Whither Africa and Development Studies?Author(s): George KaySource: Area, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Jun., 1993), pp. 137-141Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20003240 .

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137

Observations

Whither Africa and development studies? George Kay, Division of Geography, School of Sciences, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke on Trent, ST4 2DF

Although partially retired now and mostly committed to Recreation Studies, I retain more than a passing interest in Africa together with a deep and abiding concern for the future of its peoples. However, as a Liverpool graduate of 1957 whose first research appointment in Africa was from 1959 to 1962 it is, perhaps, inevitable, that I am a somewhat antiquated Africanist, possibly beyond my ' sell-by-date '. With my swan-song written (Kay 1991, 1992) if not read, I would probably do well to remain silent; but I am prompted to present this particular paper by Karen MacGregor's article on The shifting sands of race studies (Times Higher Educational Supplement 15 January 1993) which struck a chord I had longed hoped but scarcely expected to hear.

MacGregor reviews the effects of an all-pervasive ' Political Correctness ' in a highly sensitive area and reveals the profound and damaging impact it has had, and continues to have, on research and teaching on Africa and on African countries themselves.

Quoting Richard Jeffries (SOAS) she reports that' for at least twenty years honesty and intellectual utility have been hampered by a kind of political correctness that has infected writers in the field'. More serious, the ' dominance of such politically correct thought ... has tended to squeeze out exposure to other theories ... discouraged intellectuals from confronting squarely African problems ... and [exerts] a big influence on African governments'. Akbar Ahmen (Selwyn College, Cambridge) says that 'Warts and all research on race is not politically acceptable and therefore often does not take place '. Academics are reluctant to present and pursue projects which are unlikely to attract funds but rather embroil them in controversy and provoke verbal and even physical attack. Professor John Rex and Professor Stuart Hall also lend support to the general thrust of the article; which concludes by pointing to a current weakening of ' old politically correct views ' and the emergence of ' a new spirit of honesty '. Indeed, the publication of this piece no doubt reflects and is a product of this growing enlightenment.

As a durable product of the fifties, (when the school of thought now being questioned as ' old politically-correct views ' was being formulated and vigorously presented as the new alternative to orthodox' Western views' ), I have been largely isolated by and from the dominant approaches to Africa of recent decades. Therefore, I may now be able to lend some peculiar contribution to the case for a more open forum and to discussion of

more appropriate policies and strategies for Africa than those comprising the present doubtful consensus. The context for this contribution must be restricted to a brief and

simplistic preface. As MacGregor's article points out, the origins of and reasons for the popularity of the prevailing political correctness are understable. (Though I, for one, find them unacceptable and unforgivable, for they have redesigned the wheel

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138 Observations

and made it square). ' Sympathy for Africa' is a basic factor. A consequent proclivity to blame external circumstances for all its ugliness, weaknesses and failings also is significant. Colonial exploitation and capitalism together with Western philosophy and models for development have been the more ready scapegoats. Their early dismissal cleared the field for socialist and humanitarian ideals and negrophile approaches (epitomised by Basil Davidson's most recent (1992) book, The Black Man's Burden). Thereafter the popularity amongst academics and the world at large of the newly fashionable and politically correct approaches of the sixties has been both dominant and self-perpetuating.

Returning in the mid-1970s from a seven-year sojourn at the University of Rhodesia, where an eclectic selection and balanced presentation of approaches to ' the development process' were encouraged and practised, I encountered the full force of the narrow range of views on Africa which prevailed in Britain and America. I suspect the take-over had followed a ' Rostovian curve '. The essential inputs were in place shortly after the War; certainly, as an undergraduate I was made aware of alternatives to orthodox Western approaches to development. The rapid progress of de-colonisation created the pre-conditions for take-off; and the early sixties saw the' drive to maturity' and dominance. However, what surprised and disturbed me most when I began to teach at Staffordshire University in 1976-7 was the almost total absence in the minds of students, academia, and the world at large of real alternatives to the prevalent approaches which I considered to be seriously suspect and deserving of critical appraisal in the light of other options. My teaching reflected this; and, inter alia, I argued that, far from being rejected, Western-style capitalist approaches and urban-oriented strategies should be pivotal within policies for development in Africa.

I was as a voice crying in the wilderness (Mark 1:3). Since none of the basic ideas I have offered is new, (though I hope the particular blend and emphases offer some element of original design), I had to join my students in asking, first, why had they not previously encountered such 'radical' notions; and, secondly, why were they not readily evident in 'the literature'? The answers were not difficult to find but they are extremely difficult to counter:

I am persuaded that for some considerable time there has been an unreasonable but widespread rejection of ' capitalism ' and ' Western ' processes of economic development as being inappropriate for the Third World. A corollary is a tendency to give priority to social rather than material progress; and to view problems of the Third World as primarily moral rather than economic and technological issues ... Such approaches dominate coverage in the mass media and in the educational system; they condition the popular mind and limit or even determine political will. They do, however, all too often address only the symptoms of Third World problems. They thus detract attention and concern from the fundamental issues from the causes and cures of poverty, from the effective, if painful path to genuine, wealth-creating development (Kay 1991).

The orientation of the mass media in respect of ' African affairs ' is, perhaps, more understandable than that of the educational system; but both merit serious research. Meanwhile, my students and I did some very preliminary exploration of' the literature 'on Development Studies: we analysed the dates of reference of four popular texts, two published in 1986 and two in 1987. The outcome (Table 1) reveals a very

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Observations 139

Table 1 Analysis of popular texts on Development Studies

Percentage distribution of references (N = 989) Period Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4

1980-86/87 33 1 41 2 60 1 69 0 1975-79 33 2 40 9 35 7 12 0 1970-74 154 11.5 000 118

Total post-1970 81.7 93 6 95 8 92 8

limited use in these works of anything not of recent origins and thus a tendency to propagate and perpetuate currently fashionable views.

Recently I encountered Development from within: survival in rural Africa (Taylor and MacKenzie 1992). Surely such a book must look at the long history of development/survival within indigenous societies? Surely it would call upon in-depth studies of African peoples and their ecology such as those provided by the Manchester and Oxford schools of anthropologists in the middle year of this century? At the very least, it must refer to Boserup's (1965) Conditions of agriculturalgrowth: the economics of agrarian change under population pressure? No, no and no! 68 3 per cent of the 318 references are to works published since 1985; 18 6 per cent date from 1980-84; and 9 0 per cent from the 1970s. Only twelve from all earlier decades are cited. Clearly, for

modern authors-and their readers-Africa begins in the seventies! In the pure and

applied sciences and technological subjects, such limited reading would be less disturbing because contemporary work in these fields largely builds upon and incorporates earlier findings. This is not so in the social sciences where successive

schools of thought largely replace one another or continue in parallel streams. In short, the current politically correct approaches have not only squeezed out active debate between significantly different alternatives, they have also cut off contemporary African and Development Studies from their past.

In a rare attempt nowadays to contribute to the literature I sought to highlight losses

and costs likely to be incurred if we ignore lessons of earlier works. I actually prefaced the bibliography with the following verse from an ancient and venerable writer:

If there is nothing new, but that which is Hath been before, how are our brains beguil'd Which, labouring for invention, bear amiss The second burthen of a former child.

Its purpose was not perceived and one of the reasons for rejection was that the references relate to nothing later than 1965; and, ipsofacto, recent literature appeared to be overlooked. Has any paper been similarly criticised for having all its references from the 1970s and 1980s with no mention of any work from earlier decades? The principal case material was derived from my own fieldwork of the late 'fifties and early sixties'

together with references to much earlier work. Another criticism was implied in the

unnecessary question 'Has the author looked at the Bemba [land-use] systems recently? ' If I had, surely I would have said so. The answer is 'No' because an

application for research funds for a return visit to ' Bembaland ', (or more precisely to Chief Kalaba's Village (Kay 1964), in 1989/90 and to chart change from the 1930s

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140 Observations

(Richards 1939) to the present day was not supported. Apparently a series of

period-pictures was thought to have little to offer. Clearly, I felt otherwise, though I am reasonably confident that the findings would have been uncomfortable for proponents of evolutionary development from within indigenous societies. While I attach little importance to these particular instances, they may help to illustrate mechanics

whereby, unwittingly perhaps, the selection of items for publication (and for citation) and of projects for grant-support may well favour those which are consonant with current fashion.

Finally, some reference to the inter-face between academia and commercial publishers at a critical period may be useful. In 1962 Penguin Books published White settlers in Tropical Africa (Gann and Duignan). While no such work can be entirely objective or 'neutral ' this book provided an excellent overview and much useful information on a subject of considerable importance. But it was not entirely critical of the settlers' role; indeed the cover notes state that the settlers" point of view deserves to be fairly stated and carefully considered by all who care about the future of Africa '. The book quickly went out-of-print (or was withdrawn); and it could not (or would not) be reprinted. It was part of the Penguin Africa Series which did not survive long. It was replaced by the Penguin African Library which was much more sensitive to the growing market presented by newly-independent African states and the newly dominant ' anti-colonial ' fashion in the West. This series includes The politics of partnership, (Keatley 1963) which is an enjoyable ' read ', undoubtedly biased, and exceedingly' politically correct'. Consider a random quotation:

It is as well to remind ourselves that when these rich Rhodesians talk about their standards, they are not only talking about standards of parliamentary government, but about a standard of living that is well beyond the reach of the average British tax-payer. The British wage-earner might do well to keep in mind the picture of his contented Rhodesian cousins the miners in their Jaguars, the thousands of households where cheap black labour makes living so easy ... before expending too much sympathy on another of Sir Roy Welensky's statements: "We, the Europeans of the Federation, are striving to preserve the very standards

which Britain sets herself. . .". And if by' standards ' Welensky does not refer to Jaguars and house-servants and luxury holidays, but to democratic government, then one is bound to ask if it is civilized to suspend habeas corpus (when the prisoner is black), to keep people in concentration camps (for that is what Gokwe is), and to restrict the vote to 1-5 or 2 per cent of the Africans.

Stirring stuff: enough to set the blood racing; to raise emotions; and numb the mind. Africa needs less such rhetoric; less ideologically based theory; less concern with bolstering its obsolence which denies it a place in the modern world. It needs 'a new spirit of honesty ', a fresh breath of realism and recognition of what is realistic; a respect for information and an analytical approach thereto, (which can and will, for example, differentiate between low-wage and cheap labour); and a greater concern for Africa's long-term future than its present difficulties. Karen MacGregor and Richard Jeffries have done African and Development Studies a good service which is long-overdue. I

hope that this paper might be helpful to the cause they apparently espouse-a new deal for Africa and Development Studies. This, however, may well be dependent upon critical self-appraisal and reorientation within academia, the educational system and the mass media. Is that too much too expect?

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Observations 141

References Boserup E (1965) The conditions of agricultural growth: the economics of agrarian change under population

pressure (George Allen and Unwin, London) Davidson B (1992) The black man's burden: Africa and the curse of the nation-state (James Currey, London)

Gann L H and Duignan P (1962) White settlers in tropical Africa (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth)

Kay G (1964) Chief Kalaba's village: a preliminary survey of economic life in an Ushi village, Northern Rhodesia

(Manchester University Press, Manchester) Kay G (1991) Western strategies for Third World development with special reference to Africa (Occasional

Papers in Geography No 16, Staffordshire Polytechnic, Stoke-on-Trent) Kay G (1992) Population mapping in Central Africa (Occasional Papers in Geography No 17, Staffordshire

University, Stoke-on-Trent) Keatley P (1963) The politics of partnership (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth) Richards A I (1939) Land, labour and diet in Northern Rhodesia (Oxford University Press, Oxford)

Taylor D R F and Mackenzie F (eds) (1992) Developmentfrom within: survival in rural Africa (Routledge,

London and New York)

The present state of the Hungarian environment Alison D Reeves, Geography Department, University of Dundee, Dundee,

DD1 4HN

'An entity like the environment cannot have problems of itself, but we project ours on to it' (Simmons)

The recent nonviolent revolution in Central Eastern Europe has shown that it is indeed possible to transform a repressed system. However, the orderly transition has not yet

meant that Hungarians have gained more control over their own lives. Instead, this ' phase' of uncertainty has left people feeling relatively helpless and demoralised. The

poorer communities are suffering from a great deal of stress and tension (commonly classified as diseases of the West), lowered immunity, lowered life expectancy and a deterioration in housing conditions. On this basis, what real hope is there that the people of Hungary will have the energy to adhere to, or the financial means to uphold their Governments' new, pro-environment development strategy?

In Hungary, the history of reports on the state of the environment only dates back to 1984. At that time, Government decided to publish annual reports which were submitted by the Environmental Agency (now the Ministry for Environment and Regional Policy). The first issue appeared in 1986 and was assigned 'Top Secret' status. In 1989, it was recognised that if an environmental report was going to be ' mobilising', then it needed to be freely and widely distributed. It was printed in a

daily newspaper with a circulation of one hundred and three thousand (Bulla 1991). The existing condition of the native environment has mainly been ascribed to

Stalinist and post-Stalinist ideology. Fleischer et al (1991) described it as ' environmental nihilism': the complete domination of man over nature. The

complication of environmental degradation was compacted by a consummate technocratic view point. After it was liberated from German occupation (1945).

Hungary became a satellite of Russia and was used as a source of raw materials without consideration.

Certainly since the mid-seventies oil crises, the capacity of the environment has been denuded due to the absence of a meaningful management strategy. It was an extremely impoverished nation which, requiring new production systems, had no choice in accepting low-efficiency Soviet technology. The resultant and unquestioned pace of development meant that environmental protection was, once again, entirely

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