PASTORALISM AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA. Dynamic Change at the Margins

Once again, the Horn of Africa has been in the headlines. And once again the news has been bad: drought, famine, conflict, hunger, suffering and death. The finger of blame has been pointed in numerous directions: to the changing climate, to environmental degradation, to overpopulation, to geopolitics and conflict, to aid agency failures, and more. But it is not all disaster and catastrophe. Many successful development efforts at ‘the margins’ often remain hidden, informal, sometimes illegal; and rarely in line with standard development prescriptions. If we shift our gaze from the capital cities to the regional centres and their hinterlands, then a very different perspective emerges. These are the places where pastoralists live. They have for centuries struggled with drought, conflict and famine. They are resourceful, entrepreneurial and innovative peoples. Yet they have been ignored and marginalised by the states that control their territory and the development agencies who are supposed to help them. This book argues that, while we should not ignore the profound difficulties of creating secure livelihoods in the Greater Horn of Africa, there is much to be learned from development successes, large and small.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars with an interest in development studies and human geography, with a particular emphasis on Africa. It will also appeal to development policy-makers and practitioners.

Professor Andy Catley is a Research Director at the Feinstein International Center and Clinical Associate Professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University. He established the Tufts University Africa Regional Office in Ethiopia in 2005, and directs the research program Understanding the Future of Pastoralism in Africa.

Ian Scoones is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. He is a co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre and the joint convenor of the Future Agricultures Consortium.

Dr Jeremy Lind is Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. He is convenor of the Pastoralism Theme within the Future Agricultures Consortium.