Hartwell, Leon2012-05-282012-05-282011-11Hartwell, L 2011, 'Questioning Africa's economic resilience', Strategic Review for Southern Africa, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 81-105.1013-1108 (print)http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18930In the midst of the Great Recession, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank boldly proclaimed that African economies have displayed 'resilience'. It was an attempt to boast that their policy prescriptions have finally paid off, especially in Africa. It is important to challenge this discourse by providing alternative explanations of the state of Africa's development. It not, the Bretton Woods Institutions will continue to prescribe ineffective standardise neoliberal policies to the region. The Bretton Woods Institutions have not moved beyond the Washington Consensus, despite a multitude of declarations acknowledging the failure of a one-size-fits-all approach. This article therefore questions the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's optimism regarding Africa's debt sustainability, economic growth and development spending.enInstitute for Strategic Studies, University of PretoriaGreat recessionEconomic resilienceRecessions -- AfricaFinancial institutions, International -- AfricaInternational financeArticle