A conflict of visions: Reflections on African futures studies

Abstract

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the World Bank, has begun a project to promote national long-term perspective studies (NLTPS) for all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is an important topic in view of the present concerns about the extent of famines and hunger in this part of Africa, and the widespread pessimism about the possibilities for sustained ‘development’ in Africa. This article reflects on earlier efforts by the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF), also under the auspices of UNDP, to prepare images of African futures, constructed by Africans, and considers some ways in which futures studies, including those of the WFSF, the World Bank and the Club of Rome, lend themselves to the manipulation of the development of other peoples.