4 - Challenges of State-building in Africa: The Effects of the Level of Economic Sovereignty on State-Capability?

Thursday, June 12, 2025

14:00 - 15:45 GMT

Location: MFB-Amphi 2

Presenter(s)

HC

Horman Chitonge
University of Cape Town, Centre for African Studies, South Africa

Presentation Abstract
State-building in Africa has been hampered by the lack of economic sovereignty. The concept of economic sovereignty has two related components: monetary sovereignty and productive capabilities, both of which are prerequisites for building capable states. In this paper, I argue that weak economic sovereignty in African states has led to a situation where the functions of the states are oriented towards satisfying external interests. This extraversion of the state is a direct offshoot of the colonial economic logic, which still influences the way African states operate, though in more subtle ways now than before. However, external interests which influence the state are fragmented, and this often manifests in low state capacity and capability which is commonly captured in the literature on African states. But at the root of the much-discussed state-capability deficit is weak economic sovereignty. The fragmented nature of external interests to which African states are oriented contributes to the lack coordination of state activities and programmes, which has remained one of the most enduring challenges of the state-building on the continent. In the South African case, which this paper focuses on, the lack of coordination becomes evident when one looks at the policies and programmes of the different government departments. I argue in the paper that the capability deficit is a structural issue which is always present regardless of the who is in-charge of a particular state institution.