The new post colonial state and development

Résumé du document

Started in 1957 when Ghana gained its independence from Britain, the process of decolonization of tropical Africa was the inevitable consequence of two main watersheds that both occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century: the great depression and the Second World War; 'if the depression had marked an era of retrenchment in Africa, the war was the reverse: a forcing-house of quick change and intense pressure'. Economic pressures from colonizers led to class struggles and social confrontation by Africans, and independence negotiations were brought to the transfer of power from European administrators to 'an emergent indigenous ruling class'. Thus, a large amount of new states were created (the number of constitutionally independent states increased from 75 in 1945 to 190 in 1998). While a state can be defined as 'a specialized and powerful organ of control endowed with the legitimate use of violence, of which the principal function is the allocation and regulation of the resources, it must neutrally establish and maintain law and order among the people.' So, the state must play the role of a neutral referee. But in post-colonial Africa, the state is mainly used as an instrument by the ruling class to attain personal objectives.

Extraits

[...] Thus, informalisation of the economy was a good way for the governments to collect rents. For instance, the Senegalese government “proved unwilling to suppress fraud in the import trade”[21] because it was a profitable activity for both importers and state agents (smugglers offered bribes to customs officers in exchange of their complicity, and customs officers gave a part of these tributes to their superiors for them not to be prosecuted). So contraband trade sinks deep roots in the state apparatus”[22]. [...]

[...] Both were encouraged by the state invest in manufacturing enterprises”[12]. Finally, post-colonial states nationalized the principal industries in order to control the important sources of revenue and to influence the market. Thus, state institutions were involved in production and trade. The case of Nigeria and the nationalization of oil companies is a good illustration of this phenomenon: during the 1970s, the Nigerian government adopted a policy of nationalisation, and in July 1979, it took the decision to nationalise all British Petroleum (BP)'s assets. [...]

[...] State and Capitalist Development in Nigeria”, p.39. Bill Freund, Making of Contemporary Africa. The Development of African Society since 1800”. p.205. Robert Bates, nature and origins of agricultural policies in Africa”, p.118. Robert Bates, nature and origins of agricultural policies in Africa”, p.119. Catherine Boone, “Trade, Taxes, and Tributes: Market Liberalizations and the New Importers in West Africa”, p.454. David Himbara, “Kenya's Indian Capitalists: The Development Story”, p.36. David Himbara, “Kenya's Indian Capitalists: The Development Story”, p.35. David Himbara, “Kenya's Indian Capitalists: The Development Story”, p.54. [...]

[...] Robert Bates, nature and origins of agricultural policies in Africa”, p.128. Catherine Boone, “Trade, Taxes, and Tributes: Market Liberalizations and the New Importers in West Africa”, p.454. Catherine Boone, “Trade, Taxes, and Tributes: Market Liberalizations and the New Importers in West Africa”, p.457. Catherine Boone, “Trade, Taxes, and Tributes: Market Liberalizations and the New Importers in West Africa”, p.462. Robert Bates, nature and origins of agricultural policies in Africa”, p.125. Bill Freund, Making of Contemporary Africa. The Development of African Society since 1800”. p.208. [...]

[...] “Maintaining Corporate Dominance after Decolonisation; the First Mover Advantage of Shell-BP in Nigeria”. Review of African Political Economy. Vol.27, No.85, September 2000. Himbara, D. (1994) “Kenya's Indian Capitalists: The Development Story”, in Kenya Capitalists, the State, and Development, pp.35-74. Bill Freund, Making of Contemporary Africa. The Development of African Society since 1800”. p.169. Bill Freund, Making of Contemporary Africa. The Development of African Society since 1800”. p.202. Economic History handbook. Bill Freund, Making of Contemporary Africa. [...]