Discourses on Development and the Realities of Exploitation :: From Aid and Humanitarianism to Solidarity

Horace Campbell

doi:10.54945/jjia.v1i1.9

Authors

Horace Campbell Syracuse University, New York

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54945/jjia.v1i1.9

Keywords:

Africa, International Relations, Development, Civilization, African Development

Abstract

Despite the reputed ‘clash of civilizations’, the international dialogue is far too collegial,at least where African development is concerned. The African state of affairs, neither to be pitied nor deplored, is nonetheless in need of a lengthy and meaningful debate. Questions that discussants should ask – what constitutes development, to whom do Africa’s resources really belong, and when, if ever, would the ‘West’ suspend its project of managing Africa with only the thought of extracting its resources? This article offers a radical critique of the World Bank-led ‘development’ paradigm. It is a call not to bear arms against development agencies, but to reach into the minds as well as the hearts of those who would be preparing to work in such organisations. The main argument here is that Africa cannot cultivate its resources, its people and its environment, if it must contend with another century of imperialism dressed up as ‘development’.

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Author Biography

Horace Campbell, Syracuse University, New York

Horace G. Campbell is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse New York. He has been an activist and a scholar for over forty years. From his early years in Jamaica, Campbell has been involved in the Black Liberation Struggle and in the struggles for peace and justice. From his years in Toronto, Canada to his sojourns in Africa (Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe), the United Kingdom and other parts of the Caribbean, he has been an influential force offering alternatives to the hegemonic ideas of capitalism. While at the University of Dar es Salaam, he was the Secretary of the Liberation Support Committee. As a member of the Dar es Salaam school he was active in debates on the transition beyond colonialism. He also serves as the Chairperson of the Walter Rodney Commemoration Committee. At Syracuse University, he is the Director of the Africa Initiatives and he works in the wider Syracuse Community as an activist for peace. He is a board member of the Syracuse Peace Council.