ABSTRACT The Welfare (State) Regime Paradigm is rife with paradoxes. In spite of the general awar... more ABSTRACT The Welfare (State) Regime Paradigm is rife with paradoxes. In spite of the general awareness of the much wider remit of Social Policy (as a field of study and public policy), the paradigm has narrowed the focus of the field to a set of social protection instruments. This is most evident in the ‘decommodification’ index used in Esping-Andersen's original typology. Equally problematic is the idea of ‘decommodification’. The diminution of social policy finds its most ardent expression in the late 20th century neoliberal take on social policy, although for normative reasons that many Social Policy scholars would find objectionable. Reclaiming the wider vision of social policy requires re-reading history and the pioneers. It is against this background that we set out the idea of transformative social policy and the wider vision of Social Policy at the epistemic and policy levels. Central to this are the multiple tasks of social policy, the diversity of instruments for addressing the ‘social question’, and the inherent inter-connection between economic and social policies.
Professor Archibald Monwabisi Mafeje passed away on 28 March 2007. The meaning of Archie Mafeje, ... more Professor Archibald Monwabisi Mafeje passed away on 28 March 2007. The meaning of Archie Mafeje, for three generations of African scholars and social scientists, is profound and about diverse encounters. For some it was personal; for others it was through his works, and for most in the community the encounter via scholarly works became personal and intimate. The meaning of Mafeje for generations of African scholars is found in his uncompromising aversion to the 'epistemology of alterity'-the 'othering' of Africa and Africans-and the advancement of scholarship grounded in the centring of African ontological experiences. It is in this aversion to alterity and pursuit of endogeneity that we locate Mafeje's lasting legacy for new generations of African intellectuals. This paper, which is personal and intellectual, involves a close and critical engagement with these aspects of Mafeje's scholarships.
This book is a collection of critical papers written mainly by eminent African scholars and activ... more This book is a collection of critical papers written mainly by eminent African scholars and activists as a response to the launch of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in 2001. NEPAD was initiated by a small number of African heads of state under the leadership of South African President Thabo Mbeki. These leaders offered a deal to the rich countries whereby African countries would commit themselves to political reform and economic development if the West would triple aid flows to the region. NEPAD also promised to put in place the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to monitor progress, which raised expectations of democratisation and improved governance on the continent. However, both African and Western governments soon backed away from these commitments, and Mbeki's unwillingness to criticise President Robert Mugabe's dismal rule in Zimbabwe has substantially damaged NEPAD's credibility. The papers published in this book were presented at a conference jointly organised by the Third World Network-Africa (TWN-Africa) and the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in Accra, Ghana, in April 2002. The conference ended with a resolution (published in the appendix of the book) that outlines NEPAD's fundamental flaws. The resolution argues that 'while many of its stated goals may be well-intentioned, the development vision and economic measures that it canvases for the realisation of these goals are flawed. As a result [.. .] it will reinforce the hostile external environment and the internal weaknesses that constitute the major obstacles to Africa's development. Indeed, in certain areas like debt, NEPAD steps back from international goals that have been won through global mobilisation and struggle' (p. 276). The resolution calls for a financing strategy that mobilises and builds on internal and intra-African resources, while carefully balancing foreign investment with national objectives. Running through all of the chapters are three core arguments: first, the neo-liberal economic policy framework at the heart of the plan repeats the mistakes of the structural adjustment policy (SAP) packages; second, in spite of claims of African origins and focus, its main targets are foreign donors and third, the engagement that NEPAD seeks with the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will further lock Africa's economies disadvantageously into its external environment. Indeed, there is a recurring theme in the NEPAD base document that Africa is 'marginalised' and that therefore one of the solutions to the continent's predicament should be sought in its 'integration' into the global economy. Several authors point to convincing evidence suggesting that the continent is in fact the most integrated region in the global economy. As Maloka observes, 'the problem is not 'exclusion' or 'marginalisation', but rather the form and terms of the integration of the continent into the global economy' (p. 90). The book is composed of 11 chapters, divided into three parts. Preceded by a valuable introduction, the first part is entitled 'NEPAD: the Debate' and includes a highly useful chapter by Eddy Maloka that summarises the various critiques of NEPAD. It also reviews the often-overlooked pan-African policy initiatives that preceded NEPAD. The second part deals with 'Sectoral challenges', addressing NEPAD's strategies for agriculture, industrialisation, trade (in an excellent chapter by Dot Keet), education and bridging the digital divide. Here, the contributions
Journal of Higher Education in Africa, May 14, 2006
The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-19... more The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-1970s in many ways epitomised a much wider socioeconomic and political crisis. In much of Africa the balance of payment crisis compounded an uneasy relationship between the rulers and academia. However, addressing the crisis in the 1980s was defined by the emergent neo-liberal mindset. It was also an ideological posture that saw the academy as a domain of a 'leftist leisure class' that needed market discipline. Education as a public good was replaced by a commodity logic. The impact of the neo-liberal orthodoxy on the higher education sector, however, varied widely across counties. In countries whose education policy came under the direct control of the Bretton Woods institutions, the orthodoxy drove policy as close to its ideological posturing as possible. In many developing countries commodification of access has impacted harshly on research activities in the higher education sector, reversing earlier achievements at endogeneity. In some countries, including Nigeria, the persistent anti-intellectualism of those in power has intensified the broader crisis. In this paper, I argue that this contrasts sharply with the domestic experience of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in their higher education sectors and the public commitment to research and development. What lessons are there for higher education reform in Nigeria? Firstly, in spite of the neo-liberal claims, successful countries show strong commitment to education as a public good and tend to invest heavily in their higher education sector, especially in endogenous research and development. The second point is that experiments with the commodity approach in both its provisioning of skilled human resources and internal relations have proved to be counter-productive. Thirdly, in situations of prolonged decline and decay, what needs rebuilding is more than just the infrastructure but also the ethos and ethics of academia.
... rein posed to both the government of the federation and British interest in the ... field of ... more ... rein posed to both the government of the federation and British interest in the ... field of education that was made possible by increased resources from Nigeria's petroleum wealth. ... was the system of federally funded education loans, with generous repayment schedules and rates. ...
African Journal of International Affairs, Sep 9, 2009
The critical necessity of development for Africa in the 21 st century is an issue around which th... more The critical necessity of development for Africa in the 21 st century is an issue around which there is considerable consensus. There is, however, little agreement on the nature of the crisis, the required development framework, and the 'desired state'. In the context of the debate, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has been promoted by its authors and sponsors as Africa's development blueprint for meeting its development challenges. Much of the criticism of NEPAD has focused, procedurally, on the lack of consultation in its drafting, and, paradigmatically, on its neoliberal content, the same set of policy instruments that have damaged Africa over the last 20 years. The latter underscores the sense of betrayal that comes through civil society resistance to NEPAD. The question though is this: Why would a group of African leaders, who seem genuine in their concerns, take responsibility for such policy framework? The paper seeks an explanation in the complex interaction between a set of developments since 1980: the neo-liberal hegemony at the level of state policymaking, internal policy atrophy, coercive power of compliance, but equally the new constituencies (class forces) that have been thrown up in the last two decades-within the state, economy, and importantly the civil society in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the latter is premised on the 'death of the emancipatory project' and the dominant politics of the petty bourgeois class in Africa. It is in this sense that we understanding NEPAD as a class project, hence, its import.
Thandika Mkandawire and Huck-ju Kwon, both at UNRISD Social Policy in a Development Context is a ... more Thandika Mkandawire and Huck-ju Kwon, both at UNRISD Social Policy in a Development Context is a new series which places social policy at the centre of research while maintaining the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)'s unified approach to social development. The series provides a new and exciting contribution to the literature in economic development and social policy. In economic development, social policy has been recognized as an integral part of development, but the literature often falls short of elaborating social policy for a unified approach to economic and social development. In social policy, analysis has concentrated mainly on European and North American countries, and studies on developing countries often lack comparative rigour. The bridge between economic development and social policy will not only contribute to the academic research but also inform the policy debate at the international and national levels.
L'article traite de la conscience et de la résistance ouvrières. La conscience ouvrière est, selo... more L'article traite de la conscience et de la résistance ouvrières. La conscience ouvrière est, selon l'auteur, une réalité plus complexe que ne le laissent entendre certains ouvrages. Quoique indiscociable du vécu, elle est souvent nourrie de définitions du réel imposées de l'extérieur. C'est dans les collectivités, à l'usine et ailleurs, que les ouvriers s'assument comme "pauvres" et définissent une éthique de "proto-classe" que l'auteur appelle "morale alternative". L'existance de cette morale et de ces collectivités autonomes est évidente dans la résistance qui se manifeste sur le tas. C'est cette conscience qui alimente la dimension collective des actes individuels de rébelion et les révoltes ouvrières dont le Nigéria est régulièrement le théâtre.
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The article deals with worker consciousness and resistance. Workers' consciousness is, according to the author, a more complex reality than certain works suggest. Although inseparable from experience, it is often nourished by definitions of reality imposed from the outside. It is in the communities, in the factory and elsewhere, that the workers accept themselves as "poor" and define a "proto-class" ethic that the author calls "alternative morality". The existence of this morality and these autonomous communities is evident in the resistance that manifests itself on the job. It is this consciousness which fuels the collective dimension of individual acts of rebellion and the workers' revolts of which Nigeria is regularly the scene.
The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-19... more The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-1970s in many ways epitomised a much wider socio-economic and political crisis. In much of Africa the balance of payment crisis compounded an uneasy relationship between the rulers and academia. However, addressing the cri- sis in the 1980s was defined by the emergent neo-liberal mindset. It was also an ideological posture that saw the academy as a domain of a ‘leftist leisure class’ that needed market discipline. Education as a public good was replaced by a commodity logic. The impact of the neo-liberal orthodoxy on the higher education sector, how- ever, varied widely across counties. In countries whose education policy came un- der the direct control of the Bretton Woods institutions, the orthodoxy drove policy as close to its ideological posturing as possible. In many developing countries commodification of access has impacted harshly on research activities in the higher education sect...
Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy: A triannual Journal of Agrarian South Network and CARES
The heated debate around Section 25 of the South African Constitution and the principle of “expro... more The heated debate around Section 25 of the South African Constitution and the principle of “expropriation of land without compensation” is conspicuously missing the inextricable link between land, water, and gender questions. Within former settler colonies, the “land question” is a “water question” and, by extension, also a “gender question.” The racially inequitable land distribution, codified in the Native Land Act of 1913, mirrored the unequal distribution of rights and access to water as codified in the Water Act of 1956. This was compounded by the gender question, in which lack of access to land for women mutated into lack of access to other productive resources. While secondary data analysis reveals that blacks control only 5.8% of agricultural water uses, Black women control less than 1%. Such intersectionality of race, class, and gender ought to remain a relentless focus of transformative social policy in South Africa.
ABSTRACT The Welfare (State) Regime Paradigm is rife with paradoxes. In spite of the general awar... more ABSTRACT The Welfare (State) Regime Paradigm is rife with paradoxes. In spite of the general awareness of the much wider remit of Social Policy (as a field of study and public policy), the paradigm has narrowed the focus of the field to a set of social protection instruments. This is most evident in the ‘decommodification’ index used in Esping-Andersen's original typology. Equally problematic is the idea of ‘decommodification’. The diminution of social policy finds its most ardent expression in the late 20th century neoliberal take on social policy, although for normative reasons that many Social Policy scholars would find objectionable. Reclaiming the wider vision of social policy requires re-reading history and the pioneers. It is against this background that we set out the idea of transformative social policy and the wider vision of Social Policy at the epistemic and policy levels. Central to this are the multiple tasks of social policy, the diversity of instruments for addressing the ‘social question’, and the inherent inter-connection between economic and social policies.
Professor Archibald Monwabisi Mafeje passed away on 28 March 2007. The meaning of Archie Mafeje, ... more Professor Archibald Monwabisi Mafeje passed away on 28 March 2007. The meaning of Archie Mafeje, for three generations of African scholars and social scientists, is profound and about diverse encounters. For some it was personal; for others it was through his works, and for most in the community the encounter via scholarly works became personal and intimate. The meaning of Mafeje for generations of African scholars is found in his uncompromising aversion to the 'epistemology of alterity'-the 'othering' of Africa and Africans-and the advancement of scholarship grounded in the centring of African ontological experiences. It is in this aversion to alterity and pursuit of endogeneity that we locate Mafeje's lasting legacy for new generations of African intellectuals. This paper, which is personal and intellectual, involves a close and critical engagement with these aspects of Mafeje's scholarships.
This book is a collection of critical papers written mainly by eminent African scholars and activ... more This book is a collection of critical papers written mainly by eminent African scholars and activists as a response to the launch of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in 2001. NEPAD was initiated by a small number of African heads of state under the leadership of South African President Thabo Mbeki. These leaders offered a deal to the rich countries whereby African countries would commit themselves to political reform and economic development if the West would triple aid flows to the region. NEPAD also promised to put in place the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to monitor progress, which raised expectations of democratisation and improved governance on the continent. However, both African and Western governments soon backed away from these commitments, and Mbeki's unwillingness to criticise President Robert Mugabe's dismal rule in Zimbabwe has substantially damaged NEPAD's credibility. The papers published in this book were presented at a conference jointly organised by the Third World Network-Africa (TWN-Africa) and the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in Accra, Ghana, in April 2002. The conference ended with a resolution (published in the appendix of the book) that outlines NEPAD's fundamental flaws. The resolution argues that 'while many of its stated goals may be well-intentioned, the development vision and economic measures that it canvases for the realisation of these goals are flawed. As a result [.. .] it will reinforce the hostile external environment and the internal weaknesses that constitute the major obstacles to Africa's development. Indeed, in certain areas like debt, NEPAD steps back from international goals that have been won through global mobilisation and struggle' (p. 276). The resolution calls for a financing strategy that mobilises and builds on internal and intra-African resources, while carefully balancing foreign investment with national objectives. Running through all of the chapters are three core arguments: first, the neo-liberal economic policy framework at the heart of the plan repeats the mistakes of the structural adjustment policy (SAP) packages; second, in spite of claims of African origins and focus, its main targets are foreign donors and third, the engagement that NEPAD seeks with the International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will further lock Africa's economies disadvantageously into its external environment. Indeed, there is a recurring theme in the NEPAD base document that Africa is 'marginalised' and that therefore one of the solutions to the continent's predicament should be sought in its 'integration' into the global economy. Several authors point to convincing evidence suggesting that the continent is in fact the most integrated region in the global economy. As Maloka observes, 'the problem is not 'exclusion' or 'marginalisation', but rather the form and terms of the integration of the continent into the global economy' (p. 90). The book is composed of 11 chapters, divided into three parts. Preceded by a valuable introduction, the first part is entitled 'NEPAD: the Debate' and includes a highly useful chapter by Eddy Maloka that summarises the various critiques of NEPAD. It also reviews the often-overlooked pan-African policy initiatives that preceded NEPAD. The second part deals with 'Sectoral challenges', addressing NEPAD's strategies for agriculture, industrialisation, trade (in an excellent chapter by Dot Keet), education and bridging the digital divide. Here, the contributions
Journal of Higher Education in Africa, May 14, 2006
The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-19... more The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-1970s in many ways epitomised a much wider socioeconomic and political crisis. In much of Africa the balance of payment crisis compounded an uneasy relationship between the rulers and academia. However, addressing the crisis in the 1980s was defined by the emergent neo-liberal mindset. It was also an ideological posture that saw the academy as a domain of a 'leftist leisure class' that needed market discipline. Education as a public good was replaced by a commodity logic. The impact of the neo-liberal orthodoxy on the higher education sector, however, varied widely across counties. In countries whose education policy came under the direct control of the Bretton Woods institutions, the orthodoxy drove policy as close to its ideological posturing as possible. In many developing countries commodification of access has impacted harshly on research activities in the higher education sector, reversing earlier achievements at endogeneity. In some countries, including Nigeria, the persistent anti-intellectualism of those in power has intensified the broader crisis. In this paper, I argue that this contrasts sharply with the domestic experience of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in their higher education sectors and the public commitment to research and development. What lessons are there for higher education reform in Nigeria? Firstly, in spite of the neo-liberal claims, successful countries show strong commitment to education as a public good and tend to invest heavily in their higher education sector, especially in endogenous research and development. The second point is that experiments with the commodity approach in both its provisioning of skilled human resources and internal relations have proved to be counter-productive. Thirdly, in situations of prolonged decline and decay, what needs rebuilding is more than just the infrastructure but also the ethos and ethics of academia.
... rein posed to both the government of the federation and British interest in the ... field of ... more ... rein posed to both the government of the federation and British interest in the ... field of education that was made possible by increased resources from Nigeria's petroleum wealth. ... was the system of federally funded education loans, with generous repayment schedules and rates. ...
African Journal of International Affairs, Sep 9, 2009
The critical necessity of development for Africa in the 21 st century is an issue around which th... more The critical necessity of development for Africa in the 21 st century is an issue around which there is considerable consensus. There is, however, little agreement on the nature of the crisis, the required development framework, and the 'desired state'. In the context of the debate, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has been promoted by its authors and sponsors as Africa's development blueprint for meeting its development challenges. Much of the criticism of NEPAD has focused, procedurally, on the lack of consultation in its drafting, and, paradigmatically, on its neoliberal content, the same set of policy instruments that have damaged Africa over the last 20 years. The latter underscores the sense of betrayal that comes through civil society resistance to NEPAD. The question though is this: Why would a group of African leaders, who seem genuine in their concerns, take responsibility for such policy framework? The paper seeks an explanation in the complex interaction between a set of developments since 1980: the neo-liberal hegemony at the level of state policymaking, internal policy atrophy, coercive power of compliance, but equally the new constituencies (class forces) that have been thrown up in the last two decades-within the state, economy, and importantly the civil society in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the latter is premised on the 'death of the emancipatory project' and the dominant politics of the petty bourgeois class in Africa. It is in this sense that we understanding NEPAD as a class project, hence, its import.
Thandika Mkandawire and Huck-ju Kwon, both at UNRISD Social Policy in a Development Context is a ... more Thandika Mkandawire and Huck-ju Kwon, both at UNRISD Social Policy in a Development Context is a new series which places social policy at the centre of research while maintaining the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)'s unified approach to social development. The series provides a new and exciting contribution to the literature in economic development and social policy. In economic development, social policy has been recognized as an integral part of development, but the literature often falls short of elaborating social policy for a unified approach to economic and social development. In social policy, analysis has concentrated mainly on European and North American countries, and studies on developing countries often lack comparative rigour. The bridge between economic development and social policy will not only contribute to the academic research but also inform the policy debate at the international and national levels.
L'article traite de la conscience et de la résistance ouvrières. La conscience ouvrière est, selo... more L'article traite de la conscience et de la résistance ouvrières. La conscience ouvrière est, selon l'auteur, une réalité plus complexe que ne le laissent entendre certains ouvrages. Quoique indiscociable du vécu, elle est souvent nourrie de définitions du réel imposées de l'extérieur. C'est dans les collectivités, à l'usine et ailleurs, que les ouvriers s'assument comme "pauvres" et définissent une éthique de "proto-classe" que l'auteur appelle "morale alternative". L'existance de cette morale et de ces collectivités autonomes est évidente dans la résistance qui se manifeste sur le tas. C'est cette conscience qui alimente la dimension collective des actes individuels de rébelion et les révoltes ouvrières dont le Nigéria est régulièrement le théâtre.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article deals with worker consciousness and resistance. Workers' consciousness is, according to the author, a more complex reality than certain works suggest. Although inseparable from experience, it is often nourished by definitions of reality imposed from the outside. It is in the communities, in the factory and elsewhere, that the workers accept themselves as "poor" and define a "proto-class" ethic that the author calls "alternative morality". The existence of this morality and these autonomous communities is evident in the resistance that manifests itself on the job. It is this consciousness which fuels the collective dimension of individual acts of rebellion and the workers' revolts of which Nigeria is regularly the scene.
The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-19... more The crisis that engulfed the higher education sector in many developing countries from the mid-1970s in many ways epitomised a much wider socio-economic and political crisis. In much of Africa the balance of payment crisis compounded an uneasy relationship between the rulers and academia. However, addressing the cri- sis in the 1980s was defined by the emergent neo-liberal mindset. It was also an ideological posture that saw the academy as a domain of a ‘leftist leisure class’ that needed market discipline. Education as a public good was replaced by a commodity logic. The impact of the neo-liberal orthodoxy on the higher education sector, how- ever, varied widely across counties. In countries whose education policy came un- der the direct control of the Bretton Woods institutions, the orthodoxy drove policy as close to its ideological posturing as possible. In many developing countries commodification of access has impacted harshly on research activities in the higher education sect...
Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy: A triannual Journal of Agrarian South Network and CARES
The heated debate around Section 25 of the South African Constitution and the principle of “expro... more The heated debate around Section 25 of the South African Constitution and the principle of “expropriation of land without compensation” is conspicuously missing the inextricable link between land, water, and gender questions. Within former settler colonies, the “land question” is a “water question” and, by extension, also a “gender question.” The racially inequitable land distribution, codified in the Native Land Act of 1913, mirrored the unequal distribution of rights and access to water as codified in the Water Act of 1956. This was compounded by the gender question, in which lack of access to land for women mutated into lack of access to other productive resources. While secondary data analysis reveals that blacks control only 5.8% of agricultural water uses, Black women control less than 1%. Such intersectionality of race, class, and gender ought to remain a relentless focus of transformative social policy in South Africa.
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Papers by Jimi O Adesina
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The article deals with worker consciousness and resistance. Workers' consciousness is, according to the author, a more complex reality than certain works suggest. Although inseparable from experience, it is often nourished by definitions of reality imposed from the outside. It is in the communities, in the factory and elsewhere, that the workers accept themselves as "poor" and define a "proto-class" ethic that the author calls "alternative morality". The existence of this morality and these autonomous communities is evident in the resistance that manifests itself on the job. It is this consciousness which fuels the collective dimension of individual acts of rebellion and the workers' revolts of which Nigeria is regularly the scene.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article deals with worker consciousness and resistance. Workers' consciousness is, according to the author, a more complex reality than certain works suggest. Although inseparable from experience, it is often nourished by definitions of reality imposed from the outside. It is in the communities, in the factory and elsewhere, that the workers accept themselves as "poor" and define a "proto-class" ethic that the author calls "alternative morality". The existence of this morality and these autonomous communities is evident in the resistance that manifests itself on the job. It is this consciousness which fuels the collective dimension of individual acts of rebellion and the workers' revolts of which Nigeria is regularly the scene.