7 - Thinking Political Emancipation and the Social Sciences in Africa: Some Critical Reflections
Corresponding Author(s) : Michael Neocosmos
Africa Development,
Vol. 39 No. 1 (2014): Africa Development: Special Issue CODESRIA’s 40th Anniversary
Abstract
The freedom which Africa was to attain with liberation from colonialism had originally promised to emancipate all the people of the continent from poverty and oppression. Yet anyone can observe that this has not happened. Uhuru is still elusive; freedom seems unattainable. Nationalist, socialist and neo-liberal conceptions of human emancipation have all failed to provide a minimum of freedom for the majority of Africans who are living under conditions which worsen daily as the crisis of capitalism and liberal democracy worsens. All three of these views of freedom were elaborated and theorised as universal by the social sciences. It is these conceptions which still orientate our thought. The fact that freedom has not been achieved evidently means that our thinking has so far been deficient. This article argues that the social sciences have played their part in our inability to think freedom and are consequently in need of fundamental restructuring. Central to their limitations if not their failure to comprehend emancipation in a manner adequate to the problems of the twenty-first century in Africa, has arguably been their inability to take what excluded people say seriously enough. In the past they have been plagued by the notion that only those with knowledge and power are capable of thinking a new way forward, thus aligning their thinking with that of the state (either in its current or forthcoming form). Given the lack of success of the social sciences in thinking human emancipation so far, we should consider alternatives which are open to popular perspectives. The article argues for an expansion of the social sciences to include the idea that ‘people think’ in Africa, and that therefore reason is not exclusively the prerogative of academics and politicians. Marx once observed that ‘the state has need ... of a very stern education by the people’. This remark is even truer today than it was in his time.
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- Abahlali baseMjondolo, 2008, ‘Statement on the Xenophobic Attacks in Johannesburg’, 21 May 2008 http://abahlali.org/node/3582
- Ake, C., 2003, The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa, Dakar: Codesria.
- Anyang’ Nyong’o, P., ed., 1987, Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: Zed Press
- Badiou, A., 2001, Ethics: an Essay on the Understanding of Evil, London: Verso. Badiou, A., 2006a, Polemics, London: Verso.
- Badiou, A., 2012c, Séminaire 2011-2012, Que signifie changer le monde ? 2 Notes de Daniel Fischer, http://www.entretemps.asso.fr/Badiou/seminaire.htm
- Badiou, A, 2013f, Séminaire 2012-2013 : L’Immanence des Vérités 1, Notes de Daniel Fischer, http://www.entretemps.asso.fr/Badiou/seminaire.htm
- Balibar, E., 1996, La Crainte des masses, Paris : Galilée.
- Césaire, A., 1956, ‘Letter to Maurice Thorez, General Secretary of the PCF’ October 24th, translated by Chike Jeffers. Available at http://socialtext.dukejournals.org / content/28/2_103/145.short
- Césaire, A., 1981, Toussaint Louverture : La Révolution française et le problème colonial, Paris : Présence Africaine.
- Chatterjee, P., 1997, ‘Our Modernity’ Lecture No.1, SEPHIS-CODESRIA.
- Chipkin, I., 2007, Do South Africans Exist? Nationalism, Democracy and the identity of ‘the People’, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Chole, E. and Ibrahim, J., eds., 1995, Democratisation Processes in Africa: Problems and Prospects, Dakar: Codesria Book Series.
- Commaroff, J.L. and Comaroff, J., 2006, ‘Law and Disorder in the Postcolony: An Introduction’ in J. Comaroff and J. Comaroff, eds., Law and Disorder in the Postcolony, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Depelchin, J., 2005, Silences in African History, Dar-es-Salaam: Mkuki Na Nyota. Fanon, F., 1990, The Wretched of the Earth, London: Penguin Books.
- Fick, C, 1992, The Making of Haiti: the Saint Domingue Revolution from Below, Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press.
- Fick, C., 2000, ‘La révolution de Saint-Domingue. De l’insurrection du 22 août 1791 à la formation de l’État haïtien’ in Hurbon L. (sous la direction de) L’insurrection des esclaves de Saint-Domingue (22-23 août 1791), Actes de la table ronde internationale de Port-au-Prince (8 au 10 décembre 1997), Paris : Karthala.
- Geschiere P. and F. Nyamnjoh, 2000, ‘Capitalism and Autochthony: The Seesaw of Mobility and Belonging’, Public Culture, Vol 12, No.2.
- Guha, R., 1992a, ‘The Prose of Counter-Insurgency’ in R. Guha (ed.) Subaltern Studies II, Delhi: OUP
- Guha, R., 1992b, ‘Domination Without Hegemony and Its Historiography’ in R. Guha (ed.) Subaltern Studies VI, Delhi: OUP.
- Hallward, P., 2005, ‘The Politics of Prescription’, The South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 104, No. 4.
- Hardt, M. and Negri, A., 2001, Empire, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Hardt, M. and Negri, A., 2004, Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, London: Penguin Press.
- James, C.L.R., 2001, The Black Jacobins, London: Penguin
- Khamisi, L., 1983, Imperialism Today, Dar-es-Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House. Laclau, E. and Mouffe, C., 1985, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, London: Verso.
- Lenin, V.I., 1902, What is to be Done? Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1978.
- Lih, L. T., 2008, Lenin Rediscovered, What is to be Done? In Context, London: Haymarket.
- Mamdani, M., 1987, ‘Contradictory Class Perspectives on the Question of Democracy: the Case of Uganda’ in P. Anyang Nyong’o, ed., Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: Zed Books.
- Mamdani, M., 1994, ‘The Intelligentsia, the State and Social Movements in Africa’ in M. Diouf and M. Mamdani, eds, Academic Freedom in Africa, Dakar: Codesria.
- Mamdani, M., 1996a, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism, London: James Currey.
- Mamdani, M., 2001, When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism and the Genocide in Rwanda, London: James Currey
- Mamdani, M., 2009, Saviours and Survivors, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
- Mamdani, M., 2011b, ’An African reflection on Tahrir Square’, Pambazuka News 2011-05-12, Issue 529 http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/73187
- Mamdani, M., Mkandawire, T. and Wamba-dia-Wamba, E., 1993, ‘African Social Movements in Historical Perspective’ in P. Wignaraja, ed., Social Movements in the South, London: Zed Press.
- Mamdani, M. and Wamba-dia-Wamba, E., eds, 1995, African Studies in Social Movements and Democracy, Dakar: Codesria.
- Marx, K., 1871, The Civil War in France, Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1970.
- Marx, K., 1875, ‘Critique of the Gotha Programme’ in Selected Works of Marx and Engels in One Volume, London: Laurence and Wishart, 1973.
- Marx K. and Engels F., 1848, Manifesto of the Communist Party, in Selected Works of
- Marx and Engels in One Volume, London: Laurence and Wishart, 1973. Mbembe, A., 2010, ‘Cinquante ans de décolonisation Africaine’, http://www.rinoceros.org/article8903.html accessed 01 February 2010.
- Mkandawire, T., 2001, ‘Thinking About Developmental States in Africa’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 25:289-314.
- Mutiso, G-C M. and Rohio, S.W., 1975, Readings in African Political Thought, London: Heineman.
- Ndlhovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonization, Dakar: Codesria.
- Ndiaye, M., ed., 2008, Sarkozy, la controverse de Dakar : contexte enjeux et non-dits, Cours Nouveau, Revue africaine trimestrielle de stratégie et de prospective, Numero 1-2, Mai-Octobre.
- Neocosmos, M., 1998, ‘From People’s Politics to State Politics, Aspects of National Liberation in South Africa’, in O. Olukoshi, ed., The Politics of Opposition in Contemporary Africa, Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute.
- Neocosmos, M., 2003, ‘The Contradictory Position of “Tradition” in African Nationalist Discourse: Some Analytical and Political Reflections’, Africa Development, 38 Nos 1&2: 17-52.
- Neocosmos, M., 2006a, ‘Can a Human Rights Culture Enable Emancipation? Clearing some theoretical ground for the renewal of a critical sociology’, South African Review of Sociology, 37 (2): 356-79.
- Neocosmos, M., 2010b, ‘Analysing Political Subjectivities: Naming the Post-developmental State in Africa Today’, Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol. 45 No. 5,October http://jas.sagepub.com/content/45/5/534.full.pdf+html
- Neocosmos, M., 2011a, ‘The Nation and its Politics: Fanon, Emancipatory Nationalism and Political Sequences’ in N. Gibson, ed., Living Fanon, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
References
Abahlali baseMjondolo, 2008, ‘Statement on the Xenophobic Attacks in Johannesburg’, 21 May 2008 http://abahlali.org/node/3582
Ake, C., 2003, The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa, Dakar: Codesria.
Anyang’ Nyong’o, P., ed., 1987, Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: Zed Press
Badiou, A., 2001, Ethics: an Essay on the Understanding of Evil, London: Verso. Badiou, A., 2006a, Polemics, London: Verso.
Badiou, A., 2012c, Séminaire 2011-2012, Que signifie changer le monde ? 2 Notes de Daniel Fischer, http://www.entretemps.asso.fr/Badiou/seminaire.htm
Badiou, A, 2013f, Séminaire 2012-2013 : L’Immanence des Vérités 1, Notes de Daniel Fischer, http://www.entretemps.asso.fr/Badiou/seminaire.htm
Balibar, E., 1996, La Crainte des masses, Paris : Galilée.
Césaire, A., 1956, ‘Letter to Maurice Thorez, General Secretary of the PCF’ October 24th, translated by Chike Jeffers. Available at http://socialtext.dukejournals.org / content/28/2_103/145.short
Césaire, A., 1981, Toussaint Louverture : La Révolution française et le problème colonial, Paris : Présence Africaine.
Chatterjee, P., 1997, ‘Our Modernity’ Lecture No.1, SEPHIS-CODESRIA.
Chipkin, I., 2007, Do South Africans Exist? Nationalism, Democracy and the identity of ‘the People’, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Chole, E. and Ibrahim, J., eds., 1995, Democratisation Processes in Africa: Problems and Prospects, Dakar: Codesria Book Series.
Commaroff, J.L. and Comaroff, J., 2006, ‘Law and Disorder in the Postcolony: An Introduction’ in J. Comaroff and J. Comaroff, eds., Law and Disorder in the Postcolony, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Depelchin, J., 2005, Silences in African History, Dar-es-Salaam: Mkuki Na Nyota. Fanon, F., 1990, The Wretched of the Earth, London: Penguin Books.
Fick, C, 1992, The Making of Haiti: the Saint Domingue Revolution from Below, Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press.
Fick, C., 2000, ‘La révolution de Saint-Domingue. De l’insurrection du 22 août 1791 à la formation de l’État haïtien’ in Hurbon L. (sous la direction de) L’insurrection des esclaves de Saint-Domingue (22-23 août 1791), Actes de la table ronde internationale de Port-au-Prince (8 au 10 décembre 1997), Paris : Karthala.
Geschiere P. and F. Nyamnjoh, 2000, ‘Capitalism and Autochthony: The Seesaw of Mobility and Belonging’, Public Culture, Vol 12, No.2.
Guha, R., 1992a, ‘The Prose of Counter-Insurgency’ in R. Guha (ed.) Subaltern Studies II, Delhi: OUP
Guha, R., 1992b, ‘Domination Without Hegemony and Its Historiography’ in R. Guha (ed.) Subaltern Studies VI, Delhi: OUP.
Hallward, P., 2005, ‘The Politics of Prescription’, The South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 104, No. 4.
Hardt, M. and Negri, A., 2001, Empire, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Hardt, M. and Negri, A., 2004, Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, London: Penguin Press.
James, C.L.R., 2001, The Black Jacobins, London: Penguin
Khamisi, L., 1983, Imperialism Today, Dar-es-Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House. Laclau, E. and Mouffe, C., 1985, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, London: Verso.
Lenin, V.I., 1902, What is to be Done? Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1978.
Lih, L. T., 2008, Lenin Rediscovered, What is to be Done? In Context, London: Haymarket.
Mamdani, M., 1987, ‘Contradictory Class Perspectives on the Question of Democracy: the Case of Uganda’ in P. Anyang Nyong’o, ed., Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: Zed Books.
Mamdani, M., 1994, ‘The Intelligentsia, the State and Social Movements in Africa’ in M. Diouf and M. Mamdani, eds, Academic Freedom in Africa, Dakar: Codesria.
Mamdani, M., 1996a, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism, London: James Currey.
Mamdani, M., 2001, When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism and the Genocide in Rwanda, London: James Currey
Mamdani, M., 2009, Saviours and Survivors, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Mamdani, M., 2011b, ’An African reflection on Tahrir Square’, Pambazuka News 2011-05-12, Issue 529 http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/73187
Mamdani, M., Mkandawire, T. and Wamba-dia-Wamba, E., 1993, ‘African Social Movements in Historical Perspective’ in P. Wignaraja, ed., Social Movements in the South, London: Zed Press.
Mamdani, M. and Wamba-dia-Wamba, E., eds, 1995, African Studies in Social Movements and Democracy, Dakar: Codesria.
Marx, K., 1871, The Civil War in France, Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1970.
Marx, K., 1875, ‘Critique of the Gotha Programme’ in Selected Works of Marx and Engels in One Volume, London: Laurence and Wishart, 1973.
Marx K. and Engels F., 1848, Manifesto of the Communist Party, in Selected Works of
Marx and Engels in One Volume, London: Laurence and Wishart, 1973. Mbembe, A., 2010, ‘Cinquante ans de décolonisation Africaine’, http://www.rinoceros.org/article8903.html accessed 01 February 2010.
Mkandawire, T., 2001, ‘Thinking About Developmental States in Africa’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 25:289-314.
Mutiso, G-C M. and Rohio, S.W., 1975, Readings in African Political Thought, London: Heineman.
Ndlhovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonization, Dakar: Codesria.
Ndiaye, M., ed., 2008, Sarkozy, la controverse de Dakar : contexte enjeux et non-dits, Cours Nouveau, Revue africaine trimestrielle de stratégie et de prospective, Numero 1-2, Mai-Octobre.
Neocosmos, M., 1998, ‘From People’s Politics to State Politics, Aspects of National Liberation in South Africa’, in O. Olukoshi, ed., The Politics of Opposition in Contemporary Africa, Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute.
Neocosmos, M., 2003, ‘The Contradictory Position of “Tradition” in African Nationalist Discourse: Some Analytical and Political Reflections’, Africa Development, 38 Nos 1&2: 17-52.
Neocosmos, M., 2006a, ‘Can a Human Rights Culture Enable Emancipation? Clearing some theoretical ground for the renewal of a critical sociology’, South African Review of Sociology, 37 (2): 356-79.
Neocosmos, M., 2010b, ‘Analysing Political Subjectivities: Naming the Post-developmental State in Africa Today’, Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol. 45 No. 5,October http://jas.sagepub.com/content/45/5/534.full.pdf+html
Neocosmos, M., 2011a, ‘The Nation and its Politics: Fanon, Emancipatory Nationalism and Political Sequences’ in N. Gibson, ed., Living Fanon, London: Palgrave Macmillan.