The right to development in Africa and the requirement of development cooperation for its realisation

Abstract

In this thesis, I make a conceptual analysis of the right to development in Africa with a focus on the requirement of development cooperation for its realisation. I do so, on the one hand to account for the fact that development is retarded in Africa due to the lack of an operational model and on the other hand, to determine whether and to what extent development cooperation could be seen to function as such a model. As a point of departure, I state the claim that conceptually, development cooperation is opposed to the African conception of the right to development, which guarantees an entitlement to self-determination in making policy alternatives. To justify this claim, I provide a historical overview of the origins of the right to development in Africa. In tracing its origins in this way, I illustrate how the right to development has evolved in Africa not as a solicitation for assistance but as an assertion of self-determination against development injustices perpetuated through various forms of domination, including through development cooperation. I point out that by nature; the right to development in Africa is formulated on the one hand, as a human right concept to ensure that development processes are regulated by the principles of justice and equity and on the other hand, as a development paradigm intended to achieve improved well-being for the peoples of Africa. Pertaining to the central enquiry whether the right to development in Africa is achievable through development cooperation, I argue that the probability is minimal, especially considering the motives behind prevailing patterns of development cooperation, which is inherently lopsided, paternalistic in nature and aims primarily to safeguard the interests of foreign stakeholders. In the alternative to development cooperation, I propose that achieving the right to development entails the fulfilment of three normative requirements: sovereignty in domestic development policy making; the obligation to eliminate obstacles to development; and the need to establish an enabling environment to ensure that the right to development is achieved. Through an in-depth analysis of the range of instruments that establish the right to development dispensation in Africa, I point out that effective implementation remains problematic due on the most part to the dominant influence of foreign stakeholders, which in spite of evidence of violations of the right to development resulting from their actions, remain insulated from legal accountability. I then further examine the dimensions of the right to development as a development paradigm, which I argue is yet to be explored. On this note, I make the argument for a shift in paradigm from development cooperation to a new reading of the right to development as a development model, which I define as the right to development governance. I then highlight its relevance in transforming the development landscape in Africa. In conclusion, I make a number of recommendations on priority measures that need to be taken to advance the right to development governance as a home-grown functional model to drive the process of radical transformation envisaged for Africa.