State and the Legacies of British Colonial Development in Malawi

Confronting Poverty, 1939–1983

Inbunden, Engelska, 2023

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What were the origins of British ideas on rural poverty, and how did they shape development practice in Malawi? How did the international development narrative influence the poverty discourse in postcolonial Malawi from the 1960s onwards? In The State and the Legacies of British Colonial Development in Malawi: Confronting Poverty, 1939–1983, Gift Wasambo Kayira addresses these questions. Although by no means rehabilitating colonialism, the book argues that the intentions of officials and agencies charged with delivering economic development programs were never as ill-informed or wicked as some theorists have contended. Raising rural populations from poverty was on the agenda before and after independence. How to reconcile the pressing demand of stabilizing the country’s economy and alleviating rural poverty within the context of limited resources proved an impossible task to achieve. Also difficult was how to reconcile the interests of outside experts influenced by international geopolitics and theories of economic development and those of local personnel and politicians. As a result, development efforts always fell short of their goals. Through a meticulous search of the archive on rural and industrial development projects, Kayira presents a development history that displays the shortfalls of existing works on development inadequately grounded in historical study.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2023-02-15
Mått157 x 237 x 22 mm
Vikt581 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor290
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9781666921656

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List of Figures, Tables, and MapsPrefaceAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter One: The Poor and British Development Discourse in Africa, 1909-1970sChapter Two: The Land-poverty Nexus in Colonial Malawi, 1930s-1965Chapter Three: Whose Interests? The State, Industry, and Rural Development, 1930s-1953Chapter Four: Confronting Poverty: The State, ODM and World Bank Triad, 1960s-1970sChapter Five: Experts, Planners, and the Tampered Rural Development, 1960s-1981Chapter Six: Malawi’s Foreign Policy and the Fruitless Search for Investment Capital, 1960s-1980Conclusion: Some Reflections on the State and the War on PovertyBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

This most impressive account of Malawi’s development history between the late 1930s and 1983 makes several significant contributions to knowledge of the challenges associated with economic and social change in the late colonial and early post-colonial periods in other regions of Africa as well. Solidly based in archival evidence, this book demonstrates the continuities linking Malawi’s colonial and independence experiences with special attention to the varied actors in the development process, such as international development agents like the World Bank, in contesting state power. Particular attention to the issue of rural poverty and the critical role of inhabitants of Malawi in attempts to ameliorate that situation characterize the author’s approach. This book presents several case studies that illustrate the need for scholarly studies that assess Africa’s development experiences and intentions, not just outcomes.