Author Description

Is the State still relevant for development in contemporary Africa? There have been several scholarly efforts geared toward understanding the role of the State in facilitating socio-economic development in Africa. While some see the State as a benevolent political authority which possesses the necessary mandate and responsibility to advance development, others see it as an area for personal accumulation and rent sharing. Indeed, there have been mixed results on the activities of the State and economic development in Africa over the past five decades of gaining political independence. This book contributes to the debates on the domestic and external forces that have continued to shape the role of the State in fostering socio-economic and political development in post-independent Africa. Contributors to this volume went beyond diagnosis of the challenges facing the continent to proffering solution and charting alternative strategies for achieving inclusive development. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba, PhD is a Senior Lecturer at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa. He is co-editor with Toyin Falola of the Palgrave Handbook of African Politics, Governance and Development, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2018. Professor Vusi Gumede, a former Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg, is the Head of Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa researching and publishing in the political economy of development in Africa.