7 - Thinking Political Emancipation and the Social Sciences in Africa: Some Critical Reflections
Corresponding Author(s) : Michael Neocosmos
Afrique et développement,
Vol. 39 No 1 (2014): Afrique et développement: Special Issue CODESRIA’s 40th Anniversary
Résumé
Après sa libération du colonialisme, l’Afrique à qui l’on avait promis initialement une émancipation de tous les peuples du continent de la pau- vreté et de l’oppression, devait atteindre une certaine liberté. Pourtant, n’importe qui peut constater que tel n’est pas le cas. Uhuru est toujours insaisissable ; la liberté semble inaccessible. Les conceptions nationa- listes, socialistes et néo-libérales de l’émancipation humaine ont tous échoué à fournir un minimum de liberté à la majorité des Africains qui vivent dans des conditions qui s’empirent tous les jours comme se sont aggravées la crise du capitalisme et la démocratie libérale. Chacun de ces trois points de vue de la liberté a été élaboré et théorisé comme universel par les sciences sociales. Ce sont ces conceptions qui orientent encore nos pensées. Le fait que la liberté n’a pas été vraiment atteinte signi- fie que notre intelligence a été jusqu’à présent insuffisante. Cet article soutient que les sciences sociales ont joué un rôle dans notre incapa- cité à penser librement et ont par conséquent besoin d’une restructura- tion fondamentale. Dominées par leurs limites, sinon leur incapacité à comprendre l’émancipation d’une manière adéquate aux problèmes du XXIe siècle en Afrique, cela a sans doute été leur incapacité à prendre ce que dit le peuple exclu suffisamment au sérieux. Dans le passé, ils ont été envahis par l’idée que seuls ceux qui ont la connaissance et le pouvoir sont capables de penser autrement, alignant ainsi leur pensée avec celle de l’Etat (soit dans sa forme actuelle soit dans celle à venir). Étant donné l’échec des sciences sociales à la pensée de l’émancipation humaine jusqu’ici, nous devrions envisager des alternatives qui sont de s’ouvrir aux perspectives populaires. L’article plaide pour une extension des sciences sociales afin d’inclure l’idée que « les individus pensent » en Afrique, et que par conséquent la raison n’est pas exclusivement l’apanage des universitaires et des politiciens. Marx a une fois observé que « l’État a besoin ... d’une éducation très sévère par le peuple ». Cette remarque est d’autant plus vraie aujourd’hui qu’elle l’était en son temps.
Mots-clés
Télécharger la référence bibliographique
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
Les références
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.