Integrated area studies on the paradigm shift of the development of Africa

我们考察了被认为是发展的“障碍”的非洲特色，并试图从中寻找新的发展的积极潜力。我们仔细研究了一些特征，例如：人们活动的多样性(砖瓦化和非农业化)，农民更倾向于规避风险而不是利润最大化，活跃的社会网络，丰富的牧民环境知识，牧民社会的灵活性，以及丰富的和社会交织的技术和知识。这些特点的优点在发展计划中被低估、忽视甚至回避。我们建议，应从民生可持续性和复原力的角度对其中一些“障碍”进行评估。

We examined African features which are claimed to be “barriers” for the development and tried to find out positive potentials in them for new development. We scrutinize some of characteristics such as; diversified activity of people (bricolage and de-agrarianisation), farmers’ preference of risk avoidance than profit-maximization, vigorous social networks, rich knowledge of environment of herders, flexibility of pastoral society, and rich and socially interwoven technology and knowledge. The merits of these characteristics had been underestimated, disregarded or even avoided in the development plans. We suggest that some of those “barriers” should bereappraised from the point of sustainability and resilience of livelihood of people.