Pre-colonial Africa

Before Africa was colonised, the continent was characterised by a large degree of pluralism and flexibility. The continent consisted not of closed reproducing entities, equipped with unique unchanging cultures, but of more fluid units that would readily incorporate outsiders (even whites) into the community as long as they accepted its customs, and where the sense of obligation and solidarity went beyond that of the nuclear family. An example of such inclusiveness were the Xhosa who limited Xhosadom not along ethnic or geographical lines but along political. All persons or groups who accepted the rule of the paramount chief became Xhosa.

The development of Africa: outsourcing poverty

I asked the question in a previous article, as to whether history showed that humanity is gradually, but irrecoverably, moving forward and becoming more developed, and answered it rather superficially by saying that we are getting there slowly.

But who is getting where and who determines what being developed is? And is development inevitable, as modernization theorists from Rostow to Fukuyama have claimed, as long as the developing nations follow the path of the so-called developed West, is development possible in a more than one way, and is development interconnected or unconnected with European development and wealth accumulation?

African communalism: Music

Before Africa was colonised, the continent was characterised by a large degree of pluralism and flexibility. The continent consisted not of closed reproducing entities, equipped with unique unchanging cultures, but of more fluid units that would readily incorporate outsiders (even whites) into the community as long as they accepted its customs, and where the sense of obligation and solidarity went beyond that of the nuclear family. An example of such inclusiveness were the South African Xhosa who limited Xhosadom not along ethnic or geographical lines but along political. All persons or groups who accepted the rule of the paramount chief became Xhosa. Pre-colonial African societies were of a highly varied nature. They could be either stateless, state run or kingdoms, but most were founded on the principles of communalism in that they were self-governing, autonomous entities, and in that all members took part, directly or indirectly, in the daily running of the tribe.

Multidimensional development

The interrelation or interdependence of the various areas that make up any development strategy is increasingly important, also bearing the cultural or psychological aspects of development and the partnership ideal in mind.

That the focus in the development world as a whole has widened somewhat in recent years, from a rather narrow and one-dimensional focus that saw economic and financial remedies as sufficient, to one that more willingly includes other areas such as culture and identity, is here apparent. This is so, although the overall focus is still largely upon economic remedies. Such one-dimensionality pre-supposes that all human beings behave in more or less the same way, something that seems unlikely in all but the most fundamental matters.

Neo-colonialism

The deeply embedded nature of colonialist discourse in the colonial period meant that the psychological transcendence of colonialism was not simple and straightforward. Much of the complexes and tendencies of the colonial period continued after the de-colonisation period, in Africa as well as the West, proving the need for psychological liberation on top of the (partial) physical liberation achieved at independence.

Post-independence African rulers, most of whom had Western university degrees, might have condemned the West publicly but they secretly admired it, denigrating African history, culture and indigenous institutions in much the same way as had the colonialists, eagerly modernising their countries along Western lines. Along with the “obsession with grandeur” that most of these leaders showed, this demonstrated both a lack of psychological liberation from colonial discourse and an inferiority complex. Kenya’s former president Moi’s claim (in 1991) that Kenya was “at least 200 years behind the West”  exemplifies this. Moreover, many of these leaders were seemingly as elitist as the colonisers, dismantling little of the oppressive colonial administrative machinery and employing the same instruments of coercion and tyranny that colonialists had widely used.

Africa Contact volunteer harassed by Swazi police

Africa Contact volunteer Morten Koefoed, who is in Swaziland to monitor and document the situation in Swaziland and liaise with Africa Contact’s partners in the country, was yesterday detained and questioned by Swazi police for four whole hours. During the questioning, which was conducted by several officers, he was accused of all manner of things, such as being a terrorist. Morten had been on his way to attending a meeting with members of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, commemorating the anniversary of the ban of political parties in Swaziland on April 12. He had not broken any law or misbehaved in any way, and was consequently released by the police without charge, proving that it was simply an act of intimidation on behalf of Swazi police.

Besøg fra Zimbabwe

Earnest Mudzengi, National Director for National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), besøger Danmark mellem den 2. og 15. april, sammen med koordinator på en international kampagne med fokus på seksuel vold mod kvinder i Zimbabwe, sydafrikanske Venitia Govender. Besøget er kommet i stand, fordi to forestående projektsamarbejder med Afrika Kontakt, om henholdsvis kapacitetsopbygning af NCA og en international kampagne om seksuel vold mod kvinder i Zimbabwe, skal diskuteres og formaliseres. Desuden skal de to gæster mødes med Ulandssekretariatet, Det Udenrigspolitiske Udvalg og Udenrigsministeriets Afrikakontor, samt holde foredrag i Center for Afrikastudier den 8. april og et offentligt møde  i Verdenskulturcenteret den 13.

Danmarks nye udviklingsstrategi

DEN NY STRATEGI FOR DANSK UDVIKLINGSPOLITIK

Der er nogle overraskende positive sider i det nye udkast til en Strategi for Dansk Udviklingspolitik, selvom hvorvidt disse opvejes eller overskygges af de negative sider afhænger af, hvordan strategien fortolkes og udmøntes, samt hvordan vægtningen af de enkelte dele finder sted.

Jeg ser det dog i første omgang at se det som værende positivt, at nogle vigtige arbejdsområder og værdigrundlag bliver nævnt og tilsyneladende prioriteret.

For eksempel skal partnerskab prioriteres, pointerer strategien. Udviklingspartnernes ”ønsker og prioriteter for udvikling” skal lyttes til, og ”partnerskaber skal bygge på åbenhed og gensidige forpligtelser”. Det kan dog være problematisk, at egentlig ligeværdighed i partnerskabsforholdet ikke omtales. Man kan jo fra dansk side jo bare vælge at se bort fra de ”ønsker og prioriteter”, som man har lyttet til.