Dissertations and Theses

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Department

International Relations

First Advisor

Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner

Keywords

Africa, Development, Solution

Abstract

Africa has become synonymous with poverty, diseases, and despair. The continent is home to the highest number of extremely poor people in the world. Throughout the world, especially in the last few decades, many countries in the so-called South have succeeded in lifting their people out of poverty. The continent, with the exception of a few African countries, has failed to design and implement sound economic plans to bring prosperity to a billion Africans. This thesis proposes that for African countries to develop, ways should be found to include indigenous input into development planning. This assumption is based on both the literature which debates the value of foreign aid as well as externally-imposed liberalization, and also on a preliminary assessment of the models African countries have employed to date. To support the proposal, the thesis analyzes the plans adopted by four African countries, Tanzania, Botswana, Ethiopia and Ghana, each having employed a different model. It concludes that it is not just important to have a local plan but rather that six factors are important in planning: an inclusive political system, visionary leaders, open markets, investment in human and economic capital, good regional integration and good relationships with foreign powers.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.