Suchergebnisse

A review essay on books by (1) Jean-Francois Bayart [Ed], La Greffe de l'Etat ([Transplant of the State] Paris: Karthala, 1996); (2) Mamadou Dia, Africa's Management in the 1990s and Beyond: Reconciling Indigenous and Transplanted Institutions (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1996); (3) Mahmood Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (NJ: Princeton U Press, 1996); & (4) William Reno, Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone (England: Cambridge U Press, 1995). Each of these texts acknowledges the significance of the fact that contemporary sub-Saharan African states are European rather than African & rarely meet the state criteria of monopolistic power, effectiveness, & legitimacy. Dia refers to the "disconnected state" in his interpretation of economic management problems as an incongruency between formal & indigenous institutions. Bayart speaks of the "rhizome state," but differs from the others in that his examination of African political stability concludes that exogenous institutions have become substantially Africanized. Reno uses the term "shadow state" in his analysis of the informal sector & its relationship to the state in Sierra Leone. Mamdani argues that colonialism resulted in a bifurcation of the state &, in contrast to Dia, interprets even so-called indigenous or native authority as derived from colonialism. All four books offer excellent, though very different, statements on the development-related significance of the state in Africa. E. Blackwell

This paper reviews empirical evidence concerning government errors of
commission and omission in Africa. Seen in the context of international
comparisons, how do African states measure up in the defensive functions of
avoiding government excess? And how do they rate in the constructive functions
of supplying public goods in response to demands from society? Regarding
errors of commission, African states do not stand out as singularly
prone to spend large shares of GNP, to employ high ratios of the population
in bureaucratic jobs, or to own extensive state-owned enterprises. The data
on errors of omission are more equivocal. African states do too little to prevent
corruption, to protect civil and political rights, and to secure the legal
environment for business. Yet, other developing regions display many of the
same deficiencies. Overall, there is little empirical evidence of a sui generis
African state.

Warlord Politics and African States by William Reno is reviewed. Warlord Politics and African States by William Reno is reviewed.

Im Gegensatz zur offenen Unterstützung der Befreiungskämpfe im nordafrikanischen Raum durch Indien verblieben die Beziehungen mit den frankophonen subsaharischen afrikanischen Staaten durch gleichzeitige Verbindlichkeiten gegenüber der Kolonialmacht Frankreich zunächst auf der Ebene diplomatischer Anerkennung. Für einen Ausbau der bis Ende der 1980er und Anfang der 1990er Jahre aufgrund der französischen Dominanz noch sehr beschränkten Handelsbeziehungen zwischen Indien und den Staaten der Franc-Zone bestehen mittlerweile gute Aussichten. Hauptanknüpfungspunkte sind hier der Transfer von angepaßten Technologien und infrastrukturellem know-how im Rahmen der Süd-Süd-Beziehungen. (DÜI-Rwd)