Two Africas? Two Ugandas? An African "Democratic Developmental State"? Or Another "Failed" State
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Date
2004
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Aalborg Universitet
Abstract
Uganda's dramatic redevelopment over the last decade should undermine ready stereotypes of the continent's exponential decline/anarchy. Yet this growth has not been uniformly experienced in terms of different regions & classes. This study applies the concept proposed by Thandika Mkandawire (2001) to the case of Uganda, recognizing that it was formulated with two particular micro-states in mind - Botswana & Mauritius. Since 1990, Uganda has transcended an unenviable history of decline & trauma to advance reconstruction & African (HIPC?) governance. Four decades after formal independence, the Ugandan case illustrates the familiar pattern of a few winners & many losers, yet some gains are more widely distributed than others; for example, UHT milk & cell-phones versus the traumas of HIV/AIDS, street children/soldiers & orphans etc. Meanwhile, fresh produce & forex transfers from diasporas come to balance traditional 'colonial' commodities as sources of export revenue, augmented by invisible, informal, often illegal, income from the Congo. In short, the pattern of human development/rights/security in Uganda is uneven as most analyses, including the invaluable UNDP HDR for Uganda, indicate. Meanwhile, what are the implications for comparative analyses/policies/practices arising from this novel African case?
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Shaw, T. (2004). Two Africas? Two Ugandas? An African "Democratic Developmental State"? Or Another "Failed" State: Background Factors, Motives and Patterns. Institut for Historie, Internationale Studier og Samfundsforhold, Aalborg Universitet.