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71. Who Gets to Write History? The Question of 'Legitimacy'

Author:
Kathryn Tidrick
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
India International Centre (IIC)
Abstract:
When I last spoke at the India International Centre, in 2007 after the publication of my biography of Gandhi, I was asked during the question period how anyone who was not a devotee of Gandhi could possibly understand him well enough to write a book about him. The chairman, Professor Madan, politely moved on to the next question before I had a chance to reply. But I wanted to reply and said to the questioner that Gandhi was an important historical figure as well as an object of devotion, and his life required the kind of scrutiny customarily given to such figures. I remember adding that though I had begun to think about the book while I was living in India, I had sometimes felt as I was writing it, after I had left India, that I was glad not to be experiencing the weight of Indian devotion to Gandhi as I wrote. That was the only occasion, to date, on which the legitimacy of my undertaking a piece of writing, my entitlement to do so, has been questioned to my face, though the poor sales and few reviews of the book suggest that some other people may have found the undertaking presumptuous.
Topic:
History and Legitimacy
Political Geography:
India

72. Social Inclusion and Service Delivery in a Fragile and Post-conflict Environment in Africa

Author:
Joseph R. A. Ayee
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The post-colonial state in Africa has attracted great interest from scholars and development partners because of the recognition that no development can take place without a proper functioning state. The state is expected to provide and deliver goods and services to its citizens in order to promote its legitimacy before its citizens. However, in fragile or post-conflict states, the capacity of the state to deliver services to all citizens is not possible because of weak infrastructure, weak public service delivery and weak state institutions which lack the capacity to deliver service and thereby become illegitimate. This has led to the increasing recognition that service delivery interventions or initiatives in fragile states should aim to ameliorate the negative effects of social exclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Against this backdrop, this paper discusses how social inclusion can be promoted and improved by service delivery in fragile states in Africa in the light of the fact that their different contextual variables (such as history, politics, culture and geographical location) affect their ability to develop their capacity to deliver services to their citizens. In other words, why is social exclusion in service delivery in fragile states challenging and what are the reasons for it? The paper shows that a combination of the inability of fragile states to perform their governance functions as a result of their peculiar circumstances and the adoption of the “one-size-fits-all” strategies to deliver services have largely contributed to social exclusion in service delivery. It ends with some policy recommendations.
Topic:
Governance, State, Legitimacy, Inclusion, Post-Conflict, Fragility, Capacity Building, and Service Delivery
Political Geography:
Africa