African Development: Making Sense of the Issues and Actors

by Todd Moss

In the ongoing battle against global poverty, the countries of Africa continue to present the greatest challenge. African Development offers a comprehensive introduction to the issues, actors, and institutions interacting across the diverse continent. Each chapter is organized around three fundamental Where are we now? How did we get to this point? What are the current debates? Interspersed throughout are vivid sidebars acquainting the student with ten well-known "big men" and ten equally important but lesser known African actors. The text also includes the ABCs of development jargon. Other useful features include chapter-by-chapter suggestions for further reading and a comprehensive index.

Genres: Economics, Africa, History, Political Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Todd Moss, formerly the top American diplomat in West Africa, draws on his real-world experiences inside the U.S. Government to bring to life the exhilaration—and frustrations—of modern-day diplomacy. His first novel, THE GOLDEN HOUR (Putnam/Penguin), was originally inspired by the August 2008 coup d’état in Mauritania. Todd was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the time and was dispatched by Secretary Condoleezza Rice to negotiate with the junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Just weeks after Todd completed the first draft of THE GOLDEN HOUR about an army takeover in Mali, the real President of that country was overthrown in a coup. Within days, the northern half of the country was overrun by Tuareg separatists and Islamist extremists, a threat to Africa and the world that was only ended by a French military invasion in early 2013.

The sequel, MINUTE ZERO (Putnam/Penguin), about an election in Zimbabwe that goes awry, was released Sept 2015.

Todd is also the author of several non-fiction books on African development and economics. He currently works as Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Global Development, a think-tank in Washington DC and lives in Maryland with his family. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and has taught at the London School of Economics (LSE) and at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He holds a PhD from SOAS and a BA from Tufts University.

Reviews

[John McNeil]

Prob more like a 2.5

I’ve had this on my shelf for years - think I got it for an undergrad poly sci class which adds up. Very high-level traditional neoclassical dev stuff.

If people read this, they also have to read case studies into failures of Structural Adjustment and modern loan programs. Good one on the failure of 2024 IMF program is “if you keep doing…” by the IEA-Kenya.

There’s a lot more nuance to what they present here but it’s a decent intro to all the actors and politics

[Angi Lee]

capitalist propaganda

[MrsPL]

A good overview of a number of the issues and major actors in African Development.

[Mike]

Great intro read to studying the continent