ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the history of Africa’s incorporation into the world system, because despite the varieties and nuances of incorporation, an inheritance of external dependence constitutes the major determinant of Africa’s present and future prospects for development and underdevelopment. It presents a typology of alternative approaches to the continent’s future, informed both by Africa’s inherited external incorporation and by the general literature on international scenarios. The chapter also presents a set of alternative scenarios for Africa, based on the established literature and on the typology. It identifies salient concepts and approaches to Africa’s futures and proposed a typology of different perspectives. The critical, or radical, approaches are more historical and fundamental than are the conservative approaches. Revolutionary views can encompass orthodox Marxist, anarchist, black nationalist and religious fundamentalist approaches. The revolutionary approaches and scenarios to be examined derive mainly from various Marxist revolutionary perspectives.
