Part 4: Political Economic Development
Oct 8 (W) - Independence, Borders, Pan-Africanism and Development Ideology
- Describe visions of the African polity embodied in the Brazzaville, Casablanca and Monrovia Groups.
- Explain 2-3 reasons why the Casablanca Groups’ vision was rejected
- Describe 2-3 forces of irredentism, 2-3 forces of status quo, and which force prevailed.
- Describe three main tenets of the Organization of African Unity, and argue which Group ideology prevailed
- Describe three main tenets of the African Union, and argue which Group ideology has prevailed more recently
- Explain how socialism is understood to occur (by Marx), why Nyrere had to create a new pathway to socialism, how he envisions an African socialism, and critique 2 assumptions in his argument
- Contrast capitalism, populist socialism and Afro-marxism by the lead player in economic development, the role of the state and private companies in industry, land ownership and the role of the state in agriculture, and the finally the distribution of social welfare
- Explain why Africa’s capitalist development should actually be called “nurture capitalism”
- Identify 1 industrial and 1 ag policy that Kenya chose that clearly put it in the capitalist camp. Identify 1 industrial and 1 ag policy that illustrates a strong “nurturing” component in each
- Identify 1 ag, 1 industrial and 1 social policy that Tanzania followed to illustrate “populist socialism”
- Identify 1 ag, 1 industrial and 1 social policy that Mozambique followed to illustrate “afro-marxism”
Oct 13 (M) - Neocolonial Economies: Export Enclaves
- Characterize a resource-dependent economy, and explain two reasons why they are ‘vulnerable’
- Identify and describe the four components of the "export-based economic development model"
- Describe the structure of an “export-enclave economy” that contradicts each of the model’s four components
- Use the Nigerian case to illustrate each of the four components of the export-enclave structure
- Explain why the state does not answer to the people in an undiversified export-based economy
- Describe the link between the growth of export-enclaves and militaries
- Use the Chad case to illustrate strategies that the World Bank tried to use to force Africa “capture” benefits from resource extraction, and why that strategy is beginning to fail
- Describe China’s impact on Africa’s export market, both in terms of the types of goods traded, and the quantity, and explain why this new demand may be qualitatively different from the past
- Clarify the different positions of African countries in a position to benefit or not (or mixed) from China’s demand
- Using the four component model, provide evidence to argue whether China is likely to foster “export-based economic development” in Africa, or further entrench “enclave economic structures”
- Clarify how China’s “Beijing Consensus” model undermines World Bank efforts to promote social welfare
- Explain why India argues that it would be a different, and better, partner for Africa
- Explain the double edged sword of China’s cheap import in Africa, drawing parallels with Walmart in America
Oct 15 (W) - Weak Nations and Centralized States
- Identify 2-3 political legacies of colonialism that laid the foundation for concentrated power
- Identify 2-3 characteristics of the colonial-era political movements that laid the foundation for concentrated power, clarifying the connection between the characteristic, and why it would lead to concentrated power
- Identify 2-3 ways in which Africa’s social foundation made politicians feel insecure, explaining why that contributed to the concentration of power
- Identify 2-3 ways in which Africa’s economic structural conditions contributed to the concentration of power
- Identify 2-3 ways in which Africa’s “political culture” contributed to the concentration of power
- Identify 2-3 ways in which Africa’s leaders acted “rationally” as they concentrated power
- Identify 2-3 ways in which external forces contributed to the concentration of power
- Describe 3-4 ways in which African leaders concentrated and strengthened their political power
- Explain the role of elections during periods of autocratic rule
- Contrast the Baldauf and Harman articles for their interpretation of the root cause of centralization, and their hope for the future
Oct 20 (M) - Political Economic Reform
- Explain how African countries funded their “development” in the 60’s and 70’s
- Draw 2 examples each from the minerals, manufacturing, agricultural, financial, administrative and social sectors to explain why Africa’s development plan turned into a debt crisis, and clarify whether these factors are “internal” and 2-3 “external” reasons
- Describe the SAP remedy, providing examples of reforms within industry, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, administration and social sectors and clarify whether they target “internal” or “external” factors
- Identify 2-3 pieces of evidence used by the IMF/World Bank to argue that SAPs are working, and 2-3 pieces of evidence to show that they are not
- Explain 2-3 reasons why SAPs were expected to help usher in democracy, and explain 2-3 reasons why democratization has, in fact, been weak
- Describe how China’s growing influence in Africa is likely to weaken or strengthen SAPs and the forces of democratization
- Argue for both sides of the case for whether a significant portion of Africa’s debt should be forgiven
Oct 22 (W)- From an African Perspective on Film #1
- no specific study guides for this film