Where is Uhuru?: Reflections on the Struggle for Democracy in Africa'The issue of democracy and good governance as they relate to development and socio-economic transformation in Africa have been a focus of considerable discussion and debate in and outside the continent. These essays by Professor Shivji, a highly respected and critical Tanzanian academic, enrich the debate. Written from the perspective of an intellectual who has firm grounds within Tanzanian society and a comprehension of global events, Where is Uhuru? certainly sharpens the content of the discussion and debate. It is recommended reading for those interested in the struggle for democracy and development in Africa.' Salim Ahmed Salim, former secretary general of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)Trappings of neoliberalismThe neoliberal project, led by the IMF and World Bank, promised to correct many of the distortions in the African postcolonial environment. It pledged to engineer liberalisation and expand democratic space through competitive multiparty elections. For a people who had suffered years of statism, these promises were persuasive. Indeed, they accorded this project a level of legitimacy it otherwise would not have enjoyed. However, several decades down the line, Issa G. Shivji aptly asks, Where is Uhuru? Africa at mercy of foreign imperialismFew people, if any, can testify to the success of the envisaged reforms. Instead, neoliberalism failed to guarantee a sustainable basis for freedom, rights and prosperity. These essays show that the reform period opened the continent to greater privation by a more emboldened local political class who, under pressure from or by acquiescing to foreign imperialist forces, undermined the struggles for democratic transformation and economic empowerment. Africa's right to self-determinationWhether one is examining the rewards of multiparty politics, the dividends from a new constitutional dispensation, the processes of land reform, women's rights to property, or the Pan-Africanist project for emancipation, Shivji illustrates how all these have suffered severe body blows. Shivji not only calls for a new, Africa-centred line of thinking that is unapologetic of the continent's right to self-determination, but through these essays sets out examples of how such thinking should proceed. If you're an African non-governmental organisation of limited funds, please email info@pambazukapress.org to arrange a complimentary copy of this ebook (Adobe PDF). Ebook orders within the United Kingdom include VAT. |
Contents
Introduction 1 | 1 |
Part 1 Contested Terrain of Democratic Politics 7 | 7 |
1 Critical elements of a new democratic consensus in Africa 8 | 8 |
2 Good governance bad governance 20 | 20 |
3 Towards a new democratic politics 30 | 30 |
a contested terrain 40 | 40 |
Part 2 The State of the Debate on Constitutionalism 49 | 49 |
5 Three generations of constitutions 50 | 50 |
11 Reflections on the issue of women and land 139 | 139 |
Part 4 Intellectuals Biographies and Reminiscences 149 | 149 |
12 From neoliberalism to PanAfricanism 150 | 150 |
13 Walter Rodney a revolutionary intellectual 159 | 159 |
14 National autonomous development 167 | 167 |
15 The life and times of Babu 183 | 183 |
Part 5 PanAfricanism or Imperialism? 195 | 195 |
16 PanAfricanism or imperialism? 196 | 196 |
6 Towards a new constitutional order 64 | 64 |
7 Federalism constitutionalism and the crisis 79 | 79 |
8 Constitutional limits on parliamentary powers 93 | 93 |
A Terrain of Democratic Struggles 105 | 105 |
9 Land tenure problems and reforms in Tanzania 106 | 106 |
10 Grounding the debate on land 124 | 124 |
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Where is Uhuru?: Reflections on the Struggle for Democracy in Africa Issa G. Shivji No preview available - 2009 |