Contractualist State-building and Economic Freedom in Africa

Kaleb Demerew is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Hope College and non-resident scholar at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets, USA.

"An excellent exposition of the policy imperative in Africa today—how Africans can effectively reconstruct and rebuild the post-colonial state and provide an institutional environment that enhances wealth creation, economic growth, and human development. Demerew convincingly develops a praxis-oriented framework for effectively addressing the foundational constraints to state-building in the continent. This volume is recommended reading for scholars of political economy in Africa, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in development-oriented governance."John Mukum Mbaku, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Weber State University, USA"Kaleb Demerew convincingly argues that externally imposed top-down governance is not a sustainable development model for African countries. Instead, he shows that a bottom-up process of contractualist governance, rooted in economic freedom and particularly secure private property rights, is a better foundation for long-run widely-shared prosperity. The international development community urgently needs to absorb the lessons in this important new book."Benjamin Powell, Executive Director, Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University, USA"Moving beyond standard dependency theory narratives, this work examines how individual autonomy acts as an essential foundation for a functional state. Its liberal contractualist framework skilfully uses non-Western case studies to show that sovereignty is realised when institutions facilitate citizen transactions instead of top-down control. This is a compelling argument that successful state-building is ultimately rooted in self-governance and economic freedom."Bryan Cheang, Director of Hayek Program, London School of Economics, UK"One of the most original takes on the practical puzzle of development. Scholars of development and especially leaders of African states are advised to read this book."Michael Mousseau, Professor, University of Central Florida, USA

• 1. Introduction 2. Foundational Gaps in Post-Colonial State-building 3. Liberal State-building and the Neoliberal Development-Globalization Nexus 4. Configuring Liberal Contractarian Approaches: Toward Contractualism 5. Contractualism and Transactional State-building in Rwanda 6. Declining Contractualism and its Effects on State-building in Ethiopia 7. Somaliland as a Contractualist Experiment: Paradox of Non-Recognition 8. Conclusion