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Paper short abstract

This presentation explores the anthropology of externally engineered development policy in Africa. Anthropological analysis of such policies uncovers hidden agendas and power dynamics that subordinate local interests, undermine social rights, and fail to align with local development realities.

Paper long abstract

This presentation explores the anthropology of externally engineered development policies in Africa. Analysing development policies through an anthropological lens highlights the often 'hidden' agendas of policies, particularly those originating from outside the African continent. Such policies can function as mechanisms for the perpetuation of colonial legacies, which subordinate local populations, undermine social rights, and frequently fail to align with local realities. The anthropological insights generated by early scholars regarding Africa have engendered a complex relationship between this knowledge and the resultant policies, often yielding detrimental effects on African development. Critics contend that this knowledge is imbued with bias and lacks contextual understanding, thereby necessitating a departure from such frameworks in the formulation of development policies. In response, African scholars and their allies have initiated efforts to deconstruct or advocate for the decolonisation of this scholarship and the associated policies that have emerged from it. Although the anthropology of policy has surfaced as a distinct academic field, we argue that it can be further enriched by diversifying the geographical and ideological focus of such studies. Consequently, we contribute to this field by presenting West Africa as a case study and demonstrating how transnational policies imposed upon the continent for experimental and hidden purposes have severe repercussions for development.