Description
In-depth examination of the inherent tensions and dynamics of transport corridors in Africa: between short-term optics and long-term durability; between regional integration and national interest; between the facilitation of trade and the generation of corridor revenue. The image of the corridor, a central pathway of road and rail carving its way through Africa's interior, has guided the coordination of transport and trade developments on the continent in recent decades. Existing analysis of the "Corridor" - a label with a great capacity to change shape, guiding funding and infrastructural priorities at different times and in different settings - tends to be presentist, technical, and conveyed in the language of transport economics. The chapters collected here showcase a more varied approach, offering perspectives from academics and policy-makers coming from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. They capture the varied forms of the corridor concept (developmental, transport, and trade corridors), the multiplicity of actors (including China and the European Union), as well as the different permutations of the infrastructure itself, in corridors linking coastal states and in others that link coastal states with the hinterland. The breadth of cases allows for a comparative perspective of East, West, and Southern Africa, as well as the basis of comparisons outside of the continent in Europe, South Asia, and elsewhere. The motivations behind corridor initiatives in Africa range enormously, from resource extraction to urban development and poverty reduction. A lot depends on scale, and this collection places the grand designs thrashed out at continental and regional economic forums alongside the individual concerns of drivers and cross-border traders hauling goods across the continent's checkpoints. What emerges are a number of central tensions in the study of transport corridors: between short-term optics and long-term durability; between road and rail as modes of transportation; between regional integration and national interest; between the facilitation of trade and the generation of corridor revenue; between different port configurations; and between local dynamics and the dynamics of long-distance transportation. This book is available as an Open Access ebook under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC.
About the Author
HUGH LAMARQUE was a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project and currently holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh. PAUL NUGENT is Professor of Comparative African History (History and Centre of African Studies) at the University of Edinburgh. HUGH LAMARQUE was a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project and currently holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh. PAUL NUGENT is Professor of Comparative African History (History and Centre of African Studies) at the University of Edinburgh. Sidy Cissokho is a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project at the University of Edinburgh. For his PhD he has researched the Senegalese professional driver association and their relationship with the government and political parties of Senegal. Isabella Soi is a Lecturer in African History at the University of Cagliari, Italy. Her research interests focus on borders development and dynamics, particularly in relation to trade and population movements; refugee movements; national and religious minorities; and the relation between religion and politics in East Africa, particularly in Uganda. Her publications include Minoranze religiose nel continente africano: Il caso delle comunita ebraiche di Tunisia e di Uganda (with Filippo Petrucci; Aracne Editore, 2016). Francesc Magrinya is a civil engineer with a PhD in urban planning, and an expert in urban planning, transportation and resilience of metropolitan areas. He is Professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona Tech)and the Coordinator of the EXIT-UPC Research Group (Engineering, Networks, Infrastructures and Transport). He was previously Director of the Strategic Planning Area of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. Sergio Oliete Josa is a civil engineer and urban planner specializing in transport and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. He works for the European Commission as team leader for the transport sector in the Directorate-General for International Partnerships. He has been posted in several countries in West and Central Africa and has written a number of academic papers analysing the evolution and sustainability of the transport networks in the continent. Bruce Byiers is a development economist with a doctorate from the University of Sussex. He has headed the African Institutions and Regional Dynamics Programme at ECDPMsince 2011. The main focus of his work is on regional organisations and broader regional cooperation and integration dynamics in Africa, seeking to link a political economy approach to understanding these dynamics with policy implications for regional policymakers and international partners. He has also worked on issues related to enterprise development, informality and tax policies, all of which come into this work. He worked in the Mozambican Ministry of Planning and Development/Finance for five years, and has worked on multiple projects across the continent, working at both regional and national levels for a variety of international partners. Sean Woolfrey is a Senior Policy Advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). He is responsible for developing and coordinating IISD's research on how trade, investment and equitable markets in food and agriculture can serve to promote food security, improve livelihoods, reduce inequality, and ensure more responsible use the planet's resources. Prior to joining IISD, Sean worked at the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), where his work covered topics relating to African and European trade, the political economy of regional integration in Africa and the sustainability of African food systems. Jerome Lombard is Doctor in Geography and Research Director at the French Research Institute for Development (IRD). His current researches are on African transport systems and their relationship with territorial development. He focuses mainly on Western Africa, especially on Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco. Nina Sylvanus is a political and economic anthropologist whose work centres on capital and labour, value and aesthetics, infrastructure and technology, and, more broadly, critical transformations in the neoliberal global economy. Sylvanus is the author of Patterns in Circulation: Cloth, Gender and Materiality in West Africa (University of Chicago Press, 2016), a study of the dense materiality and rich signifying qualities of African print cloth. Jose-Maria Munoz is a social anthropologist who has conducted research in West-Central Africa since 2003. He is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development at the University of Edinburgh. His works include Doing Business in Cameroon (Cambridge University Press, 2018), a book monograph on economic governance in the city of Ngaoundere. Yunnan Chen is a Senior Research Officer at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), focusing on development finance institutions China's role in the global development finance architecture, and Chinese infrastructure projects (particularly rail) in Africa. She is a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and formerly a pre-doc fellow at the Global Development Policy Centre, Boston University, and at the Centre for Global Development (CGD). Elisa Gambino is a Fellow in the International Politics of China at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, UK. Prior to this, her PhD in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh contributed to the 'African Governance and Space: Transport Corridors, Border Towns and Port Cities in Transition' (AFRIGOS) project funded by the European Research Council. Elisa's research focuses on the analysis of power-relations among Chinese and African state and non-state actors in the development of major infrastructure project.
Reviews
The editors do an exceptional job guiding their readers through the varied and fascinating interpretations of the term "corridors" in African history, underscoring that corridors already existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans. * H-NET *
Book Information
ISBN 9781847012944
Author Hugh Lamarque
Format Paperback
Page Count 342
Imprint James Currey
Publisher James Currey
Weight(grams) 1g
About the Author
HUGH LAMARQUE was a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project and currently holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh. PAUL NUGENT is Professor of Comparative African History (History and Centre of African Studies) at the University of Edinburgh. HUGH LAMARQUE was a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project and currently holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh. PAUL NUGENT is Professor of Comparative African History (History and Centre of African Studies) at the University of Edinburgh. Sidy Cissokho is a postdoctoral Research Fellow on the AFRIGOS project at the University of Edinburgh. For his PhD he has researched the Senegalese professional driver association and their relationship with the government and political parties of Senegal. Isabella Soi is a Lecturer in African History at the University of Cagliari, Italy. Her research interests focus on borders development and dynamics, particularly in relation to trade and population movements; refugee movements; national and religious minorities; and the relation between religion and politics in East Africa, particularly in Uganda. Her publications include Minoranze religiose nel continente africano: Il caso delle comunita ebraiche di Tunisia e di Uganda (with Filippo Petrucci; Aracne Editore, 2016). Francesc Magrinya is a civil engineer with a PhD in urban planning, and an expert in urban planning, transportation and resilience of metropolitan areas. He is Professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona Tech)and the Coordinator of the EXIT-UPC Research Group (Engineering, Networks, Infrastructures and Transport). He was previously Director of the Strategic Planning Area of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. Sergio Oliete Josa is a civil engineer and urban planner specializing in transport and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. He works for the European Commission as team leader for the transport sector in the Directorate-General for International Partnerships. He has been posted in several countries in West and Central Africa and has written a number of academic papers analysing the evolution and sustainability of the transport networks in the continent. Bruce Byiers is a development economist with a doctorate from the University of Sussex. He has headed the African Institutions and Regional Dynamics Programme at ECDPMsince 2011. The main focus of his work is on regional organisations and broader regional cooperation and integration dynamics in Africa, seeking to link a political economy approach to understanding these dynamics with policy implications for regional policymakers and international partners. He has also worked on issues related to enterprise development, informality and tax policies, all of which come into this work. He worked in the Mozambican Ministry of Planning and Development/Finance for five years, and has worked on multiple projects across the continent, working at both regional and national levels for a variety of international partners. Sean Woolfrey is a Senior Policy Advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). He is responsible for developing and coordinating IISD's research on how trade, investment and equitable markets in food and agriculture can serve to promote food security, improve livelihoods, reduce inequality, and ensure more responsible use the planet's resources. Prior to joining IISD, Sean worked at the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), where his work covered topics relating to African and European trade, the political economy of regional integration in Africa and the sustainability of African food systems. Jerome Lombard is Doctor in Geography and Research Director at the French Research Institute for Development (IRD). His current researches are on African transport systems and their relationship with territorial development. He focuses mainly on Western Africa, especially on Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco. Nina Sylvanus is a political and economic anthropologist whose work centres on capital and labour, value and aesthetics, infrastructure and technology, and, more broadly, critical transformations in the neoliberal global economy. Sylvanus is the author of Patterns in Circulation: Cloth, Gender and Materiality in West Africa (University of Chicago Press, 2016), a study of the dense materiality and rich signifying qualities of African print cloth. Jose-Maria Munoz is a social anthropologist who has conducted research in West-Central Africa since 2003. He is a Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development at the University of Edinburgh. His works include Doing Business in Cameroon (Cambridge University Press, 2018), a book monograph on economic governance in the city of Ngaoundere. Yunnan Chen is a Senior Research Officer at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), focusing on development finance institutions China's role in the global development finance architecture, and Chinese infrastructure projects (particularly rail) in Africa. She is a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and formerly a pre-doc fellow at the Global Development Policy Centre, Boston University, and at the Centre for Global Development (CGD). Elisa Gambino is a Fellow in the International Politics of China at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, UK. Prior to this, her PhD in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh contributed to the 'African Governance and Space: Transport Corridors, Border Towns and Port Cities in Transition' (AFRIGOS) project funded by the European Research Council. Elisa's research focuses on the analysis of power-relations among Chinese and African state and non-state actors in the development of major infrastructure project.
Reviews
The editors do an exceptional job guiding their readers through the varied and fascinating interpretations of the term "corridors" in African history, underscoring that corridors already existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans. * H-NET *
Book Information
ISBN 9781847012944
Author Hugh Lamarque
Format Paperback
Page Count 342
Imprint James Currey
Publisher James Currey
Weight(grams) 1g
