Policy, and Development in Africa: Challenges and Prospects.

• Author: Skidmore-Hess, Cathy

Sooryamoorthy, R. Science, Policy, and Development in Africa: Challenges and Prospects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Opening with the statement, "A great deal is written and known about Africa but not much about science from Africa, or what Africa can give to science" (1), Science, Policy, and Development in Africa posits that Africa-based science would benefit the global production of scientific knowledge as well as individual nations. Sooryamoorthy, a sociologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has written extensively on technology and science in South Africa as well as the role of science in development in both colonial and postcolonial Africa, and he argues for the need to integrate locally produced science into Africa's development plans. For Sooryamoorthy, it is critical to create knowledge and technological capacity, because production of scientific knowledge is necessary to obtain international funding and is a key component of economic growth. As the gap between rich and poor countries widens in terms of knowledge production, the gap in economic development and wealth also increases. However, national development policies of African...