ABSTRACT

The growing gap between the Global North and Global South has dominated international relations and diplomacy for a long time. This chapter addresses the knowledge gap by critically examining the historical development of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and the role played by SSE in post-conflict resolution by offering new insights on the boundaries and changing attitudes and approaches to development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Development has been a critical component of promoting socio-economic stability and security interests in the region, particularly in conflict and post-conflict zones. The chapter provides a discussion of the international development and foreign aid literature. The literature and research on SSE in Sub-Saharan African countries remain relatively sparse. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the implications of the research for the social and solidarity economy literature, and particularly to the development of such movements in Sub-Saharan African countries.