Abstract

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.
'In this powerfully insightful book Graham Harrison demolishes the conventional wisdom to show how rather than globalisation bypassing Africa it is largely responsible for its current condition ...Vital reading for those wishing to understand the nature and evolution of neoliberal globalisation in Africa.' Padraig Carmody, Trinity College Dublin 'Anyone concerned about the current debate about politics and economy in Africa, and more broadly about how globalisation and neo-liberalism can be understood, and in the ways it operates in the Global South will need to read this book.' Ray Bush, author of Poverty and Neo-Liberalism 'For anybody interested in neoliberalism as a discourse of development, or the effects of neoliberalism in Africa this book is a must read.' Trevor Parfitt, Reader in International Development
Graham Harrison teaches Politics at the University of Sheffield. He has written on democratisation, corruption, governance and the World Bank with a particular interest in Africa and especially eastern Africa. He is an editor of New Political Economy and is Coordinating Editor of Review of African Political Economy.