Panel 9: Strong States, Weak Societies? Africa and the Return of the Developmental State

Critics of the narrative of state failure in Africa have rightly pointed out that the state could never quite fade away, that even in supposed crisis it was (re)producing itself in a way or another. Nevertheless, a number of African states seem to be currently operating in a new paradigm, their “capacities”, measured for instance in their budgets, substantially improved. Some of those revamped states are more than ever engaging in power-projection and diplomacy, contributing to changing the international standing of Africa. Two dimensions have to be taken into account. (1) A new strategic context characterised by renewed competition over the continent’s natural resources and high prices on the world markets, as well as by a shift in development policies in favour of “state capacity”. (2) Internally, many states are returning to “centralised development schemes”, while availing themselves of new access to financial world markets thanks notably to rising oil prices and debt reduction schemes. In some cases (Rwanda, Angola, Mozambique) military victories over arch-enemies and total control over transition processes have been instrumental, while other factors, such as (the forms of) democracy or the benefits of international migration have played a key part in other countries (Senegal, Mali, Burkina).
While the current political economy of a number of African states has many commonalities with the conditions prevalent in the 1960s, we want to discuss the shape, the politics and the contours of this new developmental state. How should one ‘read’ in this context the apparent contradiction between the return to state-centred development and years of neo-liberal policies as well as waves of privatisation that have led to the outsourcing of many of the state’s core functions to (semi-)private bodies, especially in areas with limited fiscal potential (education, health)? And to what extent is this ‘return’ typical of post-conflict authoritarian transitions?