Conceptualizing and Framing Realities of Africa’s Development

Abstract

While development is one of the most popular concepts in Africa and across the world, what development really means may not be as well known as is thought. This is why one of the most abused concepts and issues in scholarship, policy and practice is development; partly because everyone thinks they are a development expert. This challenge becomes even more apparent when the defining and framing of realities of Africa’s development are involved. Until the right conceptualizations and framings are achieved, however, the development of Africa may remain a mirage. It is against this background that this chapter will engage relevant conceptual issues affecting the development of Africa. Popular issues of development will be explored just as the overarching concept of development will be interrogated together with its flipside—sustainable development. Other concepts that will be examined include ‘developed’, ‘underdeveloped’, ‘developing’, and ‘Africa as an underdeveloped continent’ among others. This chapter will be pragmatic, comparative, analytical and discursive in a way that renders it useful as academic, scholarly, policy and practice material.