The Missing Variable in the Economic Development of Sub-Saharan Africa
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Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Graduate Program in International Studies Dissertations Spring 2002 Leadership: The iM ssing Variable in the Economic Development of Sub-Saharan Africa Osei K. Bonsu Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gpis_etds Part of the African Studies Commons, Growth and Development Commons, International Relations Commons, and the Leadership Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bonsu, Osei K.. "Leadership: The iM ssing Variable in the Economic Development of Sub-Saharan Africa" (2002). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, International Studies, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/5bcg-gn73 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gpis_etds/116 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Program in International Studies at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LEADERSHIP: THE MISSING VARIABLE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA by Osei K. Bonsu B.S. 1984, Old Dominion University MBA 1986, Texas A&M University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL STUDIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 2002 Apprqved by: xancis Adams (Director) Simon Serfaty (Member! Michael Clemons (Member) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT LEADERSHIP: THE MISSING VARIABLE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Osei K. Bonsu Old Dominion University, 2002 Director: Dr. Francis Adams Contemporary economic theories, modernization and dependency, have overlooked the fact that the development process depends on the interaction of social factors. Specifically, the theories have ignored the role of leadership in analyzing economic development. This dissertation seeks to incorporate the importance of leadership into the analysis of development. It argues that sub-Saharan African countries have not developed economically because leaders in the region have been less than successful in establishing a culture conducive to industrialization. African leaders have failed to establish the high moral and scientific cultures necessary to promote economic progress. In place of those cultural attributes, the leaders have fostered corrupt and authoritarian political cultures that undermine the general economic development of their societies. This dissertation offers a detailed paired comparison of the colonial and postcoionial experience of Ghana and Botswana. The two countries constitute an effective comparison because they were once colonies of Great Britain and have similar resource endowments. Since independence, Botswana has achieved greater social and economic progress because its leaders have established a high moral culture. Ghana, on the other hand, has experienced stagnation, and in some respects actual decline, in its standards of living due to its leaders’ inability to establish a high moral culture. Despite Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. differences in standards of living, neither country has achieved diversified industrialization due to a lack of a scientific culture. The inability to establish high moral and scientific cultures is partially due to the colonial experience and the political philosophy of Senghorianism. Direct colonial rule in Ghana replaced the traditional leadership of the country that had shown a greater political commitment to the general public. In contrast, the colonial protectorate in Botswana recognized traditional leaders as autonomous authorities without undermining their legitimacy. Botswana’s leadership continuity preserved the government’s moral obligation to the general public. The lack of socio-scientific culture in both countries is due, to a considerable extent, to the influence of Senghorian philosophy on post-colonial leaders. Senghorianism argues that analytical scientific thinking reflects the dichotomous European culture and contrasts with the holistic African intuitive mode of knowing. The adherence to this philosophy by sub-Saharan African leaders has inhibited the emergence of a scientific culture that would promote industrialization and economic development. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to the global poor whose desire for material development has been set back by their own leaders. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincere gratitude to my dissertation chair, Dr. Francis Adams, for being there for me when I needed help. I wish to thank Dr. Simon Serfaty for his background motivation as a member of my committee. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Michael Clemons for his support as a committee member. Deep appreciation is also extended to Drs. Regina Karp and Robert Ash, and to Old Dominion University for indispensable financial support during my graduate studies at the university. To my friend and colleague John Baxter, I say thanks for proofreading the earlier draft of this dissertation. My sincere thanks to Mr. Pat Ketratom for giving me a job for the past summers to enable me to earn supplemental income for my doctoral degree. Special thanks to Ms. Laura Grace Bridgham for being a good friend to encourage me not to give up when things got bad and I became frustrated. To the librarians at the Perry library, who patiently helped to procure material for my research on Africa, I say thanks. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1 THE PURPOSE................................................................................................... 13 ASSUMPTIONS, HYPOTHESIS, AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK........................................................... 15 METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER SUMMARIES................................................................................. 20 n. LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................. 23 MODERNIZATION THEORY........................................................................ 25 DEPENDENCY THEORY AND ITS REVOLUTION................................. 38 CULTURE............................................................................................................ 45 THE POSITION OF LEADERSHIP................................................................ 49 IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT........................... 62 POSTCOLONIAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP................ 70 LEADERSHIP AND CULTURAL ROLES: NEGLECTED GAPS IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES............................................................................. 79 ID. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.............................................................................. 81 LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE: THE LINK................................................ 85 CULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THE LINK................... 91 THE TWO BROAD ASPECTS OF CULTURE............................................ 98 PREREQUISITE CULTURAL ELEMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT...................................................................... 104 SCIENTIFIC CULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT................ 106 THE ORIGIN OF THE CULTURAL DILEMMA IN AFRICA.................... 115 THE SENGHORIAN PHILOSOPHY.............................................................. 117 SUMMARY...................................................................................................... 122 IV. LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF BOTSWANA.... 125 PRECOLONIAL BOTSWANA........................................................................ 130 LEADERSHIP ROLE IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING COLONIAL ERA................................................................................................. 136 THE LEADERSHIP OF TSHEKEDI KHAMA: 1925-59............................. 138 THE LEADERSHIP OF SERETSE KHAMA................................................. 148 EVALUATION OF BOTSWANA’S DEVELOPMENT SINCE INEPENDENCE................................................................................................ 157 DOES BOTSWANA’S ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT MEAN DEVELOPMENT?............................................................................................ 169 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 173 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vii Chapter Page V. LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF GHANA........................ 179 PRECOLONIAL GHANA AND ITS POLITICAL ECONOMY................. 183 COLONIAL LEADERSHIP AND THE GOLD COAST ECONOMY 193 DEVELOPMENT UNDER KWAME NKRUMAH’ S LEADERSHIP 206 POSTCOLONIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNDER NKRUMAH........................................................................................................