ABSTRACT

This chapter describes some arguments as a preliminary working hypothesis. These arguments are 'while the discourse on development and globalization is about the declining role of the state, the context of development in Africa must be that of the enhanced role of the state, albeit a different and transformed one'. The chapter argues that globalization is affecting Africa negatively because of the latter's inability to cope with the demands of global production and the inability of African states to create niches in the global economy. Since the early 1980s, the debate on the African state has been dominated by pessimism about its capacity to mobilize development. The principal feature of a dynamic state would be its capacity to create a niche in the global division of labor. The chapter suggests that historically, industrialization has been a key ingredient in the development process of other regions and its absence has been understood to be a basic characteristic of underdevelopment.