Akilagpa Sawyerr

Secretary-General, Association  of African Universities

‍asawyerr@aau.org

Schemmel, Annette. Visual Arts in Cameroon: A Genealogy of Non-Formal Training, 1976-2014. Bamenda: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, 2015.

Annette Schemmel provides a highly illuminating case study of the major actors, discourses and paradigm that shaped the history of visual arts in Cameroon during the second part of the 20th century. Her book meticulously reconstructs the multiple ways of artistic knowledge acquisition -from the consolidation of the "Systeme de Grands Freres" in the 1970sto the emergence of more discursively oriented small artists’ initiatives which responded to the growing NGO market of social practice art opportunities in the2000s. Based on archival research, participant observation and in-depth interviews with art practitioners in Douala and Yaounde, this study is a must-read for everyone who wants to better understand the vibrant artistic scenes in countries like Cameroon, which until today lack a proper state-funded infrastructure in the arts.

[Source: Google Books].

Schmidt, Thomas., Kay. Pfaffenberger, and Stefan. Liebing. Practical Handbook Business in Africa. 1st ed. Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg. in Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, 2023.

Africa is a continent on the upswing, developing great economic momentum. If German companies want to participate in Africa's upswing, they need to be familiar with some special features. This book shows the way to successful business in Africa. It is a practical, yet scientifically based guide for all entrepreneurs and economically interested parties who want to be successful in Africa. It combines the experience of many companies with the scientific perspective and findings of the Centre for Business and Technology in Africa at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences. In the 2nd edition new developments on the African continent are taken up and current answers are given to the classical questions, which each actor must answer for itself, which wants to be economically successful in Africa: WHY Africa is interesting for the business, WHERE the largest chances of success exist, HOW to proceed and WHICH approaches for the future organization of the economic relations between Germany and Africa are promising. The book describes how to invest in Africa and bundles the current experiences of managers of large corporations and family businesses with a long history on the continent.

Source: book description by publisher

Maxi Schoeman

Professor, Ethics and Political Science, University of  Pretoria, South  Africa

Contact: maxi.schoeman@up.ac.za

Laura Seay

Assistant Professor, Government, Colby College

Contact:

leseay@colby.edu‎

Sebudubudu, David, and Patrick Molutsi. "The elite as a critical factor in national development: the case of Botswana". Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2011.  

The paper examines the role of the coalition between the political leaders and elites as a critical factor in Botswanan’s development. The paper focuses on their social-cultural roots and how this has shaped coalition building among the political elites and afford them a collective vision for national development. The authors describe this as a grand coalition of ethnic, racial and regional interests that defines the multi-racial character of Botswana’s development. The paper explains how traditional leaders and modern political elites manage opposing worldviews to institutionalize power without any major conflict. The authors conclude that Botswana has been successful in blending some aspects of traditional institutions into the modern structures of governance. This was necessary as chiefs were very powerful (they controlled land, natural resources, culture and tradition) before independence. At independence chiefs sought to retain some of their powers whilst the new elites felt that chiefly rule was undemocratic and had to be replaced by a national democratic government. Through the house of chiefs, the chiefs form an advisory part of the parliament in Botswana. They are also considered national leaders who conduct judicial appeal cases, custodians of culture and tradition across the country.

Seekings, Jeremy, and Nicoli Nattrass. “State-Business Relations and pro-Poor Growth in South Africa.” Journal of International Development 23, no. 3 (2011): 338–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1774.

By comparison with most African countries, post-apartheid South Africa appears to be characterised by growth-oriented cooperation between state and business. Economic growth has remained weak, however, and income poverty persists as the economy continues down an inegalitarian growth path that fails to reduce unemployment and thus has little effect on poverty. This paper argues that the appearance of close state-business relations is misleading: selectively pro-market public policies have not reflected a pro-business orientation on the part of the state. The governing African National Congress concurred with established business on the need for increased productivity and selective state interventions in a mixed economy. But most of the political elite overestimated the commandist powers of the state in the short-term, viewed established South African business with deep suspicion if not hostility, and was unwilling to deliberate or negotiate on distributional issues in either formal bilateral or corporatist institutions, or even informally. The state sought to discipline and transform business, not work with it. Unable to sustain an active growth coalition, a pro-poor, developmental coalition was far out of reach. The politics of the governing party precluded substantive concessions on labour market regulation and pushed it towards ever more interventionist ‘black economic empowerment’ policies. The result was that economic growth remained modest, and of little benefit to the poor.

Source: Article's abstract

Senghor, Léopold Sédar, and Brian Quinn. “Critical Standards of African Art”. African Arts 50, n^o 1 (2017): 10‑15. https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00327.

President Senghor sees the critical standards of African art as originating from the nature of the black soul, and the black soul as originating from the environment that gave it life. These standards, long unknown to the white world and now exerting influence in contemporary art, will henceforth play a more integral role in the art world.

[Source: Article abstract, p. 10]