Sustainable development in unstable societies: The Dilemma of Communication Research in Africa

Abstract

The major thesis of this paper has been that communication research in Africa has had a slow growth rate, which bespeaks situations in the society itself. The gains of the late seventies and early eighties have not been shored-up. It goes on to warn that this cycle of retardation may continue unless researchers address themselves to basic structural and functional defects in African societies, specifically that of unstable governments and policies, unstable economies and directionless objectives, as well as the appalling social life and largely prostrate social services and infrastructure. While these are in themselves of research interest to several foreign scholars, African researchers must contribute to the realization of a new order where sustainable development would be a clearly visible goal.


(Humanities Review: 2001 1(1): 26-32)