to set a by side will have to be friends rather than race, to transcend race, the political lead- historical injustice straight -let history get enemies. The process in South Africa was ership of the liberation movement con- its ‘facts’ right. But then it sets aside a able to satisfy the fundamental challenge vinced the parties representing white certain kind of political opportunity that to peace at the time, and was able to stay South Africans that their future was safe. arises from this knowledge -the right to on track through some very trying times This is not to say that we have solved claim the land based on first occupancy. because it was as inclusive as possible. It our problems in South Africa. Every solu- Historical narrative was not to be left to recognized that all belonged and that the tion can create new and unintended con- others to do with as they please, to pro- creation of a single political community sequences. Rising insecurity and anger duce a useable past which suited them. was the goal. Race, ethnicity and history about the slow pace of economic and so- But historical narrative for Mbeki was also defined the answer in the past, but will cial reforms are evident as we grapple with not going to be the straight jacket of the not define it in the future. a state which seems unable to reverse the future. That future would be decided by The result was later eloquently crystal- historical inequalities of apartheid at the an assessment of what the conditions lized in the speech delivered by the then pace we need, at least on the scale re- were, and what was going to be required Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki at the quired to lift the poor out of poverty and to live together in a single political com- adoption of the new constitution of the insecurity in the medium to short term. munity in the future. And it was a future republic of South Africa in 1996. Some 40 The lesson of South Africa, if there is one, that was to be decided upon by the legiti- years after the writing of the Freedom is not simply the one contained in the re- mate leaders of popular movement of the Charter, Mbeki noted that ‘It is a firm as- markable gesture of reconciliation made country. Mandela’s contrasting of Eiselen sertion made by ourselves that South by the majority of victims to their oppres- with the proclamation of the Freedom Africa belongs to all who live in it, black sors, which enabled the creation of a sin- Charter’s declaration according to which and white’. ‘I am formed’ he proclaimed, gle political community. The lessons of South Africa would "Belong to all who ‘of the migrants who left Europe to find a South Africa may still be unfolding. But I live in it, Black and White" also reflected new home on our native land. Whatever would suggest that it is in this unfolding, this argument. their actions, they remain a part of me’. in the contested nature of the answers The ANC eventually pursued a political He went on to say that ‘I am the grand- and questions that remain debated eve- programme which began with the idea that child of the warrior men and women that rywhere in the country, from parliament South Africa was a racially exclusive state, Hintsa and Sekhukhune led, the patriots to street corner, that a vital sovereign but the goal was not to re-racialize the that Cetshwayo and Mphephu took to political imagination displays itself and state through demanding a black battle’… ‘I am the grandchild who lays asserts its right to exist. In these moments, majoritarian future, but rather a de- fresh flowers on the Boer graves at St we are continuing to transform the ‘vic- racialized state with a non-racial future. Helena and the Bahamas…I come of those tim’ of apartheid into the active democratic That is to not replace a white minority who were transported from India and citizen of a post apartheid South Africa with a black majority. This was not a view China whose being resided in the fact, still very much in the making. shared by all in the anti-apartheid nation- solely, that they were to provide physical CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 38

Notes 2.. Mandela, N (1990) The Struggle is my Life, have to accept these as ‘facts on the ground’. 1. Mbeki [1964] (1984), pp. 37-38. Govan New York: Pathfinder Press, p. 125, Eiselen These ‘facts on the ground’ also refer to Mbeki was a founder member of the armed quoted in Mandela (1990, p122). the status of archaeological artifacts and the cultural and natioanal identity given to wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe 3. The expansion of settlements in Palestinean these sites. See Nadia Abu El Haj (2001) (MK), arrested and sentenced in 1964 along territories, which have proliferated rapidly, ‘Facts on the Ground: Archaeological with Mandela, to life imprisonment. He was establishes, according to some, the Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in among the first of the senior ANC political ‘irreversibility’ of Israel’s occupation of land Israeli Society, Chicago:University of leaders released, from the Robben Island in the pre-1967 borders. A political Chicago Press. penitentiary in 1989. settlement, some Israeli’s argue, would thus

A Study of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria ISBN: 978-2-86978-316-4 This report on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria, is part of a broader project on Modelling Success: Governance and Institution-building in West Africa, being implemented by the Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP), a community of institutions dedicated to collaborative policy-oriented research and capacity-building in North America, Europe and West Africa. The Consortium is jointly coordinated by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Programme of African Studies (PAS), Northwestern University, USA. The project focuses on the identification of concrete strategies to advance institutional performance in Africa through an in-depth analysis of institutions which are key to ensuring that governments and public officials act in the public interest. The report is based on a study of the process and challenges of institution-building for democratic governance in INEC, the body constitutionally empowered to organize, undertake and supervise all elections and electoral processes Nigeria, with a mandate to ensure transparency and accountability. This study is a valuable contribution to both knowledge and policy, as it critically examines the constitution, operations, performance, successes and challenges of the electoral body, taking into cognizance its centrality and strategic importance to the evolution of good governance, social cohesion and political stability in the country.

A Study of Ghana’s Electoral Commission ISBN: 978-2-86978-315-7 This report on the Independent Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is part of a broader project on Modelling Success: Governance and Institution-building in West Africa, being implemented by the Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP), a community of institutions dedicated to collaborative policy-oriented research and capacity- building in North America, Europe and West Africa. The Consortium is coordinated by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) with initial collaboration of the Programme of African Studies (PAS), Northwestern University, USA. The project focuses on the identification of concrete strategies to advance institutional performance in Africa through an in-depth analysis of institutions which are key to ensuring that governments and public officials act in the public interest. Since the beginning of the post-1990 democratic reforms, studies that assessed governance institutions in Africa, and Ghana in particular, revealed poor performance due to weak systems and lack of credibility. In addition, the discourse on governance institutions revealed a multiplicity of non-performing and under-performing institutions, which created a deficit in knowledge about the abilities of several other national and regional institutions. The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is one such institution, as it was not given any staid attention in the study of governance institutions in the country. Ironically however, the EC which evolved as part of the transfer of the superstructure of British colonial rule, with limited responsibility and jurisdiction, has grown over the years to enjoy the confidence and cooperation of the Ghanaian elite. Its high level of competence, efficiency and the ability to withstand negative influences and manipulations, have won it wide acknowledgement as an independent body with the capacity to hold free, fair and credible elections. This report demonstrates that there are governance institutions in Africa that perform creditably well. It is therefore a very important report that all individuals and institutions committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, and credible elections and electoral processes in Africa will find very useful. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 39

Reports

Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibility of Academics and Researchers in Africa

Ibrahim Oanda Ogachi Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

he conference on ‘Academic Freedom and the Social During the opening session, Nouria Remaoun and Ebrima Sall Responsibility of Academics and Researchers in Africa: both outlined the key issues for discussion with regard to the What are the New Challenges?’ was held in Oran, Algeria challenges facing academic freedom and institutional autonomy T th th between the 9 and 11 March 2010. The conference was jointly in Africa, 20 years after the Kampala Declaration. The issues hosted by CODESRIA, Dakar and CRASC, Algeria. The main they raised focused on the need to reconceptualise academic objective of the conference was to reflect on developments in freedom, from the perspective of academics, to the responsibili- academic and research activities in Africa as well as the emerging ties they have to their students and communities. The need to challenges that academics and researchers continue to face, 20 refocus has been necessitated by the increasing number of pri- years after the ‘Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom vate universities on the continent and the privatisation of pub- and the Social Responsibility of Scholars and Academics in lic universities, the deepening of entrepreneurial cultures in Africa.’ The background to the Oran conference was the public universities, the application of GATS to higher educa- recognition of the tremendous changes and transformations tion provision on the continent which might end up privileging that have taken place in higher education institutions in Africa private universities over public ones, especially in the context since the 1990 Kampala Declaration, and which transformations of some GATS provisions which suggest that public funding have occasioned new challenges to the academic community in should be spread across a broader set of domestic and foreign Africa. These transformations include global-level processes providers. The issue of foreign presence was also raised as it that impose new requirements to which universities have to implies that governments can decrease public funding for higher respond by diversifying the courses they offer. Higher education education, thereby jeopardising domestic publicly funded in- in Africa has thus increasingly taken an international dimension stitutions. These issues present new challenges to the realisa- more than ever before and, in the process, has changed the tion of academic freedom in higher education institutions in contexts of knowledge production and the rights of academics Africa. and researchers. The internationalisation and revolutionisation In his introductory remarks, Ebrima Sall, the Executive Secretary of information and communication technologies have further of CODESRIA outlined the council’s engagement with issues of complicated the issue of violations and standards, insofar as academic freedom in Africa. He noted that an Academic Free- they provide opportunities of training and education services dom and Human Rights Programme had been established in at a more global level, thus rendering the concept of institutional CODESRIA since the early 1990s. The various initiatives devel- autonomy relative. The Oran conference therefore took oped around this programme have placed it at the forefront of cognisance of these transformations and made reflections on the fights for the defence of academic freedom and the social the road travelled in the area of academic freedom and social responsibility of African academics and researchers. The start- responsibility of academics in African universities. ing point of this programme was the adoption, in November The proceedings were organized into ten working sessions, 1990, of the Kampala Declaration which states, among others, spread over the three days of the conference. Besides the open- that “Every African intellectual has the right to pursue intellec- ing and closing sessions (which were devoted to introductory tual activity, including teaching, research and dissemination of and opening, and closing remarks by Nouria Remaoun, Direc- research results, without any hindrance, and subject only to tor of CRASC, and Ebrima Sall, Executive Secretary of universally recognised principles of scientific enquiry along with CODESRIA), the other eight sessions focused on paper pres- high ethical and professional standards”. Since the Kampala entations organised around themes, followed by reflections from Declaration, CODESRIA has developed a large number of ac- discussants and general discussions. The themes around which tivities, including: support to research, the publication of re- working sessions were organised are: Theoretical and Concep- search results and organisation of regular conferences in African tual Issues, Theories and Concepts, Gender and Ethics, Aca- countries, to discuss and review the progress and constraints demic Freedom and ICT, Global and Country Perspectives, related to the issues of academic freedom in African universi- Academic Staff Unions and Academic Freedom. Each paper pres- ties. Besides, these conferences provided opportunities to re- entation was preceded by a keynote address that conceptual- view the reforms undertaken by African higher education and ised academic freedom and social responsibility within the research institutions. context of the identified theme. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 40

The January 2011 South Sudan Self-determination Referendum and Possible Consequences for Sudan and the Region Report of a CODESRIA Mission to Khartoum

Sam Moyo, Mahmood Mamdani & Ebrima Sall President Former President Executive Secretary

udan is in the throes of a political crisis, with one of Af of the visit was to explore a possible agenda for a program of rica’s longest civil wars (between the north and the activities that would help broaden and deepen an African aca- Ssouth), military coups and Islamist regimes, the conflict in demic engagement with the ongoing political process in Sudan. Darfur, tensions in the Nuba Mountains and other kinds of po- Such an engagement should also help strengthen the presence litical problems. On top of all this, the Sudanese President has of Sudanese academics in the African research community and been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). the engagement of the African research community with the realities of Sudan. In 2005, the international community helped in getting the main rival forces in the decades old North-South civil war to sign a Context Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that led to the estab- The CODESRIA visit was undertaken with two objectives in lishment of a Government of National Unity (the Government of mind. Sudan, GoS) and a Government of South Sudan (GoSS). The CPA thus ushered in a six-year transition period during which The strategic objective was to strengthen ties with the Suda- the parties to the Agreement are supposed to work toawrds nese social science community. CODESRIA recently organized ‘making unity attractive’, so that the Sudanese people would a conference on higher education at University of Juba. On want to continue to live together, hopefully in what would be a their part, individual Sudanese academics have been active in united, secular, and democratic state. The transition period CODESRIA from its founding in the early 70s. In the main, should end with a referendum in which the people of South however, Sudan has been a peripheral country in the develop- Sudan will say whether they want independence or to stay within ment of CODESRIA’s activities on the African continent. Sudan. Non-African foundations and universities, which have in the By all indications and assessments, unity does not seem to be past set up several regional networks involving leading Suda- more attractive now than it was in 2005 when the CPA was being nese universities, have been far more active than CODESRIA in signed. If current developments run their course, then the most shaping the direction of social science research in Sudan. An likely outcome of the January 2011 referendum will be inde- initiative by the Volkswagen Foundation has networked research- pendence of the South. ers from three Sudanese universities [Ahfad, Juba and Khar- toum], and those from universities of Addis Ababa, Nairobi and The independence of South Sudan will probably be the most Moi with researchers at the University of Breiman in Germany. important political development in Africa since the end of Apart- Christian Michelson Institute has organized the Macro-Micro heid. It would be the second case of a break up of an African Project, which aims to monitor the Comprehensive Peace Agree- country after independence (the first being Somalia). ment (CPA) that was signed in 2005, which marked the end of a Dire expectations abound. Most expect Africa’s first NGO-run decades old war between the Sudanese state and the Sudanese state, or state run by consultants in the South and the continu- Peoples Liberation Movement ( SPLM), led by the late John ation of the North-South war, except that now it will be between Garang. Other initiatives include the University for Peace, based two sovereign states, and thus have the potential of drawing in in Costa Rica, and its Addis Ababa affiliate, and the North- other states on either side. South Institute, Ottawa. This situation has been widely anticipated by, among others, The immediate aim of the visit flowed from our understanding of International NGOs, the African Union, regional and foreign the ongoing political process in Sudan. This was clearly stated states, even Africanist intellectuals in the West. The only con- in the team’s preparatory memo, circulated to those we hoped to stituency that had yet to provide any input, let alone leader- meet during the visit. ship, is that of African intellectuals. The CODESRIA team held meetings with Sudanese researchers This is the intellectual void that CODESRIA has begun to fill at Khartoum University, Ahfad University for Women, Juba since August 2009, starting with a planning trip to Khartoum. A University, as well as meetings with non-university intellectu- three-person CODESRIA team visited Khartoum from August als. The idea was to keep the numbers at each meeting small 29-31 and held informal meetings with Sudanese researchers enough to all present an opportunity to participate fully in the based in key universities and research institutions. The team discussion. We tried to focus the discussion on the following comprised Sam Moyo (President), Ebrima Sall (Executive Secre- issues: tary) and Mahmood Mamdani (Past President). The objective CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 41

1. Is the initiative to broaden and deepen an African intellectual en- • Possible anti-dotes to an ongoing militarization, the spread of gagement with the political process in Sudan at this particular time small arms and the proliferation of militias. worthy and feasible? If yes, 3. The CPA and the Census 2. What are the key issues around which to organize this engage- ment? • A critical analysis of the CPA, in both its formulation and implementation 3. Who should be the key participants and audiences in such a pro- gram? • The census and the debate surrounding it.

4. What is the range of activities (multi-topic conferences, single- • Analyzing the role of the International Community, particu- topic workshops, a lecture series, focused research groups, a news- larly the Big Powers and Regional States. letter and so on) that will best promote such an engagement? 4. Exploring the Middle Ground between Unity and Separation 5. Where should these activities be organized? In one or multiple • Discussing a range of outcomes beyond unity and separation: locations? In Sudan or outside? In either case, in which locations e.g., a confederation and institutions? • Are there alternatives to a referendum? A Synopsis of the Discussion • There was a remarkable identity of views among those we met Preparing for separation in both the North and the South on the main features of the present situation. Everyone seemed o How to avoid political fragmentation [thus Somalization] to agree that the situation is highly polarized and polarizing. and promote peaceful development Most obviously, there seem to be two governments, rather than o Promoting a new type of cooperation between the North a single government of national unity: there is the central gov- and the South ernment [GoS] which functions as more of a government of • A focus on border communities – such as Nuba Mountains, North Sudan, and then there is the Government of South Sudan. Blue Mountain, and possibly Darfur – which are likely to bear Both ruling parties, the National Congress Party (NCP) in the the direct and immediate consequences of separation. North and the SPLM in the South, seem to be driven by worst case scenarios. Both seem to be preparing for cessation as the 5. The Role of African Outsiders most likely outcome if present trends continue. There is a wide- • Bringing to bear lessons of the African experience, of planned spread fear that cessation may not be organized and smooth, partitions [Ethiopia/Eritrea], unplanned partitions [Somalia], but a violent divorce. failed partitions [Biafra/Nigeria], and other outcomes of deep The politics of identity is highly polarized. One side feels that internal crisis [South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda and so on.] Africa has been appropriated by some and fears exclusion as ‘Arabs’. The other side fears that the demand for unity con- Participants ceals the ambitions of a thinly disguised ‘civilizing mission’ of a Academics at the University of Juba pointed out that whereas largely unreformed Northern establishment. The SPLM leader- the debate in Sudan was strongly political, the intellectual de- ship we met, most often asked: true, cessation will bring disas- bate was weak. SPLM intellectuals argued that it is not always ter, but can any disaster be worse than all the disasters resulting easy to separate the intellectual from the politician, especially from one single Sudan? The few who were hopeful in this con- where the struggle is nationalist. Participants at the Ahfad dis- text argued that it is time to re-imagine the nation. The unity cussion emphasized that a useful distinction would be one be- game, they said, is almost over and there is need to think of tween different kinds of intellectuals: professional intellectuals creative alternatives, such as a loose confederation. in the academia vs those in politics, as opposed to intermediate intellectuals in civil society and religious organizations. They Most admitted that the fears linked to cessation are not being emphasized the need to focus on academics when it came to discussed openly. Many intellectuals, whether academics or research-related activities, but the entire range of intellectuals politicians, expressed the view that in the absence of any win- when it came to a discussion of the immediate political process win scenario, with the middle ground rapidly shrinking, there is in Sudan. urgent need for the participation of a third party that is African and is seen to have an impartial, academic, point of view. The Juba Workshop (17-18 May 2010) Issues A consensus emerged over the two days of discussions that the CODESRIA August 2009 mission to Khartoum held with the 1. Politics and Culture universities of Khartoum, Juba and Ahfad that the discussion • The ongoing debate on identities in Sudan: Arab and African should begin in the South (Juba) and then be extended to the north (Khartoum). The impact of meetings in the South would • The historical relationship of politics to culture, and of the be high even if the logistics may be more difficult. The SPLM state to cultural identities: thus a critical analysis of assimila- leadership promised to help out with organizing logistics in the tion (civilizational projects), segregation and the acceptance of South. cultural differences. On 17-18 May 2010, CODESRIA, in collaboration with the Uni- 2. Political Violence versities of Juba and Khartoum, and Ahfad University for • Lessons of the war in the South: from independence on. Women, Sudan, therefore held an international symposium on the Political Process in Sudan with a particular focus on the • Lessons of different phases in the conflict in Darfur: 1987-89, 2011 Referandum over the future of South Sudan. 1995, 2003 on. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 42

The symposium brought together the leadership and several The discussions focused on four themes: senior scholars from the three Sudanese universities that co- i) the CPA, how it has worked out, difficulties encountered, etc organised it with CODESRIA, including the President of Ahfad ii) African experiences in matters of unity and separation, and in University, an Advisor to the Vice Chancellor and Professor at finding original solutions that are their own making and that work Khartoum University, the Dean of the School of Social Sciences for the people directly concerned, such as the South African at Khartoum University, the Current President, a former Presi- solution to and handling of the legacy of Apartheid; dent, the current Executive Secretary, and the Head of Research iii) The 2011 Referendum, and post-referendum issues of CODESRIA, the Minister of Higher Education and representa- iv) An agenda for further research, dialogue and action. tives of the Office of the Vice President, three representatives of Note the African Union High Level Panel on Sudan led by the former See Reim Atabani’s report on the CODESRIA-University of President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki (the Mbeki Commis- Khartoum-University of Juba-Ahfad University for Women sion), the Resident representative of the World bank in Juba Symposium held in Juba on 17-18 May 2010 in this issue. and three World Bank Consultants, representatives of the east Africa offices of IDRC and OSIEA, and several other scholars and senior officials from the GoS and GOSS.

The Political Process in Sudan and the 2011 Referendum Report on the Symposium organized by CODESRIA in collaboration with the University of Juba, the University of Khartoum and Ahfad University for Women on 17 – 18 May 2010 in Juba, Sudan

Reim Atabani Khartoum, Sudan

his symposium was the outcome of discussions that litical processes, and these are critical to peaceful conduction took place during a CODESRIA executive-level mission of the referendum and regional stability. Tto Sudan in August 2009. After assessing the country’s In this spirit, CODESRIA’s Sudan initiative hopes to contain political situation, meeting with scholars and considering the any further vulnerability by moderating the impact of the likely potential contributions of the African social science research secession of the South, which might divide Africa’s largest coun- community, CODESRIA’s leadership organised the symposium try. Voices in the African academic community should share to encourage open dialogue on the current political situation in relevant experiences and contribute intellectual insight to de- Sudan, the 2011 referendum on self-determination in the South, bates on the secession since Sudan’s future has implications and the potential role of the academia in Sudan’s policy-making for the African continent as a whole. Such engagement can go a and political processes. Scholars, researchers, government offi- long way to inform and mitigate discussions – both within Su- cials, members of the international community and legal practi- dan and abroad – on the country’s future prospects and serve tioners gathered for what turned out to be a successful, as a model in the future. stimulating and productive discussion, with the intention to hold a workshop in Khartoum thereafter. Since the role of the intellectual has been marginalised from the public sphere in many African states, CODESRIA recognises its This symposium took place at a critical moment in Sudan’s his- responsibility to amplify their voices at the same time as it con- tory, between the national elections conducted in April this year tributes an impartial, academic view to the discussion on self- and the Southern Sudan referendum on self-determination determination in Sudan. CODESRIA, however, firmly believes scheduled for January 2011. The referendum on self-determina- that Sudan’s future must be decided by the Sudanese them- tion was included as a provision of the Comprehensive Peace selves, and thus plans to play a supportive role in the activities Agreement (CPA), a document signed in 2005 between the they prioritise. The Sudanese are best served by their taking full North’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the South’s ownership of the process, avoiding undue interference from Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The CPA ended external groups and privatising the political process where found Sudan’s civil war with the promise of political transformation, counter-productive. which was meant to take place over an interim period that will end in 2011, the same year of the historic referendum. Opening Session: CODESRIA and University Many in the international community have predicted further Representatives instability in Sudan or even war after the referendum, often po- The purpose of this symposium was to gather Sudanese schol- larising the narrative on political processes in Sudan. Further- ars and leaders to discuss the current political situation of their more, for the past several years, the Darfur conflict has attracted country, and its future, benefitting from the support and contri- the attention and energy of stakeholders, both inside and out- butions of their African peers. It was a significant event, con- side of Sudan, at the expense of the North-South issue. More sidering the historic absence of African scholars from positive and productive support is required for the current po- policy-making and political processes all round the continent. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 43

Despite this, there was a notable absence of political leadership, The right to choose independence is secured as a result of both particularly in the North. Nevertheless, the discussion was pro- internal and external factors, though one may have greater ductive and their participation is anticipated in upcoming events. influence than the other; in Eritrea, the internal military victory University representatives at the symposium, Professor Gassim was most significant, but where there was no victory in South Badri (President of Ahfad University), Professor Al Tayib Zain Sudan, pressure from America after September 11th and the fear Alabdin (Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor of Khartoum Univer- of invasion (Iraq’s fate) may have solidified the inclusion of sity) and Dr. Hamad Hawi Omer of Juba University, commended self-determination in the CPA. Looking ahead, there is an urgent CODESRIA having tafor taking the initiative to hold the sympo- need to develop state capacity in South Sudan and to deal with sium and noted that Sudan’s relations with CODESRIA have political violence, which is possible no matter the outcome. To declined since a period of joint activities that took place during deal with political violence, the challenge is to focus internally, the 1980s. CODESRIA, according to its President, Professor rethinking the state in terms of what makes a citizen while at the Sam Moyo and Executive Secretary, Dr Ebrima Sall, hopes to same time allowing for non-politicised cultural diversity. develop a stronger partnership with Sudanese scholars. They Discussion of Keynote Lecture will be given space to take ownership of the symposium and, in the medium and long term, CODESRIA will support their contri- Following the keynote lecture, participants debated whether butions to a political solution for the 2011 referendum and its internal or external factors had more influence towards the sign- aftermath that is fair, just and equitable to all Sudanese. ing of the CPA. Several believed that to take external events as a determining factor in the settlement for self-determination ne- Keynote Address glected internal dynamics of both the Sudanese regime and the The Guest Speaker, Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, Minister of Higher region. Others noted that if drivers of the political process were Education and Scientific Research, explained that two current external, this was as a result of the internal initiative failing. The trends in the Sudanese academia are stifling the advancement discussion then questioned the role of Arabisation and of higher education and research. First, social science research Islamisation on national policy. Participants also noted that the has no influence on public policy in Sudan. The knowledge strategy of both the NCP and the SPLM was to isolate the other. available in universities is not being utilised by either govern- Sudan’s real problem, however, has long been a lack of legitimi- ment officials or the public, in part because there is no guiding sation in the political process and a unilateral tendency in principle of interaction between them – aptly illustrated by the governance.These problems are evidence of how democracy absence of policy makers at this academic symposium despite has been unsuccessful as a concept and an instrument of change the high stakes of their decisions related to the referendum. The in Sudan. A lack of imagination, however, is less present in the second trend is that universities not only fail to produce new government than it is in the opposition, which has sometimes knowledge and encourage progress, but they refuse both. Su- abdicated its responsibilities to the project of political transfor- dan should therefore open its doors to CODESRIA to help it mation. Looking ahead to independence, what issues arise out support research activities and publicise, beyond Sudan’s bor- of identity? In order to incorporate marginalised identities and ders, the discussions going on domestically. Africa should un- accomodate pluralism, there must be a re-think on the role of the derstand what is happening in Sudan. Dr. Nyaba promised to state in African countries towards being a real democratic de- draft a document in support of CODESRIA’s initiative in Sudan velopmental state. while he noted the pan-Africanism and pan-Arabism conflict in The Comprehensive Peace Agreement: Origins, Key Sudan, which further complicate the relationship between the Components, Implementation production of knowledge and national policy. Certain national issues, however, are obvious and so do not require research – The discussion on the CPA was introduced by Professors considering the dangerous times, leaders and intellectuals sim- Hassan Ali Al Haj and John Gai Yoh. The panelists presented ply need to act fast. different narratives of CPA negotiations and implementation, but agreed that the interim period has been compromised by Keynote Lecture: Professor Mahmood Mamdani deep mistrust and partisan polarisation from both signatories of Regardless of whether the southern Sudanese choose unity or the CPA. Looking back at negotiations, the process and political separation, there are two reasons the 2011 referendum is a historic context had a determining influence on the substance of the moment: the vote will usher in a new political order, and it is a CPA. Influencing factors include both internal and external power rare and historic opportunity for self-determination, which comes dynamics and conflicting expectations of the interim period – once in several generations at a great cost of political violence. factors which have similarly challenged CPA implementation While CODESRIA supports African unity, it bears in mind that over the past five years. Regardless, the CPA probably could unity does not always develop in a linear, top-down fashion, not have solved the historic problems arising from state since political unity can only be the outcome of political struggle. development in Sudan, key among them being marginalisation, In fact, unity may transpire not only from force – a legacy of with its usual possibility of leading to separation. In fact, imperialism – but also from freedom. The independence of one considering the two parties’ differing interpretations of CPA territory from another offers new possibilities for forging more provisions and the challenge of implementing the agreement, positive bilateral relations between the predecessor and secession was always possible. In order to address the remaining successor states. Regarding the political process that leads to ten critical post-referendum issues in a productive, timely independence, the sovereignty of a state and the self- manner, it is vital for the parties to confront the political determination of a people do not have to be contradictory where environment in Sudan, determine the role of the international sovereignty is won through self-determination. This is the community, and agree on the functions and tasks of the relevant example of Eritrea and will potentially hold true in south Sudan. CPA-mandated government commissions. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 44

Discussion on the CPA society as well. Based on Kenya’s experience, Sudan should Discussion about the CPA analysed implementation as a measure consider very seriously ethnic-based issues, particularly internal of the interim government’s success and considered its divisions, following secession. Once the outsider leaves, how implications on national unity. Most agreed that unity has been will the dynamics of ethnicity work out in a multiparty system? undermined by partisan interests, profound mistrust and differing The case of Ethiopia and Eritrea proves the merits, even the interpretations of the CPA. The CPA was variably described as necessity, of constructing a special relationship between a new a conversion of ideas into action for the SPLM and as a roadmap state and its former territory to support mutually beneficial for democratic transformation, with the question being whether partnerships and regional stability. the possibility ever existed for either party to fully implement the CPA. Reasons why this might not have been possible include Roundtable Discussion on the 2011 Referendum and the parties’ respective political strategies, level of commitment, Post-Referendum Issues and the availability of resources. The NCP and the SPLM have Professor Al Tayib Zain Alabdin, Martinson Oturomoi, Professor maintained a pragmatic, if not opportunistic, relationship during Hamad Hawi, Liz Gaere, and Abdul Mohamed led the roundtable the interim period that in the end fell short of encouraging discussion. Since all indications are that unity has missed its cooperation in ways that would bolster unity. Separate chance, the participants agreed that it is more realistic to discuss government entities have developed in the north and south post-referendum arrangements than unity, including how to that will continue to operate separately after self-determination. support an amicable separation between north and south. A When assessing the success of the past five years, however, it positive relationship between the two regions is a high priority, is important to keep context in mind: namely, the economic and meaning Sudan’s current status quo must change. Both parties financial factor in CPA negotiations, the pressure on parties to are responsible for the weakened possibility of unity, with the sign, and to what extent the agreement did or did not represent remaining post-referendum issues highlighting how they have each side’s strategic interests. One consequence of the interim operated parallel policies over the interim period. Despite this period is that, although the CPA provided for national and despite the complexity of post-referendum issues, it is still reconciliation, it was not realised, the failure of which will be felt possible – in fact, necessary – for the parties to reach a framework in the months preceding the referendum. agreement that will anchor negotiations by outlining principles of cooperation. Beyond this, there is also a need to discuss the African Experiences most pressing issues in Sudan, namely governance and Panelists comprising Dr. Paschal Mihyo, Professor Chris inclusiveness, which will not be resolved by secession. It was Landsberg, Carlos Cardoso, Cheikh Tidiane Ben Amar Kane, advised that these negotiations be done exclusively by the Njeri Karuru and Abdul Mohamed imparted African experiences Sudanese themselves, without consultants. Leading up to the of self-determination and secession, offering lessons that could referendum, there is also a responsibility for the parties to create benefit Sudan as it seeks a political solution to the possibilities an enabling environment, meaning security, access to media created by self-determination. Chief among these lessons were and citizen education. Ultimately, preparation for the referendum the importance of creating a developmental state in Sudan, being bodes well for either unity or secession as it leads to capacity- inclusive of a diversity of political and ethnic groups in both the building in the south. north and south, and supporting the challenge of coexistence after secession by seeking common values and constructing a Discussion: 2011 Referendum special bilateral relationship. In Angola’s Cabinda area, the Discussion of the referendum expanded on the idea of how to question of self-determination shows how calls for secession make secession – rather than unity – attractive, further stressing emerge from unmet demands for social justice, wealth the urgent need for a political framework agreement for distribution, and social and economic development. This negotiating post-referendum issues. Participants wondered suggests that a developmental state must be on the agenda for whether unity ever could have been made attractive, and noted the south. Furthermore, such political issues should be resolved that there are northern separatists in Sudan as well as southern by negotiations, redistribution, and inclusiveness. Zanzibar and separatists. For discussing post-referendum issues, negotiators Tanzania illustrate a union that worked as a result of policy- from the north and south need one general guiding principle – based negotiations, economic partnership, capacity possibly integration – which if implemented would augur well development, and policy-making that enabled long-term for both the short and long term. The point of an amicable divorce cooperation and coexistence. The union succeeded in no small now is to create enough mutual economic and other cooperation part because capacity building was taken seriously by the and space for positive bilateral relations that unity will be an government of Zanzibar, the resulting policies of which shifted option in the future. There is a question, however, of whether it negotiations away from speculation and strengthened overall is viable to achieve under separation what could not be achieved stability. South Africa demonstrates that where there exists a under unity? To explore that possibility, stakeholders should be racial dynamic of oppression, this must inform an equitable and determined enough to find an authentic solution to the unique just political agreement for it to be sustainable. Furthermore, the situation in Sudan. legitimacy of a new political order must come not only from fairness, but also from broad participation of political parties Moving Forward: The Engagement of CODESRIA/ from across the spectrum. The lesson of Senegal is that religion African Intellectuals with the Political Process in Sudan can play a role in building bridges based on common values. Nureldin Satti chaired a discussion among the participating Coexistence will continue to be a problem in Sudan even if the African scholars about their potential role in Sudan. They south secedes. For this reason Sudan’s regions must focus on reflected on the fact that a disconnect has developed between common interests and values - not only in politics but in civil the intellectual and political class in African societies, limiting CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 45

the role of academics in conflict resolution and socioeconomic African scholars in political processes. The political dialogue development. A lack of resources and an absence of democratic was itself significant for bringing together northerners and debate also prevent scholars from infusing ideas into decision- southerners and also including their African peers. Participants making processes. Should academics broaden their public at times presented conflicting narratives of the political processes participation, however, they must not serve simply as policy and differing opinions on how to move ahead, but the forum advisers; scholars, in their public engagement, must also be accommodated all voices through honest, open debate that critics. To develop this capacity, CODESRIA is engaging Sudan ultimately enriched the understanding of the issue. Panelists through various academic and public partnerships, which in the reflected on the interim period as a means of understanding near future may include, but are not limited to, public forums, Sudan’s present situation, and shared experiences from other seminars, research projects, a possible referendum monitoring African states to offer lessons for Sudan’s political leadership mechanism, training, conferences and public debates. The aim and further situate the country’s politics. will be to support policy-making on the referendum process, The discussions produced several themes and proposals that develop the capacity of Sudanese universities, facilitate were forward-thinking even as they reflected on the past. collaboration between scholars from both the north and the Analysis of CPA implementation highlighted the threat of South, and foster an environment for academics and civil society partisan polarisation on Sudanese politics, which risks to engage in dialogue without discrimination. Throughout this compromising the opportunities presented by secession to forge process, African scholars should understand that they should new, positive bilateral relations between the north and the south approach Sudan not with answers, but with experiences. based on mutual economic and other interests. Participants Sudanese scholars will help establish priorities as the partnership stressed that a principal aim of the coming year must be to moves forward since any solutions to the issues discussed will emerge from the practice of self-determination with a constructive have to be reflective of the Sudanese themselves. Ultimately, relationship between the north and south. Likewise, the project broader change in Sudan must come through social, economic of unity, broadly defined, should continue after the referendum. and cultural engagement; it will not happen through politics only. Some noted the trend of the region toward integration, recommending this principle as a keystone of negotiations. Conclusion Participants also considered the importance of political The Political Process in Sudan and the 2011 Referendum was a legitimisation, inclusiveness, ownership and careful preparation symposium intended to facilitate engagement between the for the referendum in the months ahead. Most participants agreed Sudanese academic community and policy makers, create space on the need for more popular consultation among civil society for open discussion of the referendum and its relevant issues, and the resolution of contentious issues (i.e. border demarcation) connect African and Sudanese scholars, and renew CODESRIA’s prior to voting. A recurring theme in the discussions was the relations with the Sudanese social science community. The event behaviour of the political leadership over the past five years, was successful in every of its initative, indicating a promising reflecting the reality that the NCP and the SPLM have a monopoly future of CODESRIA’s engagement with Sudan. over the political processes and, thus, the future of Sudan. The forum was notable for discussing and potentially A final idea that arose from the dialogue is that outside experience contributing to policy-making on a current, polarising political cannot be a substitute for the shared vision Sudanese develop issue, namely the southern referendum on self-determination in for themselves.The Sudanese are best served by articulating Sudan. The academic contributions balanced the referendum and taking ownership of their particular concept of a post- conversation and guided it towards a broad analysis that referendum Sudan. The international community is best contextualised it and its implications for Sudanese in particular, positioned to help with the details once a framework has been and Africans in general. The conversations were rich in reflection developed. Ultimately, the Sudanese should lead the process of and the wisdom of experiences that have the ability to serve making decisions since it is the Sudanese who will live with Sudan in the near future, illustrating the value of involving their outcome.

Speaking Truth to Power: Selected Pan-African Postcards Compiled by Ama Biney & Adebayo Olukoshi

This book is a selection of the Pan-African Postcards of the late Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, written between 2003 and 2009, which clearly demonstrates his ability to express complex ideas in an engaging manner. The Pan-African philosophy on diverse but interesting themes presented in this book offers a legacy of his political, social and cultural thought. Represented here are his fundamental respect for the capabilities, potential and contribution of women in transforming Africa; penetrating truths directed at African politicians and their conduct; and deliberations on the institutional progress towards African union. He reflects on culture and emphasises the communalities of African people. Also represented are his denunciation of international financial institutions, the G8 and NGOs in Africa, with incisive analysis of imperialism’s manifestations and impact on the lives of African people, and his passion for eliminating poverty in Africa… CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 46

Second Nyerere Intellectual Festival: Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African Studies

Bernard Mumpasi Lututala Deputy Executive Secretary, CODESRIA

ODESRIA supports the creation and operation of pro CODESRIA played an active role in the festival by organising fessorial chairs in Pan-African studies within the frame the Round-table on “The Role of CODESRIA in the Creation of Cwork of its mission of facilitating research in social sci- a Pan-African Intellectual Community”. This session was ences in Africa. Two chairs have been benefitting from this sup- coordinated by Sam Moyo, President of CODESRIA, ports to date: the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere chair in Pan-African Zenebeworke Tadesse, and Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba both studies at the University of Dar-es-Salam, held by Prof. Issa former presidents of CODESRIA, F.E. Senkoro, member of the Shivji as the recipient, and the Kwame Nkrumah chair at the Executive Committee, and Bernard Mumpasi Lututala, current University of Ghana under by Prof. Koffi Anyidoho, a writer, Deputy Executive Secretary of CODESRIA. The need to produce poet and member of the CODESRIA Executive Committee. Other knowledge that is useful to Africa and for the mobilisation of chairs are under consideration at different universities on the African intellectuals around the challenges of Africa today were continent. highlighted throughout the presentations and debates. The The first intellectual festival week was conducted in September conclusion was that CODESRIA has a major role to play in 2008 under the auspices of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Chair. championing multidisciplinary research that transcends This year’s edition ran between 12 and 15 April 2010 under the language, gender, and region. theme: “The Arusha Declaration.” This Declaration, made by The following activities which took place during the festival are President Nyerere in February 1967, was meant to define worth highlighting: Tanzania’s vision for development. It advocated socialism as • the most suitable system for the wellbeing of all citizens and for Samia Nkrumah, daughter of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, on the theme “Reflections on the Pan-African vision of Dr Kwame Nkrumah”; the liberation of Africa from imperialism, domination and exploitation. The Arusha Declaration posits that the basis of • Professor Utsa Patnaik of the Centre for Economic Studies development is agriculture. Its preconditions were stated as: i) and Planning, Jawahardlal Nehru University, on “The issue of human resources (the population), ii) land, iii) good policies, land in the neoliberal system”; and iv) good leadership. • The round-table on “Socialism and Rural Development” coor- dinated by several academics and diginitaries in the fields of This year’s festival provided an opportunity to participants with science and politics (among whom was Uganda’s Deputy Prime a chance to revisit, but most importantly to reaffirm these options Minister); through various activities: an inaugural lecture, delivered by • Launching by Samia Nkrumah of a course on “Thoughts and Samir Amin, who was the festival’s Guest of Honour, was on the Practices of Pan-Africanism” by Professor Bertram Mapunda ; theme: “The long walk toward socialism.” Samir Amin explained • Debates on economic science teaching and research in Africa; the nature and the causes of the “recent” economic crisis which started in the Unites States before spreading to affect the whole • Launch of “Africa’s Liberation – The Legacy of Nyerere”, world. during which Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, former Secretary General of the Organisation of the African Unity, (OAU) paid a vibrant According to Samir Amin, the emergence of new super powers homage to the work of Julius Nyerere. (China, India, Brasil) and the on-going democratisation process The Second Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival week turned out in Africa, namely the access to power through elections, to name to be a high level moment of exchanges on a burning question: but a few, are far from being the solutions. In fact, this process How (or can we) free Africa from the yoke of the liberal eco- fails from questioning the fundamental underpinnings of the nomic system and the domination of super powers? The festi- liberal system and the marginalisation of Africa. On the contrary, val’s programme invited for a solution based on the fundamentals China, in the same way as the West, participates in the of the Arusha Declaration, the remedy proposed by Samir Amin exploitation of natural resources in Africa and takes land away were based on two main agents which are meant to compliment from Chinese farmers. It therefore cannot be the solution. have had a tendency to contradict each other. These are the Africa remains important in this context (and is becoming even intellectuals and the political leaders. The former, who were sup- more so) while Africans are leaguing against the imperialistic posed to produce knowledge and propose solutions relevant to visions. What is then the solution? Samir Amin calls for a reflec- our condition to help the political leaders become on the continent tion on the development of the middle class, the implementation to counter present and future challenges have not worked well. of equitable agrarian policies, the reinvention of the democrati- sation process, the negotiation of a global system and the need for African intellectuals to face up to their responsibilities. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 47

2010 Distinguished Africanist Awards: Professor N’Dri Assie-Lumumba and Professor Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo

CODESRIA Publications

Two distinguished members of CODESRIA, Professor N’Dri erations of African Intellectuals and Development of African Assie-Lumumba and Professor Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo Universities’ being carried out with partial funding from the were awarded, for their respective scholarship, the 2010 Distin- Cornell Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and the guished Africanist Award by the New York State African Stud- Cornell Institute for Social Sciences. Professor Assie-Lumumba ies Association (NYASA) on March 27, 2010. The awards were is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of CODESRIA. part of the activities marking this year’s edition of NYASA’s Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo is Professor of Political Science Annual Conference at SUNY Binghamton on the theme ‘GLO- at Wells College where he has served as Chair of the Division of BAL-AFRICA, GLOBAL-ASIA: Africa and Asia in the Age of Social Sciences and Chair of the Department of Public Affairs. Globalization’. and is currently Chair of the Department of International The Distinguished Africanist Award is ‘awarded to an academic Studies. He is a Visiting Scholar in the Department of City and by the NYASA Executive Board for outstanding contributions Regional Planning at Cornell University, and also Adjunct Pro- to the field of Africana Studies in New York’. In the past, other fessor of Government in the Graduate Program of the Depart- awardees have included Chinua Achebe, Ali Mazrui, Ngugi wa ment of Government at Suffolk University. Professor Thiong’o, Mahmood Mamdani and Micere Mugo. Lumumba-Kasongo is Chercheur Associé at l’Institut N’Dri Assie-Lumumba is Professor in the Africana Studies and d’Ethnosociologie at Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte Research Center at Cornell, and a member of the graduate fields d’Ivoire and co-founder of the Centre Panafricain d’Etudes et of Education, International Development, International Agricul- de Recherches en Relations Internationales et en Education pour ture and Rural Development, and Cornell Institute of Public Af- le Développement. (CEPARRED). He is the Editor-in-Chief of fairs (CIPA). A lifetime Fellow of the World Academy of Art and African and Asian Studies, a social science journal published in Science since 2006, Assie-Lumumba has published extensively the Netherlands, and member of the editorial committees of many on various areas, with particular expertise on higher education, other referred journals. comparative and international education, gender/women and Professor Lumumba-Kasongo has published over one hundred equity. Professor Assie-Lumumba’s scholarship includes her book chapters, monographs, and peer-reviewed articles. He has editorial works for several prestigious professional journals also published many books, among which are: The Dynamics of mostly in North America, Africa and Asia, numerous articles Economic and Political Relations Between Africa and For- published in refered journals, book chapters, and peer-reviewed eign Powers: A Studies in International Relations (1999); Rise monographs. Her article ‘Educational and Economic Reforms, of Multipartyism and Democracy in the Global Context: The Gender Equity and Access to Schooling in Africa’,published in Case of Africa (1998); Political Re-mapping of Africa: 2000 in the International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Transnational Ideology and the Re-definition of Africa in World won the 2001 ‘Joyce Cain Award for Distinguished Research on Politics (1994); Nationalistic Ideologies, their Policy Implica- African Descendants’ given by Comparative and International tions and the Struggle for Democracy in African Politics (1991); Education Society in recognition of ‘an outstanding article that Who and What Govern in the World of the States?: A Compara- demonstrates academic rigour, originality, and excellence, and tive Study of Constitutions, Citizenry, Power, and Ideology in contributes to a better understanding of the experiences of Af- Contemporary Politics (2005). Some of the books which he rican descendants’. has also edited are: Liberal Democracy and Its Critics in Af- Her extensive publications include her authored, edited and co- rica: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress, edited books: Higher Education in Africa: Crises, Reforms, and published in 2005 and 2006 by CODESRIA and Zed Books Transformation (CODESRIA); Cyberspace, Distance Learning, respectively; Dynamics and Policy Implications of the Global and Higher Education in Developing Countries: Old and Emer- Reforms at the End of Second Millennium: A Comparative Per- gent Issues of Access, Pedagogy, and Knowledge Production; spective (2000). He also co-edited Structural Adjustment and African Voices in Education; Les Africaines dans la Politique The Crisis in Africa: Economic and Political Perspective (1992). : Femmes Baoulé de Côte d’Ivoire; Women and Higher Educa- His well-publicized book – Japan and Africa Relations – has tion in Africa: Reconceptualizing Gender-based Human Ca- just been published by Palgrave-McMillan. Professor Tukumbi pabilities and Upgrading Human Rights to Knowledge, a Spani Lumumba-Kasongo has served CODESRIA in several capaci- edition of which has just been published in Spain. Translations ties, and is presently the Editor of one of the Council’s journals, for publication in French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese are the African Journal of International Affairs. also in progress. Her ongoing research projects include ‘Gen- CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 48

Mahmood Mamdani bags Honorary Doctorate at Addis Ababa University* CODESRIA Publications

Former President of CODESRIA (1998 – 2002), Professor monarchy, against dictatorship, against neo-colonialism, against Mahmood Mamdani was on Saturday 24 July 2010 awarded the imperialism. And we were for socialism, sometimes for democ- honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the Addis Ababa Univer- racy, but always for socialism. Socialism had become a language in sity, Ethiopia. Mamdani was honoured with the Doctor of Let- which we spoke to one another. For some, it was a badge; for others, it was a brand name. ters honoris causa by the university, together with three others, namely H.E. Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa We were the first generation of post-independence African intel- (Doctor of Laws honoris causa), Ethiopian athlete Halle lectuals. We thought in historical terms. We knew that history Gebresellassie (Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa), and was moving, more or less like a train, heading to a known destina- Australian doctor Catherine Hamlin (Doctor of Medical Sciences tion, and none of us had any doubt that we were on that train. We honoris causa). were certain that the future would be better than the past, much better. If there would be violence, it would be revolutionary, the Addis Ababa University described Mamdani as ‘a truly out- violence of the poor against the rich, the oppressor against the standing student of Africa’ who has ‘written insightfully and oppressed. Good revolutionary violence would do away with bad comprehensively on the crucial challenges facing African pub- counter-revolutionary violence. lic life’, and unreservedly expressed its pride in attesting to his Two decades later, we found ourselves in a world for which we achievements as an ‘eminent African scholar and a renowned, were least prepared. Not only was it a world drenched in blood, cosmopolitan public intellectual’. The citation on Mamdani, and but the battle lines were hardly inspiring. There was little revolu- his remarks on receipt of the award are not only captivating, but tionary about the violence around us: instead of the poor rising up also an encouragement to the present generation of true pan- against the rich, we could see poor pitted against poor, and rich Africanists as well as an inspiration to young and upcoming against rich. This was hardly the final struggle promised in the African scholars. The two speeches are therefore presented International – la lutte finale – beyond which would lie the rosy below. dawn of socialism. It seemed more like the fires of hell. The most fitting metaphor for that quagmire was the Rwanda genocide of 1994. Citation on Mahmood Mamdani A truly outstanding student of Africa, you have written insightfully A few months after the genocide, I found myself in the town of and comprehensively on the crucial challenges facing African Arusha in Tanzania, as one of over hundred participants in a con- public life. The range of your brilliant scholarship is remarkable: ference called by CODESRIA to reflect on the Rwanda genocide. the crippling legacy of colonialism and empire; citizenship and During the conference, the discussion focused on the history that statehood in Africa; the theory and practice of human rights; had led Rwanda to the genocide. Then someone introduced an genocide and civil war in Africa. You have also addressed contem- element of doubt: he reminded us that precisely when the genocide porary bigotry and intolerance with special attention to Islam. was engulfing Rwanda, in the latter half of 1994, another seminal event was unfolding in another part of Africa. This was the tran- The eloquent, vigorous and independent voice you bring to con- sition from apartheid in South Africa. I remember asking a ques- temporary debates on Africa has received wide recognition. You tion: if someone had told us a decade before, in 1984, a time when have held distinguished academic positions, among which are: the struggle against apartheid in South Africa was at its bloody Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia Univer- height, but also a time when President Jouvenal Habyarimana was sity, New York City; former President, Council for the Develop- calling for reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda; if ment of Social Science Research in Africa, Dakar; Founding Di- someone had told us then that a decade hence there would be a rector, Center for Social Research, Kampala. You were also named genocide in one of these countries and a reconciliation in another, one of the top hundred public intellectuals in the world by the how many of us would have identified the location of the two publication Foreign Affairs in 2008, attesting to the fact that developments correctly? There was silence in the room. your voice has won the favor of many beyond the academic community. Later, when I set about writing a book on colonialism and apart- heid, and another on the genocide in Rwanda, I had time to reflect Addis Ababa University is proud to acclaim an eminent African on the question. As post-apartheid South Africa and post-geno- scholar and a renowned, cosmopolitan public intellectual. cide Rwanda began writing their histories afresh, we realized that history is not a story with a predestination. Those determined to Upon the recommendation of the Senate, and by the authority forge a different future begin by rethinking their history. History vested in me by the Board, I have the honor to confer upon you is not a train set out on a fixed journey. As our sense of destination the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa. changes, so does our perspective on the past, our sense of history. The difference between 1984 and 1994, not just in South Africa Mamdani’s Remarks and Rwanda but elsewhere too, was not just made by history, but I first heard of Addis Ababa University in 1973, the year I got my by politics. The possibilities offered by politics were in turn de- first teaching job at the University of Dar es Salaam. Addis, like fined by the ability of those in the present to imagine a different Dar, was a university in ferment during those years. They were future. The difference lay in this: whereas in South Africa, they times when we were sure of ourselves: we knew what we were up dared imagine a future beyond apartheid; in Rwanda, they remained against, and we knew where we were going. We were against locked in the world of Hutu and Tutsi, the world of 1959. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 49

Thus, my message to you: today, more than ever, we need the has taught us that there is no given destination. The destination is capacity to imagine different futures. In 1973, in Dar and in Addis, negotiable. If I am right, you will need the courage and the creativ- we thought of ourselves as being in transition to an already known ity to imagine the destination and the skill and tenacity to forge a destination, first it was a transition to socialism; after the fall of political consensus around that imagination. Soviet Union, the convention was to think of a transition to de- mocracy; after 9/11, it became a transition to modernity. Common Keep in mind that the journey you will embark on has no fixed to all three was the conviction that the journey had a fixed destina- destination. Where you go will depend on you and those around tion. It was a road map with a predestined goal. Our role was only you. The better you understand the nature of forces defining your to exert effort, for the train was already on course. choices, the more you will be able to gather in your own hands possibilities of forging the future. I wish you the best in the I have little doubt that the world into which you are graduating is journey ahead. changing rapidly. Not only is American power declining in a rela- tive sense, the world that we have known since 1492 – when * Professor Mahmood Mamdani is currently Executive Director of the European settlers first stepped into the New World – the world Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University, Kampala, shaped by Western power, is also visibly changing. Experience Uganda. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 50

CODESRIA Activities

Research

Methodological Workshop on the New Phase of Media , Human Rights and (De) Construction of Public Governance Monitoring Opinion: A Comparative Analysis of the Assessement of In collaboration with the Committee on Open Society Initiative Mass Media on Human Rigths in the African Portuguese for West Africa (OSIWA), in May 2010, in Abidjan, CODESRIA Speaking Countries organised a workshop to launch a new phase of monitoring 6) CRN Zanzibar, Mauricius/ Abdul Sheriff, Coordinator governance initiated jointly by the two partner institutions. The Transition from Slavery: The Tale of Two Islands in the aim of this initiative is to renew and strengthen the establish- Indian Ocean ment of a monitoring framework of indicators, and promote gov- ernance as an ongoing review process, punctuated by the 7) CRN South Africa, Ghana and Uganda/ Olujimi Adesina, production of quarterly reports. The meeting provided an op- Coordinator portunity for its participants to harmonise approaches to re- Beyond Social Protection: Social Policy in Rethinking search, refine their tools and agree on indicators. Africa’s Development: A Comparative Study of Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa New Comparative Research Networks (CRN) The number of proposals received is almost the same as last 8) CRN South Africa, Namiby and Mauricius/ Francis year’s. In total, 70 applications have been registered for the Nyamnjoh, Coordinator 2010 Comparative Research Networks. Following is the analysis Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), made on all proposals: mobility and the reconfiguration of marginality in Southern Africa - Applications submitted : 70 CRN proposals from 25 coun- tries among which 2 are in the Diaspora 9) CRN Ghana and Burkina-Faso/ Mansah Prah, Coordinator - Geographical distribution: based on the 25 countries where Girls’ and Women’s Educational Aspirations, Sexuality and the proposals came from, coordination assignments were Missed Chances: Filling in the Gaps. Case studies from distributed by region as follows: North Africa: 2; Southern primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Ghana and Africa: 4; East Africa: 5; West Africa: 9; Central Africa: 3; in Burkina Faso Diaspora: 2 - Gender: In terms of the coordination of the networks, 50 were assigned to men and 20 to women 10) CRN Congo/ Jean-Christophe Boungou Bazika, - Working languages: 46 proposals were submitted in Eng- Coordinator lish, 19 in French and 5 in Portuguese. Impact of Trading with China on regional integration within the ECCAS: Analysis of the Trans-border Trade between List of 2010 CRNs the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of 1) CRN Cameroun, South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe/ André Congo Ntonfo, Coordinator Football’s Fandom in Africa as Popular Art: A New National Working Groups (NWG) Multidisciplinary Approach Forty nine (49) applications were received for the 2010 National Working Groups, in comparison to seventy six (76) applications 2) CRN Tchad, Mali and Togo/ Angèle Ramadji Beguy, received in 2009. The proposals came from the 5 geographical Coordinator regions, namely: Maternal Mortality Reduction in Africa: Comparative Analy- sis of National Policies in Mali, Chad and Togo - West Africa: 18 - East Africa: 8 3) CRN Uganda/ Stella Nyanzi, Coordinator - Central Africa: 7 Contextual and Structural Factors that Contribute to Young - North Africa: 2 (Refugee and Displaced) Women’s Vulnerability and - Southern Africa: 14 Resilience to HIV/AIDS in Uganda 19 countries were represented based on the following linguistic distribution: 4) CRN Sénégal, Switzerland and Côte d’Ivoire/ Mahamadou - 9 anglophone countries / 8 francophone countries / 2 Sall, Coordinator lusophone countries; Young African Refugees: Psycho-social Aspects, Identity - 23 proposals were written in English; 17 in French; 9 in and Resilience. A Comparative Research on Côte d’Ivoire, Portuguese; Sénégal and Switzerland There were 49 coordinators: 41 males and 8 females. 5) CRN Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique/ Miguel de Barros, Coordinator CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 51

List of 2010 National Working Groups (NWG) From Invisibility to the Light: Women, Household, Violence 1) NWG Uganda/ Joseph Matovu, Coordinator and the New Law in Mozambique Patients’ Empowerment for Self-care in HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Uganda 10) NWG Cape Verde/ Arlindo Mendes, Coordinator Socio-cultural Practices of Alternative Medicine 2) NWG Nigeria I/ Kolawole Olu Owolabi, Coordinator Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP) Legal Structures, Ethical Norms and the Control of The CDP programme includes a dozen research centres, Corruption for the Consolidation of Democracy in Nigeria universities and civil society organisations, jointly conducting 3) NWG Kenya/ Daniel Muthee, Coordinator research and capacity building in West Africa on themes Addressing effects of Post-election Violence on Young covering economic development, democracy and conflict Children in Kenya: Using Stories, Narratives, and Songs resolution. This consortium also makes available to countries for Peace Building/ Coordinator: Daniel Muthee in the sub-region and ECOWAS, reference data and data elements that have a specific purpose in relation to key 4) NWG Tanzania/ Ng’Wanza Kamata, Coordinator challenges they are facing. Tanzania’s Political economy under neoliberalism: The teams engaged in this programme have held their method- Contestation or Compliance? ology workshops for 2010 between January and February. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the programme was also 5) NWG Nigeria II/ Jeffrey Isima, Coordinator held in June. This meeting brought together the team coordina- Security Governance in Nigeria: The Informal Dimension tors and the main coordinators of the programme, namely 6) NWG Senegal I/ Aminata Dia Ba Sow, Coordinator CODESRIA and ASC Leiden. Access to Land, Status and Roles of Rural Women of the Senegal River in the Promotion of Food Security: Programme on Gender The Example of the Rice Sector From 25 to 27 October 2010, the 7th Symposium on Gender, under the theme ‘Gender and Migration in Africa’, will be taking 7) NWG Malawi/ Amon Kabuli, Coordinator place in Cairo, Egypt,. This symposium will be held as usual in Youth on the Move: Assessing Socio and Economic Factors collaboration with the Arab and African Centre for Research Impacting Youth Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction (AACR), based in Egypt. The symposium will be part of the Strategies in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas of Malawi ongoing discussions on gender relations and migration in Africa, the socio-political and economic implications it brings, the 8) NWG Senegal II/ Diatou Thiaw, Coordinator economic dimension of migration and the risks and benefits Climate Change, Poverty and the Situation of Children in posed by this phenomenon. This meeting will also be an Eco-geographical Zones in Senegal: The Case of opportunity to discuss different forms of migration from a gender Casamance and the Groundnut Basin perspective. 9) NWG Mozambique/ Katia Palm, Coordinator

Reforming the Malawian Public Sector Retrospectives and Prospectives

Edited by Richard I.C.Tambulasi CODESRIA, Dakar, 2010, 110 pp

This book examines decentralization, performance contracting, and public– private partnerships as key aspects of the reforms and comes to the conclusion that at best, it can be argued that the failures have been due to poor implementation and this could be attributed to the fact that the process was led by donors who lacked the necessary institutional infrastructure. The book uses the 2005/6 fertilizer subsidy programme, which the government embarked on despite donor resistance that it went against market models, but which turned out to be overwhelmingly successful to demonstrate the state’s developmental ability and potential.

Price/Prix: Africa / Afrique 7 500 FCFA -- Outside Africa / Hors Afrique www.africanbookscollective.com ISBN: 978-2-86978-314-0 CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 52

Training, Grants and Fellowships

CODESRIA Prize for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Social Sciences 1) the possible publication of the thesis; The thesis that won this prize this year is ‘Anarchism and 2) the possible publication of French and Portuguese ver- Syndicalism in South Africa, 1904–1921: Rethinking the History sions of the thesis; of Labour and the Left’ by Lucien van der Walt, School of 3) presentation of the results of the thesis in some universities; Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of the 4) grant of 1,000 USD. Witwatersrand, South Africa. The prize consists of:

Training Grants and Fellowships: 2010/2011 Activities

Institutes Themes Directors Number of Participants by Country

Gender Gender and Sport in Dr Monia Ghana 1; Cameroon 4; Zimbabwe 4; Dakar, 7-25 June, 2010 Africa’s Development Lachheb Botswana 1Swaziland 1; South Africa 2; Kenya 1; Tunisia1

Governance Corruption, Democratic Dr Said Cameroon 2; Togo 1; Benin 1; Senegal 2; Rwanda1; Dakar, 26 July-13 Governance and Adejumobi Nigeria 5; South Africa 1; Swaziland 1; Egypt 1; August, 2010 Accountability Ivory Coast 1; Kenya 1; Uganda 1; Congo 1;

Child and Youth The Place for Work in Prof. Michael RDC 2; Ghana 2; Congo 1, Ethiopia 1; Cameroon 3; Dakar, 6 – 24 September, African Childhoods Bourdillon Mali 1; Kenya 2; South Africa 1; Ivory Coast 1 ; 2010 Chad 1; Senegal 1; Zimbabwe 1; Norway 1

Health, Policy and HIV/AIDS and the Prof. Cheikh Cameroon 3; RDC 2, Congo 1; Togo 1; Burkina Society in Africa Discourse of Ibrahima Niang Faso 1; Senegal 2; Mauritania 1; Kenya 3; Nigeria 3; Dakar, 7-25 February 2011 the “Outsider” in Africa Tunisia 1; France 1; USA 1

Methodology Workshop Theme Scientific Number of Participants by Country Coordinator

Northern Africa Fields and Theories of Omar Derras Morocco 5; Algeria 8; Tunisia 5 Oran, 4-8 October, 2010 Qualitative Research

SEPHIS Theme Convenor Number of Participants by Country

Extended Workshop Historicizing Gender and Charu Gupta South Africa 2; Zimbabwe 1; India 4; Barbados 1; Dakar, 2-12 November, Sexuality in the Ecuador 1; Egypt 1; Cameroon 1; 2010 Global South Colombia 1; Kenya 1

Advanced Research Fellowships: Nigeria 2; Senegal 2; Ivory Coast :2 Uganda 1 ; Cameroon 1 Dakar, 24-25 February 2011

Textbooks Programme: Kenya 1; Tanzania 1; Senegal 1 Botswana 1 Dakar, 16-17 February, 2011

Small Grants Programme: Nigeria 7; Zambia 1; South Africa 2; Rwanda 1; Zimbabwe 2; Kenya 3; Burundi 2; for Thesis Writing Benin 2; Ivory Coast 1; Madagascar 2; Burkina Faso 1; Mali 2; Senegal 7; Congo 3; Dakar, 16-20 August, 2011 RDC 1; Ethiopia 1; Guinea Conakry 1; Swaziland 1; Niger 1; Cameroon 3 CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 53

South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development (SEPHIS)

The Annual CODESRIA-SEPHIS Lecture Tour seeks to en- from the 1 to 3 October 2009 was ‘Corruption: Critical Perspec- courage connections between different research traditions and tives from the South’. The dialogue, which lasted three days, networks in the South by inviting an established scholar from drew participants from all over the Global South (Africa, Latin another part of the South, representing a specific social/histori- America and Asia) and from a diverse range of disciplines (Eco- cal school or scholarly approach, to give a number of lectures in nomics, Sociology, Political Science, Law, Anthropology and selected African universities. It is rotated amongst the sub-re- Philosophy). gions of the African continent. In 2009, Botswana and Lesotho The Equity Policy Dialogue brought together experts from all hosted the tour on behalf of the Southern African region. The regions of the South, with the goal of facilitating the exchange tour, which took place from 1 to 14 June 2009, had as guest of ideas between activists, researchers and policy makers on lecturer Maria del Pilay Troya of FLASCO, Ecuador. equity issues in order to generate policy-relevant knowledge, The topic of her lecture, which is to be published by CODESRIA promote the use of social science research in policy formula- and SEPHIS, was ‘Discourses on Citizenship of Women in the tion, and the development of methodological tools for evaluat- Global South: Lessons from Ecuador’. The lecture was warmly ing the impact of social and economic development policies on received by the audiences made up of academics and civil society equity. The Dialogue was coordinated by Dr Said Adejumobi, activists in both countries, as it touched on a very crucial issue Chief, Public Administration Section & Coordinator of the Afri- affecting female empowerment in Africa–citizenship. The tour can Governance Report (AGR) at the United Nations Economic also provided Maria with the opportunity to establish links with Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He also presented colleagues working on gender studies in Lesotho and Botswana the keynote address titled ‘Corruption in Africa: A Theoretical and to make plans for a reciprocal visit by a Botswana gender Consideration’. specialist to Ecuador. The policy dialogue sessions took the form of open forum discussions centred on keynote presentations, and papers cov- Alternative Methodology Workshop 2009 took place in Bamako, ering sub-themes such as conceptual and theoretical ap- Mali from 5 to 10 of August 2009. The workshop was the third in proaches to corruption in the south; history, culture and the series to be organised by CODESRIA-SEPHIS and the first corruption; perceptions and interpretations of corruption; po- with French as the working language. It was thus a litical and economic perspectives and the social dimensions of groundbreaking workshop and a very important effort by corruption. The uniqueness of the SEPHIS Equity Dialogue on CODESRIA and SEPHIS to meet the needs of development re- corruption was in its focus on the encouragement of Southern search and researchers in Africa. The workshop had as theme: voices in the debate on corruption and in the challenging of the Oral Sources as Alternative History. dominant view of corruption as a characteristic of the Global The workshop director was Prof. Theodore Nicoue Lodjou South. Gayibor, former rector, University of Lome and foremost African More important was the emphasis of the dialogue, as reflected expert on oral history. He was assisted by Prof. Doulaye Konate in its theme, on the relationship and the importance of corrup- of the University of Mali and Prof. Seydou Camara of the Afri- tion to issues of equity in the Global South and the need to can Studies Institute, Mali. The ten laureates of the workshop come to terms with and understand in detail such connections. were doctoral candidates from universities in Francophone Af- The dialogue underlined the fact that the issue of corruption rica who were mainly historians. The first part of the workshop required a critical, nuanced and historicised analysis which took covered the theoretical issues involved in conducting research, on board the trajectory of the development experience of South- using oral sources in Africa. ern countries, specifically, their political, ideological, institu- The second part of the workshop covered the practical aspects tional, socio-cultural and political context and the place of the of doing research, using oral sources with the example of re- Global South in the global economy. search, carried out on the Mande of Mali with oral sources by Prof Seydou Camara. The third part of the workshop focused on Conclusion the dynamics and use of oral sources in contemporary African During its activities in 2009, the CODESRIA-SEPHIS programme, states and societies. It focused principally on the use of oral through a focus on building a sustainable platform for strategic sources in the construction of memory by African states, soci- discussions about development paradigms by research and eties and peoples. The combination of the practical and theo- traning in the history of development, reinforced CODESRIA’s retical lectures and the highlighting of the importance of oral quest for ‘alternatives that consolidate and extend the social sources to the functioning of contemporary societies were highly sciences as a body of knowledge that is relevant for understand- welcomed by all the participants. ing and transforming livelihood for the better’.

The Equity Policy Dialogue was the first policy dialogue to be organised by the CODESRIA-SEPHIS programme. The theme of the Equity Policy dialogue, which was held in Dakar, Senegal, CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 54

New Publications

he CODESRIA Publications and Dissemination Pro Journals gramme continues to make steady progress in its key 1) Africa Development, Volume 34, Number 2, 2009 Tfunction of providing accessibility and visibility for re- ISSN: 0850-3907 search findings on Africa, both within and outside the conti- nent. Hence, the first half of the year has, as usual, been devoted 2) Africa Development, Volume 34, Number 3&4, 2009 to publishing the Council’s research findings as books, arti- ISSN: 0850-3907 cles in journals, or as policy research reports, and as well en- 3) The African Anthropologist, Volume 14, Number 1&2, 2007 gage in publication collaborative and dissemination activities. ISSN: 1024-0969 There is no doubt that CODESRIA’s focus on what needs to be done to promote the emergence of better African societies, 4) African Sociological Review, Volume 13, Number 1, 2009 ISBN: 1027-4332 based on principles of good governance and human security, are being pursued strongly, as can be seen in the publications 5) Identity Culture and Politics, An Afro Asian Dialogue, Volume so far released. 10, Number 2, 2009 ISSN: 0851-2914 Book Series 6) Africa Review of Books, Volume 6, Number 1, 2010 1) Reforming the Malawian Public Sector: Retrospectives and ISSN: 0851-7592 Prospectives, edited by Richard I.C.Tambulasi 7) CODESRIA Bulletin, Numbers 1&2, 2009, French ISBN: 978-2-86978-314-0 ISSN: 0850-8712 2) Saviors and Survivors, Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror, 8) Africa Review of Books by Mahmood Mamdani ISSN: 0851-7592 ISBN: 978-2-86978-317-1 Research Reports 3) From ‘Foreign Natives’ to ‘Native Foreigners’—Explaining 1) Genre et sécurité au Sénégal : une intégration à poursuivre Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa: Citizenship and (co-published with AMLD) Fatou Sarr Nationalism, Identity and Politics, ISBN: 978-9-29222-074-7 by Michael Neocosmos ISBN: 978-2-86978-307-2 2) A Study of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria 4) Gender, Sport and Development in Africa: Cross-cultural Per- By Jibrin Ibrahim & Dauda Garuba spectives on Patterns of Representations and Marginalization, ISBN: 978-2-86978-315-7 edited by Jimoh Shehu ISBN: 978-2-86978-306-5 3) A Study of Ghana’s Electoral Commission By Emmanuel Debrah, E. Kojo Pumpuni & Emmanuel Gyimah- 5) Genre et Sport dans le développement en Afrique : la conquête Boadi des femmes, ISBN: 978-2-86978-316-4 edited by Monia Lachheb ISBN: 978-2-86978-320-1 Book Presentation 6) Speaking Truth to Power: Selected Pan-African Postcards Book presentations are one of the avenues for creating visibil- by Abdul Raheem Tajudeen (co-published with Fahamu) ity for CODESRIA publications. We have however had only ISBN: 978-1-906387-85-3 one presentation so far, and this was on the book Armée et Monographs politique au Niger edited by Idrissa Kimba. The presentation took place on 5 March 2010 at the Librairie Clairafrique, Dakar. It 1) Statsm, Youth and Civic Imagination : A Critical Study of the is hoped that other book presentations would hold before the National Youth Service Corps Programme in Nigeria, by Ebenezer Obadare year runs out. ISBN: 978-2-86978-303-4 Trade and Co-publication Collaborations 2) The Concept of First Lady and Engendering of Politics in Two of our publications listed below have been co-published; Nigeria, one with Fahamu Books and the other with Alliance pour la by Kunle Ajayi ISBN: 978-2-86978-304-1 migration, le leadership et le développement (AMLD). The strengthening of our co-publishing arrangements with dif- Policy Dialogue ferent publishers continues, presently with the Human Science Africa: Reaffirming our Commitment , Research Council (HSRC) press in South Africa for the produc- (edited by Adebayo Olukoshi, Jean Bernard Ouédraogo and tion of The Meanings of Timbuktu (French and Arabic editions), Ebrima Sall "The Capital Cities of Africa", "Africa Focus 2009", and "An- ISBN: 978-2-86978-250-1 notated Bibliography". A meeting has been held with the HSRC on these titles. CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos 1 & 2, 2010 Page 55

New titles for co-publication have also been proposed to through Mosuro the Booksellers Limited (Ibadan, Nigeria), Karthala in Paris and Zed Books in UK, while planning to com- University Bookshop, Makerere (Kampala, Uganda), Edition CLE plete negotiations with new commercial publishers. (Yauonde, Cameroon) and and Librairie Clairafrique (Dakar, New distribution outlets on the continent are going to be opened Senegal). while strengthening the distribution of CODESRIA publications

CODICE

Managing CODESRIA’s Presence on the Web May, 2010. Average daily visitors numbered 432 with a peak of Since February 18, 2010, CODESRIA has activated the renewed 557 reached on April 23, 2010. A detailed analysis of links hosted version of its Web site (http://www.codesria.org/). It is avail- with some Web sites revealed about 16,600 links to CODESRIA’s able in English, French and Portuguese versions. It presents a Web site. The main Web sites which visitors transit through to new mapping and its information architecture makes navigation get to our site numbered 48 with Google topping the list (494), easier across the various Web site content headings. The site followed by Peace and Collaborative Development Network has become much more interactive, allows easy communication (320), International Sociological Association (254), OSSREA with the different programme officers and automatic access to (223), Centre population et développement (148), Médiaterre the most recent information posted online, thanks to an RSS (145), Danish Development Research Network (114), CODICE flux facility. This makes it possible for as many as may wish to online catalogue (98), UCAD (86), etc. subscribe to CODESRIA’s mailing list to receive announcements on all the Council’s activities. Now the Web site can be updated Visitor Distribution between the various Web site regularly by CODICE team via the Web from any log-on point. Content Headings Visitor trends between the various headings showed that most The Council’s information on the new Web site has been organ- visitors were attracted by announcements (28.2%), followed by ised under ten major headings:, research programmes, training, publications (16.3%) and lastly information on CODESRIA publications, conferences, online resources, fellowship, an- (11.8%). nouncements, schedule and topical events. Major innovations include: Fellowship announcements alone accounted for 56 per cent of total visitors to announcements. However, these statistics should • introducing the Secretariat staff, with profile description and be relativised owing to the fact that all announcements did not pictures to facilitate identification; remain online for an equal period of time due to in-built con- • posting online not only key-documents like CODESRIA Char- straints in their respective formulations. ter, Strategic Plan and Annual Reports, but also a wide range of public statements on various issues and tributes paid to social Lastly, 420 Internet surfers’ visit to CODESRIA’s recent publi- science research community members; cations were as follows: Chercheurs et décideurs (440), African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa (334), • a catalogue of CODESRIA’s most recent publications which may be searched by theme, country and region; Armée et politique au Niger (149), Saviors and Survivors (143), 137 visited "The Meanings of Timbuktu (137), and Les frontières • an online catalogue of CODICE library (http:// de la citoyenneté en cote d’ivoire (100). Now, as soon as a www.codesria.sn/); publication is sent to the printer, it is immediately put online on • a list of useful resource links for the social science research our site as advance information to prospective users and to community; and ensure that CODESRIA is the first to break information on • schedule of CODESRIA’s public activities; it. • social science news, supplied notably via the RSS flux, of CODESRIA’s activities can now also be followed on Twitter, by specialised social science research Web sites; logging on to http://twitter.com/codesria. As of now, over hun- • a list of main acronyms and a glossary of terminologies used; dred institutions (OSSREA, NAI, HSRC, SSRC, CRASC, IDRC, ROCARE, WDR, FIFA, SANGONet, EUFORIC, Africa Renewal, • a list of frequently asked questions and model answers; Jeune Afrique, ONG Afrique, US Government, etc.) and indi- • an RSS flux giving access in real time to Web site updates; viduals have registered for information on CODESRIA’s activi- • localisation of CODESRIA on Google Maps and provision of ties. Besides, about forty links to Twitter accounts which might all necessary information to get there by bus, cab, etc. be of interest to the social science research community have Web site counters showed that about 39,000 Net surfers visited been proposed through this account. This Twitter account has the site between the date of its activation and May 31, 2010. On allowed us to be present on social networks, to increase distri- a monthly average, the number of visitors increased from 3,000 bution channels of information on our activities and build a in February to 10,500 in March; 11,000 in April and 13,000 in better image for CODESRIA. Free Full Text OnlineOnline ResourcesResources forfor Social Science Research

1. African e-Journal Project 16. Google books http://africa.msu.edu/AEJP/ http://scholar.google.com/ Google livres 2. African Studies Journals @ Wikipedia http://books.google.fr/books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 17. Google Scholars African_studies_journals http://scholar.google.fr/ 3. African Studies Repository Beta. Building an Online http://scholar.google.com/ Library for African Studies 18. Hyper articles en ligne (HAL) http://www.africanstudiesrepository.org/ http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ 4. African Studies Internet Resources, Columbia 19. Hyper articles en ligne Sciences de l’Homme et University de la Société (HAL-SHS) http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/ http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/ cuvl/index.html 20. The International Reporter Resource Network (IRN) 5. AtoZ. Selected electronic journals focused on Africa http://www.reporter.no/IRN/index.html http://atoz.ebsco.com/home.asp?Id=2749 21. Persée : Portail de revues en sciences humaines et 6. Cairn.info sociales : http://www.cairn.info/accueil.php www.persee.fr/web/guest/home/ 7. Les Classiques des sciences sociales 22. Project Gutenberg http://classiques.uqac.ca/ http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page 8. Connecting Africa 23. Répertoire des ressources électroniques. http://www.connecting-africa.net/ Groupe Transversal Ressources Documentaires 9. Directory of Development organisations http://www.bib.fsagx.ac.be/cud/resource/subject/ http://www.devdir.org/ sciences-exactes-et-naturelles.html 10. Directory of Open Access Journals 24. Revues.org : Portail de revues en sciences http://www.doaj.org/ humaines et sociales : www.revues.org/ 11. DISA. Southern African Freedom Struggles, c. 1950 – 1994 25. Revues électroniques en accès libre http://www.disa.ukzn.ac.za/ http://www.inist.fr/spip.php?article69 12. Eldis - Gateway to Development Information 26. Les signets de la Bibliothèque nationale de http://www.eldis.org/ France (BNF) http://signets.bnf.fr/ 13. Encyclopédie Diderot et D’alembert http://portail.atilf.fr/encyclopedie/ 27. UNBISNET, United Nations Bibliographic Informa- tion System 14. Erudit.org http://unbisnet.un.org/ http://www.erudit.org/ 28. World Bank / Banque Mondiale 15. Gallica http://www.worldbank.org/ http://gallica.bnf.fr/ http://donnees.banquemondiale.org/frontpage