The African union, African diasporas and the quest for development: In search of the missing link

Abstract

As a development resource, the potential implications of the African diaspora are indubitable. Thus, in underscoring
this recognition, the African union has sought to actively cultivate and engage the former as the missing link in the
development efforts of the continent. Grounded on a political economy analysis, we argue this move is most salutary
and, in deed, long overdue. However, it is grounded on a fallacious mode of thought that predicates the
problematique of African development on the external environment and with it, an erroneous prognosis for action
that locates the solution from that (external) environment. This is analytically tenuous because a more
comprehensive accounting of the African development experience lies in both the external and internal milieu of the
continent and how these impact Africa’s development efforts. The convoluted internal African environment would
likely undermine the development impulses of the African diaspora. For the much sought after development
contributions of the AD to take root, a total re-orientation of the African (internal) development environment towards
one that is less replete with development-choking obstacles that currently predominate its economies is necessary.