Archive for October 27th, 2009

[The following is a book review originally written for a development course.]

All too often, the public discourse about the past, present and future of African affairs is dominated by foreigners who lack the nuanced understanding that comes from a lifetime on the continent. That is why smart, eloquent and strongly pro-African voices like that of Wangari Maathai are such a welcome addition to the debates that swirl around Africa. In her new book, Maathai, a Kenyan who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her support of the environment and democracy, continues her tradition of powerful, and at times controversial, visions for the future of Africa. However, The Challenge for Africa: A New Vision suffers from a number of shortcomings, not the least of which is the microcosmic lens, weak researched support and a view of the past that is, for the most part, too rosy.

Maathai’s vision is sweeping. The book aims to establish “a set of principles for what it will take to change the life of [a typical] farmer, who represents 65 percent of Africans who continue to rely on subsistence agriculture.” The framework through which this should be accomplished is described as a three-legged stool where democratic space, sustainable and accountable management of natural resources, and cultures of peace – “fairness, respect, compassion, forgiveness, recompense and justice” – support the development of Africa. Key to this, the author believes, is a “revolution in leadership” for both politicians and citizenry. Her strong denunciations of corruption and negligence are a much-needed refrain, but as to the practicalities of ending the cycle of delinquency, Maathai comes up short. She writes,

“Even the poorest and least empowered of Africa’s citizens need to rid themselves of a culture that tolerates systemic corruption and inefficiency, as well as self-destructive tendencies and selfishness.”

But, not only are those about whom she speaks unlikely to ever read The Challenge for Africa, she ignores the systemic causes of corruption, preferring to trust in worthy leaders and groundswells of civil society to check the possibility of nefarious action.  Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be enough, and, at times, Maathai comes close to acknowledging this point: she provides an important critique of George Ayittey’s concept of a youthful “cheetah” generation rising up to replace the aging “hippo” leaders. As Maathai points out, Ayittey’s cheetahs could very well become hippos – corrupt, stagnant leaders who work not for their citizens, but for themselves. Yet, to the book’s detriment, Maathai does not seriously explore how best to align the social, political and economic context with the goals of honest, fair governance. African history is strewn with heroic leaders who become horrific with age – Robert Mugabe was a heroic leader who has done horrific things to his country. Although donor agencies have done much to make it a meaningless buzzword, there is good reason to focus on governance, as opposed to simple leadership. By discussing the work of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Maathai demonstrates a passing acknowledgement that good governance is more than a cultural feature that can mature, but she misses the opportunity to use her important voice to explain, for example, the economic underpinnings of corruption.

The exciting and all-to-often ignored call for Africans to decide the future of their continent is one of the most important contributions of this book. “Ultimately,” Maathai writes, “the fate of the continent depends on its citizens.” She also recognizes that although her focus is on subsistence farmers, the richness of Africa’s population now extends far beyond the continental borders. Taking India’s lead, Maathai calls for a “collective effort, particularly through the embassies of African states, to provide systems and institutions to support Africans outside of the continent, so they can adjust successfully to their new environment.” Not only is this good governmental stewardship, it will allow African emigrants to become good ambassadors for a continent that suffers from a severe public relations disaster in the global North. Even further, by enabling the international success of Africans, African nations will be more likely to materially improve the country of their birth through remittances, knowledge and investment.

The grand vision of The Challenge for Africa, though, undermines some of her points. Most obvious is Maathai’s pre-occupation with the legacies of colonialism. This is not to dismiss the impact that centuries of foreign occupation and exploitation have, but the call for Africans to make their future is limited by the substantial weight that is placed on colonialism. In fact, these legacies are well known, and dedicating so much time to the past comes with considerable cost in the form of lost opportunities to move the debate in a new, productive direction. Writing about the popular image of Africa, Maathai says it,

“Only reinforces the perception that African solutions for African problems don’t exist, and that Africans are not equally equipped to propose a vision for Africa’s development or provide concrete actions to bring it about.”

This is certainly true and worth repeating, but too often Maathai’s pro-African voice approaches a likeness to autarky and isolation. For example, when she addresses the economic future of Africa, the book suffers from a severe myopia of global economic trends. “Africa has an opportunity to add value to those commodities by generating finished products…. The coltan of Congo could be added to capacitors in the same country it is mined from…” This is far too simplistic of an analysis; even were the DRC able to construct a competitive electronics factory, it likely lacks the infrastructure, business climate, and human capital to compete with the East Asian economies.

When she addresses the Washington Consensus, The Challenge for Africa is not “a new vision,” but an already tired criticism of a flawed endeavor. What’s more, her support of import-substituting industrialization totally ignores its large failures, such as in India where Nehru’s socialist policies created a legacy that still stunts the industrialization and growth of his country. While she notes that private capital flows surpassed aid for the first time in 2000, Maathai does not lend her credibility to the need for economic openness. That is, except when it comes to the new Chinese investors, who she believes are better than European or American firms due to a “common experience with Africa as victims of imperialism.” If Maathai believes that the Chinese investors, using largely Chinese labor, are motivated by historical legacy, as opposed to cold economic reality, she is sorely mistaken.

In fact, Maathai frequently approaches the quixotic when she addresses the global North. She contends that foreign “accoutrements” such as “soap” were “forceful symbols of the intruders’ self-image and power.” What might have been dismissed as the frustration of a genuinely well-intentioned author is shockingly contrasted with her assertion, a mere thirty pages later, that the governments of Africa should “make it their mission to provide a latrine in every household and teach basic hygiene…” Labeling hygienic tools as weapon of oppression is both hypocritical and callous. For example, even more sophisticated hygienic options, though Western in origin, are worthwhile. Writing in the New York Times Magazine, Nicholas Kristof notes,

“There’s growing evidence that a cheap way to help keep high-school girls in school is to help them manage menstruation. For fear of embarrassing leaks and stains, girls sometimes stay home during their periods, and the absenteeism puts them behind and eventually leads them to drop out. Aid workers are experimenting with giving African teenage girls sanitary pads, along with access to a toilet where they can change them.”

Surely Maathai does not contend that such “accoutrements” are tools of Western power, as soap once was?

This desire for cultural stagnancy, perhaps even revision, is one of the recurring themes of The Challenge for Africa. Maathai is a strong proponent of traditional African culture, spending considerable time addressing what she sees as a serious misunderstanding of the historic make-up of African society. Preferring the term “micro-nation,” as opposed to tribe – a word she feels has negative connotations – Maathai proposes a full embrace of the micro-nations of Africa. She sees

“The loss of traditional culture as one of the major causes of troubles such as the misuse of alcohol and drugs, behavior toward women and girl children, high secondary school dropout rates, prostitution, theft, the breakup of family relationships, and the commercialization of religion.”

This, obviously, is no small claim, but the support comes more from anecdotes than rigorous study. While I tend to agree that “the tenants of modernity – with its belief that material goods, greater technology, and innovation… – are insufficient to provide an ethical direction for our lives,” that is also insufficient reasons to avoid them. In truth, those tenants of modernity are important inputs for economic growth, a necessary component of development.

Although the author recognizes that “Africans cannot change the past; they can only manage it and determine the future,” considerable effort is spent painting a rosy picture of pre-Colonial times. In fact, Maathai proposes to enshrine cultural identity, as embodied in micro-nation membership, in formal assemblies at the nation-state level. This ignores the fluid, evolving nature of culture and identity and risks institutionalizing barriers that are just as likely to harm, as they are help.

Maathai is, as expected, at her best when she addresses her true passion: environmentalism. Her impassioned appeals for conservation and sustainability are as important today as they were when she began her work with the Green Belt Movement. She rightly points out that environmental degradation, such as the overfishing of African stocks, have very real geo-political implications. She points specifically to the forests of the Congo to demonstrate just how fragile and important ecosystems are. Yet, for all her experience, there is limited time spent addresses the specific mechanisms or steps that can be taken. For example, in the Congo, much of the deforestation is caused by the local population’s reliance on charcoal for fuel. This is a powerful economic reality that will not be overcome by long-term worries about sustainability. Instead, those organizations should create alternatives, such as has been done by Dr. Amy Smith of MIT, whose method of creating biomass charcoal creates real hope that the causes of deforestation may be addressed practically.

Secondly, The Challenge for Africa misses one of the primary trends affecting the environment and global commerce: urbanization. Although she notes that rural farmers are still the majority of the African population, the incredible migration towards cities is occurring fastest in Africa. This brings with it new environmental challenges that thought-leaders like Wangari Maathai must be ready to address. Further, as this book is primarily concerned with the sustainable development of the African continent, it must recognize the changing economic conditions that urbanization will entail. In her desire for the historic roots of Africa, Maathai misses the role that industrialization plays in growth. Factories need not be unsustainable, and as the Chinese population is increasingly absorbed into more sophisticated manufacturing and services, Africa could very well aim to place its newly urbanized in positions of industry.

Three hundred pages is not a lot of room to construct a new vision for Africa, let alone analyze the challenge for the continent, so it is likely that Maathai, whose life has been dedicated to this work, is ready to address these short-comings; however, in attempting to refocus the debate, she frequently misses the mark. That is not to say the book is without merits: the world needs more strong African voices, and Maathai is clearly one of the most important.