IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/reorpe/v51y2019i3p418-437.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Deinstitutionalization of the State and Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Contribution to the Critique of the Neoinstitutionalist Analysis of Development

Author

Listed:
  • Fernando Lopez-Castellano
  • Roser Manzanera-Ruiz
  • Carmen Lizárraga

Abstract

In recent years, a euphoric shift has taken place, typified by the narrative of “Africa rising,†which attempts to promote the idea of an economically emerging continent. In the Afro-optimist discourse, the idea is implicit that the neoliberal narrative has triumphed. However, critical voices argue that the discourse ignores the political environment under which African growth has been produced. This article critically reflects on the explanations of the neoinstitutionalist approach to development, the historical process of state formation and colonization in Africa. Following the proposal of postcolonial theory, sovereignty, tax, and violence are analyzed. Finally, the contradictory policies of the neoliberal experiment are demonstrated, which are leading to the deinstitutionalization of the State and to violence. JEL Classification: F54, F63, E02, N17

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Lopez-Castellano & Roser Manzanera-Ruiz & Carmen Lizárraga, 2019. "Deinstitutionalization of the State and Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Contribution to the Critique of the Neoinstitutionalist Analysis of Development," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 418-437, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:51:y:2019:i:3:p:418-437
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613418810784
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0486613418810784
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0486613418810784?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrei Shleifer & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Rafael La Porta, 2008. "The Economic Consequences of Legal Origins," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 285-332, June.
    2. Toye, John, 2000. "Fiscal Crisis and Fiscal Reform in Developing Countries," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 21-44, January.
    3. Jean-Paul Azam, 2001. "The Redistributive State and Conflicts in Africa," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 38(4), pages 429-444, July.
    4. E Elbadawi & N Sambanis, 2000. "Why are there so many civil wars in Africa? Understanding and preventing violent conflict," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 9(3), pages 244-269.
    5. Richard M. Bird, 2012. "Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1202, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    6. Ellis, Frank & Mdoe, Ntengua, 2003. "Livelihoods and Rural Poverty Reduction in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 1367-1384, August.
    7. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
    8. Joseph Mawejje & Ibrahim Mike Okumu, 2016. "Tax Evasion and the Business Environment in Uganda," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 84(3), pages 440-460, September.
    9. Ellis, Frank & Bahiigwa, Godfrey, 2003. "Livelihoods and Rural Poverty Reduction in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 997-1013, June.
    10. Fernando Castellano & Fernando García-Quero, 2012. "Institutional Approaches to Economic Development: The Current Status of the Debate," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 921-940.
    11. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    12. Abdel–Fatau Musah, 2002. "Privatization of Security, Arms Proliferation and the Process of State Collapse in Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(5), pages 911-933, November.
    13. Berhanu Nega & Geoffrey Schneider, 2016. "Africa Rising? Short-Term Growth vs. Deep Institutional Concerns," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 283-308, October.
    14. Franklin Obeng-Odoom, 2017. "The myth of economic growth in Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(153), pages 466-475, July.
    15. Mkandawire, Thandika, 2001. "Thinking about Developmental States in Africa," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 289-313, May.
    16. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    17. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2004. "Greed and grievance in civil war," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 563-595, October.
    18. Timothy Raeymaekers, 2005. "Collapse or Order? Questioning State Collapse in Africa," HiCN Working Papers 10, Households in Conflict Network.
    19. Saskia >Van Hoyweghen & Stefaan Smis, 2002. "The crisis of the nation‐state in Central Africa: a theoretical introduction," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(93-94), pages 575-581, September.
    20. Geoffrey Schneider & Berhanu Nega, 2016. "Limits of the New Institutional Economics Approach to African Development," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 435-443, April.
    21. Brennan,Geoffrey & Buchanan,James M., 2006. "The Power to Tax," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521027922.
    22. repec:taf:revape:v:32:y:2005:i:104-105:p:359-382 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995, January.
    24. Kevin R. Cox & Rohit Negi, 2010. "The state and the question of development in sub-Saharan Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(123), pages 71-85, March.
    25. Zubairu Wai, 2012. "Neo-patrimonialism and the discourse of state failure in Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(131), pages 27-43, January.
    26. Cramer, C., 2002. "Homo Economicus Goes to War: Methodological Individualism, Rational Choice and the Political Economy of War," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1845-1864, November.
    27. Yariv Brauner, 2013. "The future of tax incentives for developing countries," Chapters, in: Yariv Brauner & Miranda Stewart (ed.), Tax, Law and Development, chapter 2, pages i-ii, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    28. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    29. Tim Jacoby, 2005. "Cultural determinism, Western hegemony & the efficacy of defective states," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(104-105), pages 215-233, June.
    30. Bird, Richard M., 2012. "Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?," Working Papers 2220, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    31. Fearon, James D. & Laitin, David D., 2003. "Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(1), pages 75-90, February.
    32. repec:fth:oxesaf:2001-3 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Robert H. Bates & Steven A. Block & Ghada Fayad & Anke Hoeffler, 2013. "The New Institutionalism and Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(4), pages 499-522, August.
    34. Marina Ottaway, 2002. "Rebuilding State Institutions in Collapsed States," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(5), pages 1001-1023, November.
    35. repec:oup:jafrec:v:22:y:2013:i:4:p:-522 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Ellis, Frank & Kutengule, Milton & Nyasulu, Alfred, 2003. "Livelihoods and Rural Poverty Reduction in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1495-1510, September.
    37. Lucy Baker & Peter Newell & Jon Phillips, 2014. "The Political Economy of Energy Transitions: The Case of South Africa," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(6), pages 791-818, December.
    38. Robert H. Bates, 2005. "Political Insecurity and State Failure in Contemporary Africa," CID Working Papers 115, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    39. Martin Doornbos, 2002. "State Collapse and Fresh Starts: Some Critical Reflections," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(5), pages 797-815, November.
    40. Ian Taylor, 2016. "Dependency redux: why Africa is not rising," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(147), pages 8-25, January.
    41. Olson, Mancur, 1993. "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(3), pages 567-576, September.
    42. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2005. "Colonialism, Inequality, and Long-Run Paths of Development," NBER Working Papers 11057, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timothy Besley & Torsten Persson, 2011. "Pillars of Prosperity: The Political Economics of Development Clusters," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9624.
    2. Natkhov, T. & Polishchuk, L., 2017. "Political Economy of Institutions and Development: The Importance of Being Inclusive. Reflection on "Why Nations Fail" by D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson. Part I. Institutions and Economic Devel," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 12-38.
    3. ROUGIER Eric, 2015. ""The parts and the whole”: Unbundling and re-bundling institutional systems and their effect on economic development," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2015-12, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    4. Aguirre, Alvaro, 2016. "The risk of civil conflicts as a determinant of political institutions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 36-59.
    5. Lawrence Sáez, 2013. "Methods in governance research: a review of research approaches," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-017-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    6. Andrea Asoni, 2008. "Protection Of Property Rights And Growth As Political Equilibria," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 953-987, December.
    7. Nathan Nunn & Diego Puga, 2012. "Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 20-36, February.
    8. Omgba, Luc Désiré, 2015. "Why Do Some Oil-Producing Countries Succeed in Democracy While Others Fail?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 180-189.
    9. Sunde, Uwe & Fortunato, Piergiuseppe & Cervellati, Matteo, 2011. "Democratization and Civil Liberties: The Role of Violence During the Transition," CEPR Discussion Papers 8315, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. David Castells-Quintana & Maria del Pilar Lopez-Uribe & Tom McDermott, 2015. "Climate change and the geographical and institutional drivers of economic development," GRI Working Papers 198, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    11. Bodea, Cristina & Elbadawi, Ibrahim A., 2008. "Political violence and economic growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4692, The World Bank.
    12. Arcand, Jean-Louis & Tranchant, Jean-Pierre, 2007. "Institutions, mobilization and rebellion in post-colonial societies," MPRA Paper 19648, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Carl Henrik Knutsen, 2012. "Democracy and economic growth: A survey of arguments and results," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 393-415, December.
    14. Lopez-Uribe, Maria del Pilar & Castells-Quintana, David & McDermott, Thomas K. J., 2017. "Geography, institutions and development: a review ofthe long-run impacts of climate change," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65147, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Uwe Sunde, 2006. "Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und Demokratie – Ist Demokratie ein Wohlstandsmotor oder ein Wohlstandsprodukt?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(4), pages 471-499, November.
    16. Jamie Bologna Pavlik & Andrew T. Young, 2020. "Medieval European traditions in representation and state capacity today," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 133-186, June.
    17. José Antonio Alonso & Carlos Garcimartín & Luis Rivas, 2011. "Taxes, Foreign Aid and Quality of Governance Institutions," Chapters, in: Mehmet Ugur & David Sunderland (ed.), Does Economic Governance Matter?, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Dahlum, Sirianne & Knutsen, Carl Henrik & Mechkova, Valeriya, 2022. "Women’s political empowerment and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    19. Haggard, Stephan & Tiede, Lydia, 2011. "The Rule of Law and Economic Growth: Where are We?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 673-685, May.
    20. Czeglédi, Pál, 2009. "A tulajdonjogi biztonság szerepe a technológia elterjedésében [The role of property-law security in the spread of technology]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 790-813.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    development; political economics; institutional economics; sub-Saharan Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F54 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - Colonialism; Imperialism; Postcolonialism
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:51:y:2019:i:3:p:418-437. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.urpe.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.