Unequal Partners: American Foundations and Higher Education Development in Africa (Philanthropy and Education)

This book offers a nuanced analysis of a US-led foundation initiative of uncommon ambition, featuring seven foundations with a shared commitment to strengthen capacity in higher education in Sub-Saharan African universities. The book examines the conditions under which philanthropy can be effective, the impasses that foundations often face, and the novel context in which philanthropy operates today. This study therefore assesses the shifting grounds on which higher education globally is positioned and the role of global philanthropy within these changing contexts. This is especially important in a moment where higher education is once again recognized as a driver of development and income growth, where knowledge economies requiring additional levels of education are displacing economies predicated on manufacturing, and in a context where higher education itself appears increasingly precarious and under dramatic pressures to adapt to new conditions. Foreword 6 Series Editor Preface 12 Preface 14 Acknowledgments 16 Contents 18 List of Figures 20 List of Tables 22 Chapter 1: Introduction: American Philanthropyand the Rebirth of Higher Education in Africa 23 Notes 28 Bibliography 28 Part I: The Ecology of U.S. Foundations in Africa 29 Chapter 2: Century-Old Philanthropic Interests in Africa’s Higher Education 29 Higher Education in Africa and the Presence of US Foundations 32 Capacity Building and Institutional Development 38 Notes 40 Bibliography 40 Chapter 3: Educational Philanthropists and Higher Education Developers 42 Language Bias and Grantmaking in Africa 52 Notes 58 Bibliography 59 Part II: The Commonalities of Philanthropic Foundations 60 Chapter 4: Foundations Come with Institutional Cultures 61 Institutional Cultures Versus Bureaucratic Processes 62 Notes 70 Chapter 5: When Foundations Work Together 71 The Partnership For Higher Education In Africa 72 Collaborative Engagement and Individualistic Interests 82 Notes 85 Bibliography 86 Chapter 6: The Authority of Foundation Presidents 87 Like-Minded Leaders 88 The Presidents and Their Boards 91 On Leadership and Ownership 93 Notes 96 Bibliography 97 Part III: Foundations & the Question of Legitimacy 98 Chapter 7: The Legitimacy of American Foundations 99 Skepticism About the Role of Foundations 102 Legitimizing the Role of Foundations in African Higher Education 106 Notes 113 Bibliography 113 Chapter 8: The Discourse on Priorities Among Donors 116 The Rhetoric of Capacity Building 117 Influence Strategy and High-Impact Philanthropy 120 Notes 126 Bibliography 126 Chapter 9: Legitimacy in an Unequal Partnership 127 Notes 137 Bibliography 138 Chapter 10: Conclusion: Equal Participation and the Challenges of Higher Education Philanthropy 140 Unequal Partners, Dependency, and the Discourse on Priorities 144 General Reflections 145 Appendix A 150 Appendix B 152 Appendix C 154 Appendix D 156 Appendix E 158 Appendix F 162 Bibliography 172 Index 178 "There is a consensus among proponents of militarism theory that militaries seek wars to enhance their institutional influence, promoting expansionist policies because it is in line with their training. However, most military-run states, and those regimes influenced by their militaries, termed militarized regimes, spend much of their time at peace. This book questions the underlying logic of the militarist expansion and seeks to propose a more tragic argument based on the distorting impact of military indoctrination and command practices on civil government institutions. The theory is applied to seven case studies of the periods leading up to the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars, the 1956, 1967, and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars, the 1969-75 Iran-Iraq border conflict, and the 1979 Iraqi invasion of Iran."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Introduction: American Philanthropy and the Rebirth of Higher Education in Africa....Pages 1-6 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 Century-Old Philanthropic Interests in Africa’s Higher Education....Pages 9-20 Educational Philanthropists and Higher Education Developers....Pages 21-38 Front Matter....Pages 39-39 Foundations Come with Institutional Cultures....Pages 41-50 When Foundations Work Together....Pages 51-66 The Authority of Foundation Presidents....Pages 67-77 Front Matter....Pages 79-79 The Legitimacy of American Foundations....Pages 81-97 The Discourse on Priorities Among Donors....Pages 99-109 Legitimacy in an Unequal Partnership....Pages 111-123 Conclusion: Equal Participation and the Challenges of Higher Education Philanthropy....Pages 125-134 Back Matter....Pages 135-170