African Affairs - Advance Access

Bibliography

Barringer, T. A. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:03:49 PST

A Select List of Articles on Africa Appearing in Non-Africanist Periodicals: July-September 2009

Barringer, T. A. — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:12:35 PST

Transforming the region: Supermarkets and the local food economy

Abrahams, C. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:06:36 PST

Supermarkets are often seen as marking the transition of food economies from traditional, informal, low-quality markets to more sophisticated, quality-based modes of food retailing. Focusing on Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, this article critically assesses the claim that supermarkets ‘revolutionize’ food economies in Africa. While supermarkets have been successful in expanding their investment reach in Zambia, the article shows that they are not the only players in the food economy, neither are they the most dominant. The article argues for a more critical engagement with supermarkets and their role in urban Africa by drawing attention to contextual changes in the local food economy and factors in the regional political economy that drive/resist the process. It argues that the ‘supermarket revolution myopia’ sidelines evidence of other potentially transformative processes by which the transition of food economies is made possible, and shows that ‘informal’ food markets, made up of complex networks of interaction, present a considerable challenge to the claims that supermarkets transform food economies in urban Africa. Transitions in the regulation, governance, and physical infrastructure of these markets suggest that they are progressively more resilient and competitive, despite the growth of supermarkets.

The relativity of poverty and income: How reliable are African economic statistics?

Jerven, M. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:06:35 PST

It has been argued that the fundamental cause of Africa’s current relative poverty is a lack of pro-growth institutions deriving either from the colonial system, the period of slavery, or from particular geographic or population characteristics. This article takes a fresh look at estimates of African country incomes. It subjects the available datasets to tests of accuracy, reliability, and volatility, and finds that there is very little to explain in terms of diversity of income between countries. With the exception of some resource-rich enclaves, a few island states, and South Africa, the income of one African economy is not meaningfully different from another. It is found that the majority of African countries should for all practical purposes be considered to have the same income level. The article therefore concludes that it is futile to use GDP estimates to prove a link between income today and existence of pro-growth institutions in the past, and recommends a searching reconsideration of the almost exclusive use of GDP as a measure of relative development.

US Policy towards Africa: The Bush Legacy and the Obama Administration

van de Walle, N. — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:28:18 PST

This article discusses the Bush administration’s African policy legacy and its implications for the Obama administration. Many have argued that the events of 9/11 led the administration to view the African subcontinent differently, and that the US has altered its conception of national interests in the region. The tripling of American foreign aid to the region is noteworthy. AFRICOM’s creation also suggests a policy shift. The article is nonetheless sceptical that these changes represent a paradigmatic shift in policy towards Africa, rather than a partial and inconsistent adjustment made possible by a conjunction of quite specific circumstances. Indeed, these circumstances provided an opportunity to redefine US foreign policy towards the region, which the Bush administration largely failed to do. The article argues that the weight of the American diplomatic presence in the region has continued to decline, because of the worsening institutional fragmentation in the foreign policy apparatus, contradictions in policy, and the decline in the State Department’s institutional capacity. As the Obama administration defines US policy in the region, it must address most of the same conundrums as its predecessors, but with less leverage than past administrations and constrained by the fiscal effects of the worst recession in sixty years.