Sub-Saharan Africa

Economic Liberalization and Constraints to Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Rudiger von Arnim

Co-authored with Jomo KS, published as DESA working paper and forthcoming in Columbia/IPD-volume

This paper critically reviews the impact of globalization on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since the early 1980s. The large... more This paper critically reviews the impact of globalization on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since the early 1980s. The large gains expected from opening up to international economic forces have, to date, been limited, and there have been significant adverse consequences. FDI in SSA has been largely confined to resource, especially mineral, extraction, even as continuing capital flight has reduced financial resources available for productive investments. Premature trade liberalization has further undermined prospects for SSA economic development as productive capacities in many sectors are not sufficiently competitive to take advantage of any improvements in market access.

Hybridisation in Non-Profit Organisations in Southern Africa: A Critical Cross-Cultural Reading

by Frederik Claeyé

In R. Hull, J. Gibbon, O. Branzei, & H. Haugh (Eds.), The third sector, Dialogues in Critical Management Studies (Vol. 1, pp. 235–258). Bingley, UK: Emerald.

Purpose – This chapter contributes to the growing debate on the diffusion of managerialist modes of thinking across... more Purpose – This chapter contributes to the growing debate on the diffusion of managerialist modes of thinking across third-sector organisations. It offers an analysis into the power dynamics at play in the emergence of hybrid management systems (HMSs) by looking at the management practices in non-profit organisations (NPOs) active in combating HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach – In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with donor organisations and big non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in the Northern hemisphere, and with managers and team leaders in South African NGOs. Taking a postcolonial perspective, the HMSs resulting from the encounter at the ‘glocal’ interface are investigated.

Findings – The data indicate that the power dynamics shaping the process of hybridisation work through three intertwined circuits of power: the managerialist discourse, the ‘rules of practice’ emanating from that discourse and episodic power relations at the level of interactions.

Research limitations/implications – As is the case with most qualitative research, care must be taken in generalising the findings of this research beyond the organisations participating in this study. At a theoretical level, the implications of this chapter are its contributions to three sets of literature that rarely interact: NPO management, international and cross-cultural management (ICCM) and critical management studies (CMS). At the level of organisational praxis, the findings have potential impact in terms of developing innovative ways of managing NPOs.

Originality/value – The originality and value of this chapter lies in its application of postcolonial theory to understanding hybridisation processes shaping management ideas and practices in South African NPOs.

Moving and Mediating: A Mobile View on Sub-Saharan African Migration Towards Europe

by Joris Schapendonk

Traditionally migration related research has focused on the beginning and ending sides of migration. The general... more Traditionally migration related research has focused on the beginning and ending sides of migration. The general emphasis has been on the decision making process before migrating (the pre-migration phase) as well as on migrant’s adaptation and integration at the ending stage of migration. Paradoxically, migration as a process of moving has been understudied. This study on sub-Saharan African (sSA) migration towards Europe attempts to include en route dynamics in migration research by analysing the migration process (the act of moving) in the framework of the Mobilities Paradigm (Sheller and Urry, 2006, Urry, 2007). Within this paradigm, mobility (instead of only settlement) is perceived as integral to human lives which challenges social science to go beyond their sedentary viewpoints.

The study presented here is based on several fieldwork periods in which various ‘places of migration’ in different countries (Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands) are visited to interview sSA migrants. Hence the migration dynamics both out- and inside Europe are taken into account. In addition, several migrants have been ‘followed’ for a longer period of time to gain longitudinal insights into the process of migrating. Hereby experimental methods, such as email conversations and messenger chats, are used.

This paper presents an analytical framework that interconnects the (im)mobility of migrants with five other sorts of mobility: mobility of third persons, flows of goods and money, imaginative travels, communications and virtual travels. Thereby it acknowledges the importance of social networks during the migration process. However, it argues against the deterministic and all-inclusiveness of conventional network theories. It seeks for more ‘mobile’ explanations where ‘very new contacts’ outside the existing social network as well as processes of dis-connecting play key roles in trajectories of individual migrants.

With the interconnected mobilities lens this paper attempts to analyse the changeability of migrant aspirations/destinations, the flexibility/dependency of migrants during their journeys and the dialectic relationship between mobility and immobility in the migration process. Altogether it seeks for multiple causalities in the analysis of contemporary sub-Saharan African migration towards the European Union. 

Neorealism and International Subsystems of Small States: Insights from Sub-Saharan African Countries’ Interactions

by Gaetano Calenzo

Co-authored with Mughanda Muhindo.
Interdisciplinary Political Studies, Vol. 1, Issue 2 (2011), pp. 148-160. ISSN 2039-8573

The prevailing wisdom in IR debates finds that neorealism is “the powerful tool” predicting weak states’ behaviour. It... more The prevailing wisdom in IR debates finds that neorealism is “the powerful tool” predicting weak states’ behaviour. It has been argued that systemic factors are more likely to explain foreign policy choices of small states if compared to domestic
factors. This paper is an exploration of the structural realist hypotheses about small states’ behaviour in the international system. It particularly questions the importance given by neorealism to structural explanations while analysing small states’ behaviour, despite paying little attention to the relativity of smallness. However, the neo-realist hypotheses would become more consistent if tested on smaller states of subsystems crowded by countries considered small in global comparisons. By focusing on smaller states of the Sub-Saharan-African sub-system, this paper argues that neorealist expectations find very little empirical support.

Grade repetition in primary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa: an evidence base for change

by Jonathan Penson

Co-authored with L. Brannelly, M. Latham & S. Ndaruhutse

Repetition, or retention, is the practice of making learners who have not fully mastered the curriculum or achieved a... more Repetition, or retention, is the practice of making learners who have not fully mastered the curriculum or achieved a certain academic standard repeat the academic year. This study reviews literature on the pedagogical, psychological and financial impacts of repetition. It finds that repetition practices are embedded within cultural and historical traditions that are not always pedagogically founded. Concluding that repetition has few pedagogical benefits (with noted exceptions) and is financially inefficient, the report then goes on to make practical policy recommendations for reforms. It argues that to tackle effectively the problems of repetition, reforms need to also address the reasons behind poor attendance, the quality and relevance of teaching, and provide sufficient support for teachers.

Potential und Grenzen des Mobile Banking: Bewertung der Erweiterung des Zugangs zu Finanzdienstleistungen durch den Mobilfunk am Beispiel Subsahara-Afrikas

by Basanta Thapa

term paper

assessment of the potential impact of mobile banking on the economies of Subsahara Africa. assessment of the potential impact of mobile banking on the economies of Subsahara Africa.

Neo-realism and International Sub-systems of Small states. Insights from Sub-Saharan African Countries’ Interactions

by Gaetano Calenzo

Co-authored with Mughanda Muhindo. Paper presented at the XXIV SISP Annual Conference (Venice, Sept. 16-18, 2010).

Student-centred and democratic learning: an investigation into the experiences of teachers trained and educated in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Stephen Griffin