The State They're In: An Agenda for International Action on Poverty in Africa (Viewpoints)

The book draws on a substantial body of research to argue that much thinking on Africa--from both official donors and from international NGOs alike--is flawed, because that thinking either does not recognize or does not draw out the implications of the central role of politics and the state in Africa’s development problems.

In almost all African countries the political elites are uninterested in leading a development process. Western donor countries and institutions have largely turned a blind eye to this situation, and indeed aid has become an important resource in maintaining anti-developmental states. By contrast, in almost all other successful development episodes--such as in East Asia--the state has played a key role.

This book places the arguments in the context of the Make Poverty History campaign of 2005, the outcomes of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, and the WTO summit in Hong Kong. It also broadens the scope to address the American approach to aid and the new "transformational diplomacy" agenda.