Synopses & Reviews
This book looks at thirty years of Neoliberalism in Africa. Not merely an economic shock or a quick process of "structural adjustment," Neoliberalism has been a historic shift in Africa's development politics and policy. As an ideology, Neoliberalism looks beyond the mere market economy towards a market society. In the context of thirty years of projects, aid disbursement, technical assistance and conditionality, Graham Harrison evaluates the extent of this bolder social transformation in Africa. He finds that, despite the size of resources behind it and the lack of policy alternatives, Neoliberal progress in Africa has been remarkably limited.
Synopsis
Neoliberalism has shaped African development for nearly thirty years. As such, it is not an economic 'shock' or a 'structural adjustment', but rather a historic shift in Africa's development politics and policy. This book explores the ways in which African countries have experienced the neoliberal project, highlighting how this project has gone beyond economic liberalisation and towards a bolder social transformation. As an ideology, neoliberalism projects an end-point not simply of a market economy but of a market society.
After thirty years of projects, aid disbursement, technical assistance, and conditionality, this book maps out the extent to which African states have cleaved to neoliberal directives. It suggests that neoliberal 'progress' in Africa is notably limited in spite of the resources behind it and the lack of alternatives to it.
About the Author
Graham Harrison teaches Politics at the University of Sheffield.
Table of Contents
1. Neoliberalism in Africa, Neoliberalism and Africa
2. Neoliberalism in Africa: a failed ideology
3. Practices of Neoliberalism: Repertoires, Habits, and Conduct
4. Global neoliberal practice: institutions and regulation
5. Neoliberal Practice in Africa
6. Neoliberalism's final frontier?
7. Conclusion: Neoliberalism's Prospects