Conclusion

Abstract

Kalu and Falola acknowledge that Africa has failed to domesticate globalization for the benefit of Africans. The continent has remained a supplier of primary produce and a market, almost a dumping ground, for cheap manufactured goods from other regions of the world, having largely failed to develop the capacity to manufacture goods for export or for local consumption. While explanations for Africa’s poor economic performance differ, the authors emphasize the centrality of the state. They argue that no economic model—whether market based or state anchored—can produce real growth and development under a predatory state. Therefore, the first step for Africa to reposition itself for more profitable engagements with the rest of the world is a restructuring of the African state.