African Economies & the Enigma of Transformation:Old problems, new prospect

Over six decades after the winds of change blew across the African continent, it remains burdened with political, social and economic instability. Scholars and activists both within and outside of Africa are re-thinking the position of the continent in contemporary times, specifically questioning whether mainstream development and economic paradigms have been relevant and helpful to support Africa’s transition from colonization to prosperity. Against this backdrop, we aim for this conference to be a key convening point where scholars, civil society members, public officials and business leaders can interrogate, discuss and rethink the economic paths and development trajectories of Africa with a focus on Sudan all at different stages of political and economic transformation. Indeed, the decision to hold this conference is, in part, inspired by the voices of dissent calling for a rethinking of the development paradigms themselves, and their implications for Africa. As such, we believe this conference is not only timely but crucially needed. This conference provides an opportunity to reflect historically on African economic experiences and to evaluate the present position and role of African states in the global economy.

Over two days, this conference will take stock of recent trends in the development of African states with a particular focus on the economic of political transition. This conference aims to discuss emerging trends in development, such as the role of women, minorities, and entrepreneurs as well as the growing debate on climate change and prospects for growth. We will focus on how the business community has operated, and continues to operate, in an Africa that still faces enduring inequalities, unfair terms of trade and lacks a unified political will – an Africa where the decolonization agenda has often been led by authoritarian institutions, capitalizing on liberation rhetoric in order to consolidate power, even as they remain dependent on world markets. Crucially, the conference will zoom in on the interaction and integration of the private and the public sector exploring how discrete these sectors are from one another and what impact this has on the state-economy-development nexus in each country.

Objectives

The conference will be organized around three main themes which all fall under the central issue of ‘transformation in Africa’. We will attempt to unpack the concept of transformation – economic and social. We ask what ‘transformation’ means for Africa and whether the stories told by the transformation agenda fulfill the needs and aspirations of the people on the continent. These questions are crucial to the current debate spearheaded by international organizations including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Similar to the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative, the transformation agenda is compellingly optimistic and broad. Therefore, this conference intends to critically engage with development discourse by interrogating the transformation narrative, posing the central question: What models of transformation are most appropriate for the African continent?

Drawing on this main issue, we pose the following themes each to be discussed throughout the two-day conference.

Firstly “Economy Of Transitions”
Discussions will focus on the costs associated with development and economic transformation, which are these, which costs are tolerated or borne and by whom? Who ought to pay the costs of development? As part of this theme, we want to discuss development as a fraught process as opposed to the mainstream narratives which continue to paint change as a win-win, linear, smooth and teleological process. In reality, development consists of constant and often unavoidable tensions and struggles such as those between labour and capital or humans and the environment. Realistic development plans would benefit from not dismissing these struggles, but rather understanding their nature and attempt to reduce the costs associated with them. By the same token, we want presenters to discuss the ways in which the transformation agenda takes into account inequalities such as racial or gender inequalities? Moreover, how does the transformation agenda take into consideration post-conflict zones and the specific needs of war-affected areas in terms of infrastructure, reparations, social cohesion and peace building. How far can nationalist discourses impact economic as well as social inclusion? Have there been any successful examples of inclusive economic development in Africa that took into consideration the rights of minorities and those underprivileged economically. What type of rules and regulations are needed in order to put in place a model for development that considers the needs of all stake-holders.

Secondly “Enigma Of Transformations”
We wish to understand the obstacles that prohibited Africa from fully industrializing, especially given that industrialization was often prescribed in theory and in practice since Independence. We wish to recognize the similarities between the orthodox approaches and mainstream growth theories and understand whether these approaches fully consider the current global and local realities that impede the path to full industrialization. Why have African economies continued colonial modes of economic governance that is fixated on primary commodity exports and extractive industries? Moreover, we also would like to highlight the success stories from the continent on economic planning and industrialization: which policies have been adopted that worked in favor of national industries as well as managing to break away from colonial legacies? This theme most importantly wants scholars to study paths towards industrialization via domestic resource mobilization and social economy, as opposed to a dependence on international loans that deepen Africa’s debt crisis.

Thirdly “Dynamics With Globalization”
Development is not simply a nationalist project, development depends on the rules of the global economy, which have been largely detrimental to development in Africa. We will investigate the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed on the creation of economic regimes emanating from the Global North that are increasingly detrimental to development projects in Africa. Giving the reassertion of nationalism in the most developed countries, it is necessary to interrogate how these new policies impact ‘development’ in Africa and what types of changes will come about with regard to trade rules, foreign direct investments, future foreign aid, bi-lateral loans and so on. This theme aims to examine how world politics will affect the process of state-building and development planning in Africa, linked to the negotiating power, resisting forms of neo- colonialism as well as taking advantage of trade opportunities and technology upgrades. This theme opens up space for scholars to investigate and analyze obstacles facing a developing country in terms of autonomy of governance and national policy in a globalized world.

These three themes offer timely loci analysis at a time when both people-led and more elite-led political change on the continent has been an increasing trend, punctuated most recently by the Sudanese and Algerian uprisings for the former, and in Ethiopia for the latter. At the heart of these has been a push for economic transformation, at varying levels. Whatever the vehicle for political change, these transitioning states, and many others on the continent, are now interrogating pathways that reconcile transformative pathways for both the political and the economic. This conference therefore could not be better timed to interrogate how these reconciliations could be achieved, and its scholars will have the potential to reverberate throughout the continent as well as the wider region for the foreseeable future.