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| Title: | Social Sciences and Democracy: Debates in Africa |
| Author: | Mkandawire, Thandika |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Periodical: | African Sociological Review |
| Volume: | 3 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 20-34 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Africa |
| Subjects: | democracy social sciences Bibliography/Research Politics and Government |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/24487340 |
| Abstract: | In this Claude Ake memorial lecture, delivered at the Ninth General Assembly of Codesria, held in Dakar in December 1998, the speaker, a former executive secretary of Codesria, reflects on the African research community and institutions. Starting point is Jibril Ibrahim's accusation in the 1980s that the 'icons' of the African social sciences were not taking democracy seriously. Issues touched on include the repressive context within which the African social science community has had to function during much of the postcolonial period; African intellectuals' commitment, albeit critical, to the nationalist project, notably the twin objectives of 'developmentalism' and 'nationbuilding', which gave rise to the notion of a trade-off between academic freedom and the 'right to development' and encouraged self-censorship; the criticism of African social science research as being methodology-driven, and the prominence of specifically the 'political economy approach'; the struggle for intellectual autonomy; and the integrity of African social science institutions and the institutional affairs of Codesria. The speaker remains convinced that good social science can cast useful light on pressing social issues and urges African social scientists to take stock of their intellectual history and the lessons learned from institution-building. Bibliogr. |
