Homework Answers

Identify the option that correctly describes Claude Ake’s (1996) thesis on development in Africa. (Please refer to e-reserve)

1. 

Development became an ideology of political unity that galvanized opposing attitudes towards the attainment of a common goal.

2. 

Development theorists and practitioners influenced by the neoclassical paradigm advocated for an autonomous approach that recognized the significance of historical, social and political contexts.

3. 

An increase in state sanctioned violence and extension of military rule in the post-colonial era demonstrated the power the military had in determining the trajectory of politics. 

4. 

Political independence in Africa ushered in an era of self-reliant development.

5. 

African leaders often conveniently appropriated and abused certain elements of indigenous culture and institutions to ‘manufacture consensus’ to justify their exploitation of power.

Which one of the following articulations of Zhao’s (2017) thesis on the difference between Chinese and Western Aid in Africa is incorrect? (Please refer to e-reserve)

1. 

The ‘soft power’ approach adopted by the Chinese is less politically interventionist than that of the West.

2. 

Chinese aid in Africa is centred on state-driven investments in infrastructural development rather than financial investments in the private sector, which characterised western aid.

3. 

Chinese NGOs play a pivotal role in development planning and coordination and involve a higher degree of participation amongst civil society stakeholders in Africa compared to those of the West.  

4. 

Chinese development projects in Africa have not been entirely successful and has not established the foundations for sustainable development.

5. 

Unlike programmes designed and implemented by the West, those initiated by the Chinese are more grounded in African realities that take local needs into consideration. 

Which one of the following options is not a core tenet of Matunhu’s (2011) critique of modernization? (Refer to e-reserve)

1. 

All of the options reflect Matunhu's core tenets. 

2. 

It is largely untrue, as modernisation theorists suggest, that the ability of a country to adapt to structural changes determines the speed at which they advance towards modernisation.

3. 

The justification for modernizing the African continent was predicated on the fundamental belief that ‘African society’ was inherently primitive and lacked technological advancement and innovation.

4. 

Walter Rodney’s (1972) work on ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’challenges the claim made by the metropole that pre-colonial African societies lacked technological advancement and social organisation.

5. 

African economies do not neatly fit into the categories outlined in Rostow’s linear theory of development.  

Which one of the following statements on the nature of ‘South-South’ cooperation between China and Africa is incorrect? (Please read e-reserve article by Bbaala)

1. 

As Kwame Nkrumah inferred more than five decades ago, state-assisted Chinese multinational corporations (MNC’s) are part of the larger project of ‘collective imperialism’ engaged in a new scramble for Africa.

2. 

China’s preferential tariff scheme has contributed to increasing manufactured exports from African countries resulting in effective capitalization of small and medium enterprises on the continent.

3. 

Chinese import markets in Africa are concentrated in a few countries, especially those producing highly valued natural resources.

4. 

China adopts the same strategy as powerful western states in terms of emphasizing the inherent human value endemic to its culture and language, which it aims to spread and use to consolidate and legitimize its economic influence on the continent.

5. 

All of the options are incorrect

Indicate the correct option.

According to Howard Handelman (2011), in Latin America’s newly industrializing economies (NICs), the implementation of Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) model of economic development had the following effect on domestic economies: (Refer to chapter 10 available on ‘e-reserves’)

1. 

Traditional primary exports were improved.

2. 

It led to an increase in employment.

3. 

It resulted in a more equitable distribution of income benefitting all classes of society.

4. 

The balance of payments deficits was significantly reduced.

5. 

Dependence on imported consumer goods was replaced with dependence on foreign capital goods.