Towards Africa-oriented Risk Analysis Models : A Contextual and Methodological Approach

Risk analysis studies on Africa conducted by a number of international organisations have addressed a number of complex and interlocking socioeconomic and political issues, largely painting a bleak picture of the continent. These reports have been used by the Western countries as benchmarks for the flow of donor funds, often with disastrous consequences. The failure of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) introduced by the Bretton Woods institutions in the 1970s and 1980s serve as a good example. Taking cognisance of these interpretations, the case studies in this volume have employed appropriate methodological, conceptual and theoretical approaches with the objective of reaching balanced assessments on the underlying principles of risk and threat in Africa. The authors take a more holistic view, clearly defining the concept of risk and its corollaries and going beyond the somewhat limited view of those organisations which apply largely Eurocentric values to their assessments.