EXPLORES TO WHAT EXTENT AFRICA'S "RISE" HAS IMPACTED ON DEVELOPMENT
AND WHETHER THE BRICS ARE CREATING A NEW VERSION OF DEPENDENCY.
Africa is said to be rising, turning a definitive page in its history,
heralding new and exciting possibilities for the continent. This
discourse maintains that with upsurge in economic growth comes
improved governance and endogenous dynamics; that the emerging
economies, and especially the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China,
South Africa), have been instrumental in diversifying Africa's
international relations, perhaps leading to a radical change in
theglobal order, favourable to the developing world. But to what
extent is this true, and how deep and how broad has been the impact on
society at large?
This book takes a critical look at the prevalent Africa Rising
discourse,and explores the nature and implications of Africa's "rise"
and the role that the BRICS have played in it. The author argues that
Africa has still to undergo any structural transformation; that there
is strong evidence that deindustrialisation and jobless growth have
accompanied the upsurge of interest in the continent; and that far
from making a radical turn in its developmental trajectory, Africa is
being pushed into the resource corner as commodity exporters, to the
North (and now, the BRICS) with little scope for industrial progress
or skills advancement. Hope that the BRICS might offer an alternative
to the extant neoliberal order are misplaced, for the BRICS have a
stake in maintaining the current global unequality. Africa must
therefore fashion its own independent path - while the emerging
economies will be important, relying on external actors may simply
reproduce anew the current state of underdevelopment.
Ian Taylor is Professor in International Relations and African
Politics, University of St Andrews; Chair Professor, Renmin,
University of China; Professor Extraordinary, University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa; Honorary Professor, Institute of African
Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China; and a Visiting Scholar at
Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda.
Les mer
BRICS - Diversifying Dependency
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781782043348
Publisert
2014
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
James Currey
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter