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Englebert (1997, 771) Claims That The ‘african Hegemonic Quest Predates ...

Englebert (1997, 771) claims that the ‘African hegemonic quest predates colonialism and uses the contemporary structures of statehood to its benefit. Yet, it does so especially in cases of reciprocal assimilation of modern and traditional elites through neo-patrimonial means at the expense of formal statehood. The state apparatus is indeed the victim of these strategies and the latter are therefore a prime reason for weak state capacity and underdevelopment in Africa.'
Recent analyses of Africa have focused on the role of the state, and the failure of many African states, and this is clearly an important point to consider and address in trying to secure a more successful developmental future for the continent. However, it is important not to neglect other issues which are proving to be obstacles to development in many parts of the region. For example, Alemayehu (2003, 59) argues that ‘understanding the African debt problem and proposing its solution require understanding its historical origin.' Again, then, this points to the need to understand how the social, political and economic structures in Africa have developed historically in order how to improve them today. However, the debt issue also highlights how much Africa is tied into the world economy, and particularly into economic relations with the West. Alemayehu (2003, 68) cites the burden of debt as a major barrier to development in sub-Saharan Africa, explaining that ‘the African debt is characterised by the growing importance of debt owed to bilateral and multilateral creditors, a stagnant set of terms and conditions of borrowing, an increasing importance of interest and principal arrears (usually capitalized through the Paris and London clubs) in the growth of long term debt. Indicators of the debt burden also revealed that the African debt is extremely heavy compared to the capacity of the African economies.' This points to the need to negotiate with Western powers (often the former colonial powers) and may place restrictions on the ability of African countries to avoid working within a European model of statehood and development.
Chapter 1: top-down versus bottom-up approaches to development
Development in Africa (and elsewhere) has overwhelmingly been characterised by a top-down approach in which either foreigners (foreign government representatives, international financial institutions, international NGOs etc) or local elites prescribe and implement development policies with little or not consultation with the target population at any stage. Such imposition of development policies, at times with little understanding of the specific context in which the policies are being imposed, has received a lot of criticism in recent years and has spurned an array of ‘participatory' approaches to development.

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