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Africa Today 48.2 (2001) 163-164



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Iheduru, Obioma M., ed. 2001. Contending Issues in African Development: Advances, Challenges, and the Future. Westport: Greenwood Press. 342 pp.

It is difficult to review a book comprised of essays written by a number of authors, as these essays typically vary in quality, breadth, depth and relevance to the book's central theme. Obioma Iheduru's collection on development issues in Africa is no exception. However, it should be added that he has done an excellent job in putting together a number of interesting and thought-provoking articles written by some of the most distinguished authors on the subject.

This study is composed of fifteen articles, grouped around four major themes. The first examines the role of the state in development, with the general conclusion that the state will likely become less proactive in the future. The basis for this conclusion rests on the dismal track record of African governments during the past forty years, particularly on the virtual collapse of many economies during the 1980s. While this conclusion is neither new nor profound, the analysis itself was refreshing. Here the contributions varied widely; from the provocative article by Ali Mazuri on comparative dilemmas of modernization, to the somewhat fanciful contribution of Kelechi Kalu who suggests creating five "superstates" to reverse the trends of bad governance and instability that, he argues, have played such a large role in the region's poor record of development.

The second theme is on building social capacity, i.e., the ability of a nation's civil society to influence government actions. This is an issue that has grown in importance in recent years, especially with the explosive growth of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The main point here is that while NGOs have been an essential ingredient in the growth of democracy during the 1990s, they are no guarantee that the state will remain democratic. Julius Nyang'oro provides the example of Chiluba's ascension of power in Zambia as a case in point. Vincent Ferrara stresses what he believes is the central difference between the African conceptions of rights based on the community versus the Western conception based on the individual. While he may have painted too stark a contrast (witness the [End Page 163] vast differences in the West, say between the US and Sweden), his overall point is well made. This section could have been strengthened if it included more detail on just why we saw such a mushrooming of NGOs during the past decade.

Managing change is the third theme, and it is the most problematic; it simply takes on too much. Here the essays range from the impact of structural adjustment (Timothy Shaw and Sandra MacLean), to agriculture's role in restructuring the economy (Browne Onuoha) to April Gordon's look at women and sustainable development. While all three articles are very good, even excellent, they do not seem to fit together well.

The fourth theme is on regional integration. Here the contributions came together much better; the whole was greater than the parts. Augibou Yansane does an adequate job providing a summary of the major regional economic organizations (it is a bit out of date, but this is a minor point). The major contribution comes from Nurudeen Akinyemi, who argues persuasively that integration on the micro level (witness the management of the Gambia and Senegal rivers via the Senegal River Basin Organization, and the Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin) stands a better chance of success than integration on the macro level. Aja Akouru-Aja's analysis of the big picture, while including some important issues (e.g., lack of trust among members, low levels of trade and development, the lack of political will, and problems from globalization), would have been strengthened had he gone into more detail about what regional economists call economic convergence criteria. In the final analysis these economic fundamentals generally play a much larger part in the success (or lack of success) than some of the limitations he cites.

Finally, Iheduru did a...

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