L’Etat et la question du développement en Afrique subsaharienne

Abstract

A common view of the developmental prospects of sub-Saharan Africa is that the crucial obstacle is political. Stronger states and representative institutions are a necessary precondition for development. This is a common view in both the media and in academe. This paper argues that this is to get things the wrong way round. Rather it is development, specifically the capitalist form of development which is the necessary condition for strong states and democratic institutions. This in turn requires a radical change in the property relations that tend to prevail over most of the sub-continent; a change that is unlikely to be forthcoming.

Keywords

• sub-saharian Africa
• state
• democracy
• capitalist development
• land tenure regime