Albeit the divergences on the debate about development in Africa, it is indubitable that the continent remains underdeveloped after five decades of development efforts. To understand this impasse,... Show moreAlbeit the divergences on the debate about development in Africa, it is indubitable that the continent remains underdeveloped after five decades of development efforts. To understand this impasse, it is necessary to trace Africa's encounter with Europe to the period of early modernity. This paper first outlines the theory of modernity and Enlightenment. Next, it traces the genealogy of the idea of development as modernity and how the African development process gets entangled in it. Zeroing in on the current idea of late or hypermodernity, the author dismisses the idea that there is something new in the globalization-backed neoliberal development paradigm. He then addresses the complex question of how the impasse of modernity can be transcended, arguing that Africa needs to construct its own modernity, different from that of the West. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
In the 1990s, increasing numbers of Chinese companies developed connections with African countries with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This development of... Show moreIn the 1990s, increasing numbers of Chinese companies developed connections with African countries with the aim of increasing trade between China and the African continent. This development of Sino-African relations has not gone unnoticed, but the discussion in the West has not been well informed. In order to fill this lacuna, the present paper gives an overview of Sino-African relations, China's aid programme to Africa, and the state of trade relations between China and African countries, with special emphasis on African exports of natural resources, the export market for Chinese products in Africa, and Chinese investments in Africa. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
