Abstract
Africa’s post-colonial era is regrettably a picture of diverse economic disabilities. These problems are attributable to a number of factors. Very prominent among them are the marginalization of the continent in the global economic system, the regime of political mis-governance and lack of state capacity. These issues have impacted negatively on the quality of life and made Africa the most backward in the world. The continent’s experimentation with Structural Adjustment Programmes and other development initiatives has failed to effectively address the problems. Hence, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), another major initiative aimed at facilitating a continental strategic development capacity. The modus operandi for NEPAD includes the domestication of efforts in promoting Africa’s transformation rather than exclusively relying on foreign aid and the deepening of regional integration as a necessity for achieving inclusive growth and development. By institutional design, NEPAD seeks to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable growth and development, increase Africa’s integration into the world economy and empower women through building partnerships at country, regional and global levels. While the prosecution of these agenda has led to the formulation of a number of continental policy frameworks, Africa is yet to be effectively placed on the path of sustainable development almost twenty years after its establishment. The major issue has been the lack of a coherent regional mechanism for benchmarking and enforcing performance across the continent, particularly in the critical areas of agriculture and infrastructure. As demonstrated in this work, if the fundamental objectives of NEPAD are to be effectively realized, these drawbacks need to be addressed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Adesina, J.O. 2004. NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: Towards the Political Economy of a Discourse. Society in Transition 35 (1): 125–144.
Adesina, J.O., Y. Graham, and A. Olukoshi, eds. 2005. Africa and Development Challenges in the New Millennium: The NEPAD Debate. London: Zed Books.
African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). 2005. The Politics of the MDGs and Nigeria. A Critical Appraisal of the Global Partnership for Development (Goal 8). Harare: AFRODAD.
African Union Commission/Economic Commission for Africa. 2011. Governing Development in Africa: The Role of the State in Economic Transformation. Addis Ababa: AU.
Agbu, O. 2005. NEPAD: Origin, Challenges and Prospects. The Indian Journal of Political Science 64 (1–2): 97–115.
Ajayi, R., and S. Oshewolo. 2013. Historicizing the African Development Crisis. In Alternative Development Strategies for Africa. A Festschrift for Gabriel Olatunde Babawale, ed. A.O. Odukoya, 1–26. Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization.
Alemazung, J.A. 2010. Post-Colonial Colonialism: An Analysis of International Factors and Actors Marring African Socio-Economic and Political Development. The Journal of Pan African Studies 3 (10): 62–84.
Bardhan, P. 2004. The Impact of Globalization on the Poor. Policy Paper No. 003, July. London, United Kingdom: Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD).
Bavister-Gould, A. 2011. Predatory Leaderships, Predatory Rule and Predatory States. Concept Brief 01, September. Birmingham, United Kingdom: Developmental Leadership Program (DLP).
Bayart, J.F. 1993. The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly. London: Longman.
Binswanger-Mkhize, H.P. 2009. Challenges and Opportunities for African Agriculture and Food Security: High Food Prices, Climate Change, Population Growth and HIV and AIDS. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Expert Meeting on How to Feed the World in 2050, June 24–26, Rome, Italy.
Biswas, A. 2004. NEPAD: Forum for Growth and Unity. Economic and Political Weekly 39 (8): 793–796.
Boaduo, N.A. 2008. Africa’s Political, Industrial and Economic Development Dilemma in the Contemporary Era of the African Union. The Journal of Pan African Studies 2 (4): 93–106.
Bujra, A. 2004. Pan-African Political and Economic Visions of Development from the OAU to the AU: From Lagos Plan of Action to the New Partnership for African Development. Occasional Paper No. 13. Addis Ababa: Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF).
Ekeh, P.P. 1975. Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement. Comparative Studies in Society and History 17 (1): 91–112.
Fashagba, J., and S. Oshewolo. 2014. Peace and Governance in Africa. Covenant University Journal of Political and International Affairs 2 (2): 45–57.
Federici, S. 2001. The Debt Crisis, Africa and the New Enclosures. http://www.midnightnotes.org/pdfneweng2.pdf. Accessed 25 Feb 2015.
Fritz, V., and A.R. Menocal. 2006. (Re) building Developmental States: From Theory to Practice. Working Paper 274. London: Overseas Development Institute.
Funke, N., and S.M. Nsouli. 2003. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): Opportunities and Challenges. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Working Paper WP/03/69. Washington D.C, United States: IMF
Garuba, D. 2008. Country Profile: Nigeria and its Regional Context Annex Foreign Policy. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) International Yearbook 2008. Barcelona: CIDOB.
Gisselquist, R.M. 2012. Good Governance as a Concept, and Why This Matters for Development Policy. United Nations University (UNU) – World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) Working Paper No. 2012/30. Tokyo, Japan: UNU-WIDER.
Hope, K.R. 2002. From Crisis to Renewal: Towards a Successful Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. African Affairs 101: 387–402.
———. 2006. Prospects and Challenges for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development: Addressing Capacity Deficits. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 24 (2): 203–228.
Jackson, R.H., and C.G. Rosberg. 1982. Why Africa’s Weak States Persist: The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood. World Politics 35 (1): 1–24.
Kanbur, R. 2001. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): An Initial Commentary. http://www.arts.cornell.edu/poverty/kanbur/povnepad.pdf. Accessed 25 Feb 2015
Mayaki, I.A. 2014. Agenda 2063 – Pathway to Africa We Want. Strengthening International Support for NEPAD Implementation. Address to the 69th UN General Assembly, October 17. New York, United States: UN.
McCord, G., J.D. Sachs, and W.T. Woo. 2005. Understanding African Poverty: Beyond the Washington Consensus to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Approach. Paper Presented at the conference on Africa in the Global Economy: External Constraints, Regional Integration, and the Role of the State in Development and Finance, Forum on Debt and Development (FONDAD), held at the South African Reserve Bank, Pretoria, June 13–14.
Melber, H. 2002. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) – Scope and Perspectives. Discussion Paper 16. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
Mkandawire, R. 2009. A Review of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP): A Focus on Achievements. Pretoria: CAADP.
Moghalu, K.C. 2013. Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter. Ibadan: Bookcraft.
NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency/The Economic Commission for Africa/The Office of the Special Advisor on Africa. 2012. Africa’s Decade of Change: Reflections on 10 Years of NEPAD. Addis Ababa: NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency.
Novo, F.G. 2012. Moral Drought: The Ethics of Water Use. Water Policy 14: 65–72.
Nwozor, A. 2013. Africa’s Development Curtain and Afro-Asian Relations. In Alternative Development Strategies for Africa. A Festschrift for Gabriel Olatunde Babawale, ed. A.O. Odukoya, 275–299. Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization.
Obianyo, N.E. 2009. Restructuring the State in Africa: Good Governance, Market Reform and Virtual Governance – The Nigerian Experience. Nigerian Journal of International Affairs 35 (1): 9–40.
Ogbinaka, K. 2006. NEPAD: Continuing the Disconnections in Africa? The Journal of Pan African Studies 1 (6): 4–27.
Olukoshi, A. 2002. Governing the African Political Space for Sustainable Development: A Reflection on NEPAD. Paper Prepared for Presentation at the African Forum for Envisioning Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, April 26–29.
Organization of African Unity. n.d. Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa, 1980–2000. Addis Ababa: OAU.
Osaghae, E.E. 2003. Colonialism and Civil Society in Africa: The Perspective of Ekeh’s Two Publics. Paper Presented at the Symposium on Canonical Works and Continuing Innovation in African Arts and Humanities, Accra, Ghana, September 17–19.
Oshewolo, S. 2011. Miseries and Fortunes: The Interface between Globalization and Poverty. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences 2 (2): 1–23.
———. 2019a. Rhetoric and Praxis: Nigeria’s Africa Diplomacy and the Shaping of the African Union. The Round Table 108 (1): 49–65.
———. 2019b. Bringing back the Issues: Nigeria’s Afrocentric Policy under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 57 (3): 324–342.
Oshewolo, S., and J. Bamiduro. 2014. Debt Crisis, Structural Reforms and Debt Relief. In Understanding Government and Politics in Nigeria, ed. Rotimi Ajayi and Joseph Fashagba, 301–315. Omu-Aran: Department of Political Science and International Relations, Landmark University.
Oshewolo, S., and B. Durowaiye. 2013. Deciphering the Phenomenon of Elite Corruption in Africa. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance 4 (4.4): 1–17.
Oshewolo, S., and R.M. Oniemola. 2011. The Financing Gap, Civil Society and Service Delivery in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 13 (2): 254–268.
Pokhariyal, G.P. 2007. Development Strategies for sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal on World Peace 24 (1): 83–102.
Rampel, R. 2008. Periodizing African Development History. African Economic History 38: 125–158.
Ray, S.N. 2006. Modern Comparative Politics: Approaches, Methods and Issues. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited.
Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) – Africa. 2007. Challenges and Prospects in the Implementation of NEPAD. New York: UN RCM-Africa.
Seventh African Governance Forum. 2007. Building the Capable State in Africa. Nigeria Country Report. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Seventh African Governance Forum.
Soludo, C.C. 2003. Debt, Poverty, and Inequality: Toward an Exit Strategy for Nigeria and Africa. In The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy, ed. Ngozi O. Iweala, Charles C. Soludo, and M. Muhtar, 23–74. Trenton: Africa World Press Inc.
Stein, H. 2000. Economic Development and the Anatomy of Crisis in Africa: From Colonialism through Structural Adjustment. Copenhagen: Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen.
Tandon, Y. 2002. NEPAD and FDIs: Symmetries and Contradictions. Paper Prepared for Presentation at the African Forum for Envisioning Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, April 26–29.
Tawfik, R.M. 2008. NEPAD and African Development: Towards a New Partnership Between Development Actors in Africa. African Journal of International Affairs 11 (1): 55–70.
United Nations Children’s Fund Asian Development Bank (UNICEF-ADB). 2010. The Role of Non-State Providers in Delivering Basic Social Services for Children. Metro Manila: Asian Development Bank Headquarters.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 2012. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development: Performance, Challenges and the Role of UNCTAD. Fifty-fifth Executive Session of the Trade and Development Board, Geneva, Switzerland, July 2–5.
Yaqub, N. 2013. Governance, Democracy and Development in Africa. In Alternative Development Strategies for Africa. A Festschrift for Gabriel Olatunde Babawale, ed. A.O. Odukoya, 49–72. Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ajayi, R., Oshewolo, S. (2020). African Development Strategies: Whither NEPAD?. In: Oloruntoba, S.O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Political Economy. Palgrave Handbooks in IPE. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38921-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-38922-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)