Selected themes in African Development Studies: Economic growth, governance and the environment

Abstract

A growing number of scholars acknowledge the interconnectedness of the myriad of problems and prospects across Africa as a relevant part of a global development discourse. Given the ever-increasing importance of knowledge for the scholarly agenda and practice of African Studies, we present a picture of contemporary issues in African development. This work presents a multi-disciplinary deeply contextual text on the important themes in development studies covering land questions, housing, water, health, economic liberalization, climate, environment, and gender. Though Africa’s problems transcend these basic sector issues, they still remain at the core of development concerns given the fact that many in Africa are food insecure, have poor access to health, water, housing, and are increasingly affected by global environmental change and global neoliberal economic policies. These themes are a microcosm in the general understanding and study of global development issues that confront humanity. This contribution, it is hoped will lead to new novel analytical frameworks, the emergence of new conceptual approaches, and empirical accounts of relevance to scholars studying Africa as well as practitioners in African development.