Focal point: Many African states pursued prestige-oriented urban modernisation and import-substitution policies while neglecting agriculture and
rural society. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
Why did countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam industrialise with remarkable speed while much of sub-Saharan Africa struggles to achieve comparable transformation?
Standard explanations often point to culture, geography, colonialism or governance. Yet these explanations frequently overlook a more fundamental issue: the difference between adopting the symbols of modernity and building the capabilities that sustain it.
The source of the development divergence between Africa and Asia lies in the distinction between what may be called hard modernisation and soft Westernisation.
