Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:42:48.396Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Paradox of State Power in Africa: Debt Management Policies in Kenya and Zimbabwe*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Howard P. Lehman
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

A central debate in the literature on the state has focused on the state's relative strength and weakness in relation to society (Skocpol 1979; Nordlinger 1981, 1987; Evans, et al., 1985; Carnoy 1984). While this debate initially examined developed states and, more recently, semi-industrialized states in Latin America, increasing attention has shifted to African states. It is here where a paradox has emerged that has generated further questions about state power and state-society relations. Africa is plagued with political instability, coup d'etats, deteriorating economic conditions, and ineffective policy implementation (Sandbrook 1985). The current difficulties in meeting scheduled debt repayment deadlines and the pressure to make significant economic adjustments further illustrate the precarious financial status of many African states. Yet, African societies are well known for their heavily centralized bureaucratic apparatus that consumes a substantial portion of expenditures and capital investments. One indicator of state influence is the steady growth of parastatals in African countries. As they have expanded in number and in function, state power over these firms also has grown. And, in response to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions, many African states have enacted widescale debt management controls on foreign investment, public borrowing, and public sector investment. Scholars, whether conceptualizing this influential social group as an “organizational bourgeoisie” or a “managerial bourgeoisie,” consider African state bureaucracies to have their own power capabilities and defined interests (Markowitz 1977; Sklar 1979).

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , September 1992 , pp. 1 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

I wish to thank Thomas Callaghy, Edward Epstein, and Carol Thompson for their comments and suggestions. I also thank the National Science Foundation (SES-8410519) and the College of Social and Behavioral Science of the University of Utah for their financial and research support.

References

African Business. 1989a. “Chidzero Gives Nod to Blocked-funds Trading.” 132 (08).Google Scholar
African Business. 1989b. “Kenya Survey.” 132 (08).Google Scholar
African Business. 1990. “Zimbabwe Survey.” 142 (06).Google Scholar
African Economic Digest. 1987. “Special Report: Zimbabwe.” (04).Google Scholar
African Economic Digest. 1988. “Kenya.” (09).Google Scholar
African Economic Digest. 1990a. “Harare Concessions.” 11:37 (09 24).Google Scholar
African Economic Digest. 1990b. “Kenya.” (09).Google Scholar
Africa Research Bulletin. 1987. “Kenya: Budget, 1987-88.” 24 (07 31).Google Scholar
Africa Research Bulletin. 1991. “Five Year Economic Reform Program.” 28 (02 16).Google Scholar
Almond, Gabriel H. 1988. “The Return to the State.” American Political Science Review 82:3 (09).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austen, Ralph. 1987. Africa in Economic History. London: James Currey.Google Scholar
Benjamin, Roger and Duvall, Raymond. 1985. “The Capitalist State in Context.” In The Democratic State, edited by Benjamin, Roger and Elkin, Stephen L.. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Brett, E. A. 1973. Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa. London: NOK.Google Scholar
Calika, N. 1987. “Kenya's Economic Difficulties Are Worsened by Drop in Coffee Prices.” IMF Survey 16/10 05.Google Scholar
Callaghy, Thomas. 1987. “The State as Lame Leviathan: The Patrimonial Administrative State in Africa.” In The African State in Transition, edited by Ergas, Zaki. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Callaghy, Thomas and Wilson, Ernest James III. 1988. “Africa: Policy, Reality, or Ritual?” In The Promise of Privatization, edited by Vernon, Raymond. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.Google Scholar
Carnoy, Martin. 1984. The State and Political Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chamber of British Industry. 1988. Kenya: The Opportunities for Investment. London.Google Scholar
Confidential Bank Report. 1989. Bank Report on Kenya and Zimbabwe. Washington, DC Google Scholar
Confidential Bank Report. 1990. Bank Report on Kenya and Zimbabwe. Washington, DC Google Scholar
Dailami, Mansoor and Walton, Michael. 1989. “Private Investment, Government Policy, and Foreign Capital in Zimbabwe.” Working Paper. Policy, Planning, and Research. 248 (08). Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Economist Intelligence Unit. 1987. Zimbabwe: Country Report, 4. London: EIU.Google Scholar
Economist Intelligence Unit. 1990a. Kenya: Country Report. 3. London: EUI.Google Scholar
Economist Intelligence Unit. 1990b. Zimbabwe: Country Report. 3. London: EUI.Google Scholar
Ergas, Zaki ed. 1987. The African State in Transition. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter, Reuschemeyer, Dietrich, and Skocpol, Theda eds. 1985. Bringing the State Back In. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fieldhouse, D.K. 1986. Black Africa, 1945-1980: Economic Decolonization and Arrested Development. London: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Forrest, Joshua B. 1988. “The Quest for State ‘Hardness’ In Africa.” Comparative Politics 20/4 (07).Google Scholar
Godfrey, M. 1987. “Stabilization and Structural Adjustment of the Kenyan Economy, 1975-85: An Assessment of Performance.” Development and Change 18/4.Google Scholar
Green, Reginald Herbold, et al 1989. “Children in Southern Africa.” Report prepared for UNICEF.Google Scholar
Green, R. H. and Kadhani, X.. 1985. “Zimbabwe: Transition to Economic Crises, 1981-1983.” Report to the Group of 24, New York: UNDP/UNCTAD.Google Scholar
Haggard, Stephan. 1986. “The Politics of Adjustment: Lessons from the IMF's Extended Fund Facility.” In The Politics of International Debt, edited by Kahler, Miles. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Hamilton, Nora. 1982. The Limits of State Autonomy: Post-Revolutionary Mexico. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hanlon, Joseph. 1986. Beggar Your Neighbours. London: James Currey.Google Scholar
Hawkins, A. 1985. “Public Policy and the Zimbabwe Economy.” Harare: USAID.Google Scholar
Hawkins, Tony. 1989. “Time to Grasp the Nettle of Reform.” African Economic Digest Special Report (04).Google Scholar
Herbst, Jeffrey. 1990. State Politics in Zimbabwe. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Holman, Michael. 1989. “Zimbabwe: Financial Times Survey.” Financial Times (08 21).Google Scholar
Jessop, Bob. 1990. State Theory: Putting the Capitalist State in its Place. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Krasner, Stephen. 1978. Defending the National Interest: Raw Materials Investments and U.S. Foreign Policy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Krasner, Stephen. 1984. “Approaches to the State: Alternative Conceptions and Historical Dynamics.” Comparative Politics 16/2 (01).Google Scholar
Lehman, Howard P. 1990. “The Politics of Adjustment in Kenya and Zimbabwe: The State as Intermediary.” Studies in Comparative International Development 25/3.Google Scholar
Leys, Colin. 1974. Underdevelopment in Kenya: The Political Economy of Neo-colonialism. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Libby, Ronald T. 1987. The Politics of Economic Power in Southern Africa. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Mandaza, I. ed. 1986. The Political Economy of Transition, 1980-86. Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar
Markowitz, Irving Leonard. 1977. Power and Class in Africa. Englewood: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Meredith, Martin. 1979. The Past Is Another Country: Rhodesia, 1890-1979. London: A. Deutsch.Google Scholar
Migdal, Joel S. 1988. Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Nelson, Joan M. 1984. “The Politics of Stabilization.” In Adjustment Crisis in the Third World, edited by Feinberg, R. E. and Kallab, V.. Washington, DC: Overseas Development Council.Google Scholar
Ndegwa, P. 1982. Report and Recommendations of the Working Party. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Nordlinger, Eric. 1981. On the Autonomy of the Democratic State. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Nordlinger, Eric. 1987. “Taking the State Seriously.” In Understanding Political Development, edited by Weiner, Myron and Huntington, Samuel P.. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Nyawata, O. I. 1988. “Macroeconomic Management, Adjustment and Stabilisation.” In Zimbabwe's Prospects, edited by Stoneman, Colin. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Pion-Berlin, D. 1983. “Political Repression and Economic Doctrines: The Case of Argentina.” Comparative Political Studies 16/1.Google Scholar
Raath, Jan. 1990. “We'll Do It Our Way.” The Banker 140 (05).Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1983. Development Plan, 1984-1988. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1984. Budget Speech, 1984-5. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1986a. Budget Rationalization Programme. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1986b. Sessional Paper. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1987. Budget Speech, 1987-8. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Kenya. 1988. Development Plan, 1989-1993. Nairobi: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Zimbabwe. 1982. Transitional National Development Plan. Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Zimbabwe. 1986. First Five-Year National Development Plan, 1986-1990. Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Zimbabwe. 1989. The Promotion of Investment: Policy and Regulations. Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Zimbabwe. 1990a. 1990 Budget Statement. Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Republic of Zimbabwe. 1990b. Economic Policy Statement: Macro-Economic Adjustment and Trade Liberalisation. (07 26). Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. 1986. Quarterly Economic and Statistical Review. Harare: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Riddell, Roger C. 1990. “Zimbabwe.” In Manufacturing Africa: Performance and Prospects of Seven Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Riddell, Roger C.. London: James Currey.Google Scholar
Robinson, Peter. 1988. “Relaxing the Constraints.” In Zimbabwe's Prospects, edited by Stoneman, Colin. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Rothchild, Donald. 1987. “Hegemony and State Softness: Some Variations in Elite Responses.” In African State in Transition, edited by Ergas, Zaki. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Rothchild, Donald and Chazan, Naomi, eds. 1988. The Precarious Balance: State and Society in Africa. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Sandbrook, Richard. 1985. The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sklar, Richard. 1979. “The Nature of Class Domination in Africa.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 17/4.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Snider, L. W. 1987. “Identifying the Elements of State Power: Where Do We Begin?” Comparative Political Studies 20 (10).Google Scholar
South. 1990. “Kenya.” 99 (01).Google Scholar
Stoneman, Colin. 1988. “Some Concluding Thoughts.” In Zimbabwe's Prospects, edited by Stoneman, Colin. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Stoneman, Colin. 1990a. “The Impending Failure of Structural Adjustment: Lessons from Zimbabwe.” Paper Presented at the Canadian Association of African Studies (May).Google Scholar
Stoneman, Colin. 1990b. “Zimbabwe Opens Up to the Market.” Africa Recovery 4 (10-December).Google Scholar
Stoneman, Colin and Cliffe, Lionel. 1989. Zimbabwe: Politics, Economics, and Society. London: Pinter.Google Scholar
Swainson, Nicola. 1980. The Development of Corporate Capitalism in Kenya, 1918-77. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Sylvester, Christine. 1991. Zimbabwe: The Terrain of Contradictory Development. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Van der Hoeven, R. and Vandemoortele, J.. 1987. Kenya: Stabilization and Adjustment Policies and Programmes. Helsinski: World Institute for Development Economic Research.Google Scholar
Whitsun Foundation. 1983. Money and Finance in Zimbabwe. Harare: Whitsun Foundation.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1987. Zimbabwe: A Strategy for Sustained Growth. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar