The State We're In: Recent Contributions to the Debate on State—Society Relations in Africa

Abstract

The article reviews three main approaches to the study of political development in Africa in the 1990s, termed the civil society perspective, the culturalist perspective and political economy, respectively. It is argued that, of the three perspectives, political economy represents the best approach to understanding political development. At the same time, the culturalist school makes important points, which should be incorporated into an overall political economy framework. The civil society perspective, which was dominant in the 1990s, has little value in terms of improving our understanding of political developments in Africa, it is argued. At the same time, this perspective has been influential among political actors, in spite of its analytical weaknesses. The author argues, therefore, that the civil society approach should be seen as a set of categories of practice rather than as categories of analysis. The article concludes by pointing out some important issues that are neglected by all three perspectives.