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Sarah Colegrove 10/30/2012 Externalist Explanation Africa has faced a plethora of problems such as violence, depletion of resources, and corrupt leaders. Many have tried to offer an explanation for why this occurs. David Leonard and Scott Straus, in their book Africas Stalled Development, offer an externalist explanation. Leonard and Straus find that the personal rule explanation to not be sufficient nor is it adequate. Personal rule has been described as a system where patronage politics take place where loyalty to the government or officials in the government occurs mainly through goods, services, or positions in society are given to people. Relationships are very important in personal rule and corruption is often found. Personal rule paradigmis powerful in descriptive terms. It is less adept at explaining where the dynamics it describes come from and how they are sustained over the long term. (p. 1) Personal rule, or patronage politics, is both the cause and effect in Africa but most only look at it as the effect but do not try to determine what the root of this phenomenon truly is. Personal rule is thus both cause and effect of Africas weak states. (p. 7) The idea of an enclave economy is at the heart of Leonard and Straus argument. These enclave economies assist in reinforcing personal rule and even in the formation of personal rule. Africa, then, is particularly vulnerable to civil conflict because of the continents overwhelming economic dependence on the international sale of primary products. (p. 64) The problem is that Africa has a plethora of natural resources that are very valuable on the international market. As a result many of the economies have become such that the economy focuses on just one main export rather than diversifying their products. The economies are dependent on the whims of the

international market. When the international community is no longer interested in a product, the economy crashes and the people suffer. These valuable natural resources are also a source of conflict in these countries. Whatever group has control of the resource is the group in power. This can enable many rebel groups to arise and cause unrest in the government. The continued instability of the government (or those with power) causes the needs of the people to be mostly overlooked which in turn enables poverty to thrive and stunts development. Africas poverty, oppression, and underdevelopment are exacerbated through debt, aid, and technical assistance. The debt, that many if not most, African countries have is insurmountable. These countries are continually plied with more and more aid that groups like the World Bank or the IMF offer which adds to their debt. Both international debt and dependence on unusually large levels of foreign aid have severely hampered African development. Together they have grossly distorted the incentives driving African political and economic elites and have created a dynamic inimical to development. (p. 35) They suggest that the debt for most of the African countries (they make exceptions for the countries they classify as very corrupt) should be forgiven and as a result many development gains would occur throughout the continent. The technical assistance positions that exist in Africa cause issues. This technical assistance has caused an institutional racism as many of the people who serve in the technical assistance positions are white while those who are local are not. The international community is able to provide jobs for many of the well-qualified workers with a much higher salary while many less-qualified workers are left in civil service where the salaries are so low that workers are discouraged from taking the jobs because they are not able to provide for themselves or their families. What needs to occur then in Africa for the continent to overcome these personal rule

governments and enclave economies? Leonard and Straus suggest that aid needs to come from humanitarian roots rather than convenience such as plying money on countries rather than helping them in ways that really promote development. An example is providing meaningful and practical education so that these countries can stand by themselves. A way to combat the power that the many valuable natural resources have in the country is to have multilateral treaties with other nations that ensure the regime that is in power and reduces the likelihood of coups happening if a dissenting group were to gain control over the natural resources which would give these dissenters the power to take over the government. While Leonard and Straus do make a compelling argument, it seems like they are missing something in their argument. I think that George Ayitteys internal explanation combined with Leonard and Straus external explanation enables a much fuller and complete theory. Poor leaders combined with external factors such the Wests continued interference in Africa and the enclave economies are a much more thorough explanation for the continued troubles that Africa faces. Leonard and Straus appear to very reductionist when they talk about personal rule and enclave economies. They reduce the effects of colonialism to weak states. The solution does not in external factors alone. An important aspect to helping Africa thrive is to remove the West from Africa. Since the times of colonization, the West has had an inordinate amount of influence and control in Africa. It would be hard to remove the structures and institutions in society that the West created which have caused harm on many levels to Africa. They do not seem to give any credence to the idea that Africa, through colonization, has been forced into western world a western way of doing things, the form of government, and the way people think which does not fit the culture of Africa. Their culture was destroyed through colonization and many are caught in crossfire where they are being forced by the West through organizations such as the World

Bank and the IMF to conform to the West and their traditional culture which worked well for them. The solution is not solely in external forces but much can be accomplished when focusing on the internal factors and letting Africa become Africa rather than just another picture of the West. In regards to the issue that technical assistance brings up is that there needs to be incentives for those in civil service to be motivated to remain in civil service, work hard, and become well-qualified.