Ideational approaches to change: The failure of neo-liberalism in African countries,

and a proposal of a Paradigm shift in African economic policies

Name and Surname: Jacob Mahlangu

Student Number: 14061912
Module: IPL 770- Research Methodology
Supervisor: Mabutho Shangase
Date: 29 September 2017
 Table of contents

1. Synopsis………………………………………………………………………….1
2. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….2
3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………..2
4. Problem statement………………………………………………………………4
5. Critical Literature Review……………………………………………………….5
6. Discussion………………………………………………………………………18
7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………20
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………21
 1. Synopsis

The concept of social learning by Peter Hall has created a wide scholarship which
supports the fact that a paradigm shift in a policy change could successfully occur
through the promotion of knowledge and new ideas instead of a focus on power
relations of the influencers of policy. This research paper operationalizes the concept
of social learning in the context of the relationship of Bretton woods institutions and
African countries. The paper assumes that the failure of the paradigm of neo-
liberalism which was imposed by the Bretton woods institutions in their focus on
institutional power relations, hegemony and hierarchy to African countries means
that the African continent needs a paradigm shift in its countries’ public policy,
especially in its countries’ macro-economic policies. Scholars have published their
dissatisfaction with neo-liberalism as they claim that it impacted the African countries
negatively and further worsened their economic crisis instead of stabilizing it. The
paper proposes the application of the concept of social learning in the process of
policy formulation by African countries so as to reach a paradigm shift, replacing the
paradigm of neo-liberalism with an African produced paradigm.

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 2. Introduction

The paradigm of neo-liberalism has been deemed as a failure in African countries.

The Structural adjustment programmes imposed by the Western financial institutions
such as; the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as recommendations
to the structuring of economic policies of African countries have been widely
criticized for their negative impacts. This research paper seeks to examine how
African countries can reach a paradigm shift in their policy formulation and policy
change. The paper also seeks to enquire on how African countries can cut ties with
the dominating, powerful, hegemonic countries of the West and their influence in
African countries’ domestic policies.

This paper consists of 5 sections, with the first one being about the methodology that
the paper follows. The second section delves on the problem statement which
outlays the issue that the paper seeks to examine and the purpose of the study, with
a subsection that outlines the research question. The third section is about the
critical literature review which focuses on four elements, the typologies of social
learning, the analysis of neo-liberalism and structural adjustment programmes. The
third element that the literature review focuses on is the concept of social learning by
Peter Hall as a method to reach a paradigm shift in a policy change. The last
element of the critical literature review looks at the alternative regional institutions
and other forces, drivers and influencers of policy. The fourth section delves on the
discussion of the findings and also recommendations, with the last section
concluding the paper.

3. Methodology

This research paper follows the qualitative research approach, as it deals with a
complex phenomenon of a ‘paradigm shift’ and operationalizes the concept of ‘social
learning’. The material collected by the author is highly interpretive and subjective; it
is also inductive as it follows a ‘bottom-up’ approach instead of a ‘top-down’
approach. According to Bogdan and Bilken (n.d) this means that its intention is not to
find data which can disapprove or approve a proposed hypothesis but rather to
explore and build up a theory in a grounded manner. Bogdan and Bilken (n.d) also
mention how researchers who are concerned with a process rather than an outcome
mostly apply a qualitative research approach. In application to the research enquiry,

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this point is crucial, as the research purpose of this paper seeks to examine and
analyse the process of a policy change using the concept of social learning in
application to Africa, to find out how a ‘paradigm shift’ in the continent could be
achieved through this process. Bogdan and Bilken (n.d) mention that qualitative
research is considered as appealing by minority groups because of its ease in
describing the complexities that are found in society. This research focuses on the
social dimension in African countries that are affected by the imposition of neo-liberal
policies and Structural Adjustment Programs by the Western financial institutions,
such as the African domestic issues of widening poverty and underdevelopment. It
focuses on the dissatisfaction of the African people and its Civil Society, therefore
seeking to describe the reality of the African people under their states’ obligations to
conform and abide by Western financial institutions’ instructions, requirements and
standards in their public policy formulation, especially in macro-economic policies.

The theory and lens that embodies this research paper is the Economic Structuralist
approach and New Institutionalism. According to Missio, Jayme & Oreiro (2015) the
focus of a Structuralist approach is on the roles that structures play in the developing
countries’ economic growth. This paper narrows developing countries’ to the African
continent. Structuralism’s basic focus is on the relationship of the centre and the
periphery (Missio, Jayme & Oreiro 2015). In the context of the research paper, the
centre refers to powerful Western countries, while the periphery refers to the weak
and conforming African countries. According to Lecours (2005: 3-26) New
institutionalism is based on the new focus that is given to institutions by political
scientists which emphasises the theoretical importance of institutions, and giving
institutions the primacy in analysis. New institutionalism is concerned with the
relationship of structure and agency, the process of institutional change and the
nature of institutions (Lecours 2005: 27-28). Using both the Economic Structuralist
approach and new institutionalism theories to explain the research purpose, the
relationship between powerful states of the West and the weaker African states is
based on power relations, a hierarchical structure, and the exploitation of the African
countries. Western powerful states exercise their rules, authority and power through
their Western financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund. These Western financial institutions have imposed the paradigm of

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neo-liberalism and the structural Adjustment Programs in the public policies of
African countries.

This paper utilizes the Desktop study as a form of data collection method. This
research paper is based on an extended literature review.

4. Problem statement

The imposition of the paradigm of neo-liberalism and the Structural Adjustment

Programs as an attempt by Western financial institutions to recover and stabilize
African countries has faced wide criticism as scholars claim that no stabilization and
recovery was prevalent. Most scholars claim that these Western financial institutions
engage in unfair trade practices and undermine the sovereignty of the African
countries. These institutions are interested in power relations when interacting with
African countries and lack an understanding of the African reality. They offer policy
recommendations that promote economic growth while the social dimension of the
African countries highlights that these countries instead seek economic
development. The concept of social learning by Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296)
mentions that when a policy no longer reflects reality, new ideas should be formed in
the process of a policy change, and there should be a restructuring in the policy
network and community with states having the capacity to act independently. This
research paper seeks to operationalize the concept of social learning by attempting
to apply it in the African context and situation with the Western financial institutions.
The African countries need to focus on acting independently from the influence of the
exogenous factors such as the Western financial institutions in their public policy
formulation. The paradigm of neo-liberalism together with the adoption of Structural
Adjustment Programs no longer reflect the African reality, therefore African countries
need to engage in the formulation of new ideas and reach a paradigm shift in their
policies. African countries need to utilize their internal government departments,
regional institutions, domestic interest groups as partisans of the policy network and
community instead of the outside Western financial institutions. The research paper
seeks to explore how African countries can achieve a paradigm shift in their public
policies, which is more directed and focused on the African reality using; the idea of
‘Social learning’.

4.1 Research question

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How can African countries eliminate the influence of Western financial institutions in
their domestic policy formulation and reach a paradigm shift to an African produced
paradigm?

5. Critical literature Review

The types of learning in the policy-decision making process

Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) devise four comprehensive typologies to
explain in a systematic manner; the process of policy formulation geared towards a
policy change. They extend Peter Hall’s concept of social learning through an
analysis of the influences, drivers and forces that affect a policy decision-maker in
devising a policy. Their analysis is based on what they call the relationship between
‘teachers’ and ‘learners’ in the process of policy change, whereas ‘teachers’
represent the experts, such as the think-tanks, the interest groups and external or
exogenous experts (Dunlop and Radaelli 2013: 599 - 619) . They then refer to the
‘learners’ as being the decision-makers in the policy formulation. They then break
down their analysis to the different forms of learning. The first one being Reflexive
learning, which describes learning as being a result of social interaction and relation
in a community of networks and actors, therefore no previously identified roles of
hierarchy as to who should learn from whom (Dunlop and Radaelli 2013: 599 -619).
The second one they delve upon is learning through bargaining, in which there also
does not exist a separation between the learner and the teacher, and learning comes
as a form of a production of an unintended product or as a result of political
negotiations and competitions (Dunlop and Radaelli 2013: 599 – 619). Dunlop and
Radaelli (2013: 599 -619) mention that this particular category is founded on roots of
ideas by Charles Lindblom concerning what is termed as a mutual agreement of
partisans, meaning an agreement reached by the parties involved in the policy
making process. Their third form of learning is epistemic learning, which they
describe the ‘expert’ as being the ‘teacher’ whereas a mandatory consultation of
these experts is required by decision-makers before any decision is made, and there
exists the transfer of power to these expert communities (Dunlop and Radaelli 2013:
599 – 619). For the purposes of the research enquiry, this particular type of learning
seeks to serve as a part of the problematization process. Therefore, when translated
to befit the research, it then refers to the ‘teachers’ or ‘experts’ as being the outside,

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external and exogenous Western institutions such as the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank. The ‘learners’ in this case become the African countries
that have to consult these institutions in regards to their public policy formulation,
with the power being delegated to these institutions to contribute to the policy-
making process on behalf of the African countries. African countries then conform to
the recommendations of these institutions. The current paradigm imposed to African
countries by these institutions is ‘Neo-liberalism’, which comes in the form of
‘Structural Adjustment Programs’. This is problematic as Peter Hall (1993: 275 –
296) mentions that an appropriate policy goal should reflect the reality of the place it
is intended to be executed to, while the type of policy recommendations by the
Western financial institutions reflect the Western reality and not the African one. This
means there is a lack of advocacy and a lack of the inclusion of African experiences
in the policies recommended by these institutions, and their recommendations serve
to benefit them, while they further under-develop African countries and weaken the
power of their domestic regional institutions. Havnevik (1987: 1) who mentions that
the conditions of the International Monetary Fund were felt hard in African countries
like Tanzania and Zambia supports this line of thought. The last typology that Dunlop
and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) touch upon is called learning in the shadow of
hierarchy. This type of learning is the most crucial in understanding the research
enquiry, as it explains how learning as a form of ‘shadow’ involves the interaction of
the ‘learners’ with the veto powers/players, which ultimately lands the decision-
makers in a situation they term as a ‘Joint-Decision Trap’ also abbreviated as the
JDT. In this type of learning, when the learners (Decision-makers) disagree with the
conditions given by the veto players, they reach a blockage in being flexible with
their own policies as there exists an arbiter such as an International Court which
often sides with the institutional rules (Dunlop and Radaelli 2013: 599 – 619).
Therefore, as African countries are bombarded with conditions they cannot escape
because they took financial aid from these institutions, and they now are faced with a
burden of being unable to challenge the conditions as they are subject to the
institutional rules of these Western institutions. According to Stewart (1987: 29),
conditionality by Western institutions relates to macro-economic policies that
countries have to abide by and meet the requirements in order to receive financial
loans. He also specifically refers to the conditions imposed by the International
Monetary Fund, which are associated with the issuing of major loans, and he
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mentions that ‘conditionality’ is also associated with the World Bank and other
International Loans, including Structural Adjustment loans (Stewart 1987: 29).

The problems associated with ‘Structural Adjustment Programs’ and the

paradigm of ‘Neo-liberalism’ in Africa

According to Simutanyi (2006: 2) the economic crisis that has been facing Africa has
been the main reason why most African countries embrace neo-liberalism. At the
core of assumption is the idea that the economic crisis can be solved through
understanding the role of the state and the functioning of markets (Simutanyi 2006:
2). Therefore, neo-liberalism argues that the reason for the economic crisis in the
African states has been the excessiveness of government regulation within the
markets of these states (Simutanyi 2006: 2). Simutanyi (2006: 2) argues that the
Western financial institutions which are considered to be international have become
the major instruments of implementing the agenda of neo-liberalism in Africa. This
then applies to the idea of ‘shadowing’ and ‘epistemic’ learning when viewed in the
lens of typologies posited by Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619). The
implementation of these neo-liberal policies have been performed by veto players,
and have followed the institutional hierarchy of the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank, with the Western countries being the ‘experts’ at devising African
policies using the paradigm of ‘Neo-liberalism. They used what Stewart (1987: 29),
Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) term as ‘conditionality’, as they offered relief
to the economic crisis of the African states through financial aid and loans. This gave
the Western institutions an access in influencing the structuring of African policies,
through diagnosing the root of the African economic crisis and then coming up with
solutions to those crises which were Western bias. Simutanyi (2006: 2) supports this
type of argument as he acknowledges the worsening condition of the economic crisis
in Africa after the imposition of the neo-liberal recommendations of the Western
financial institutions. Simutanyi (2006: 2) highlights the problem of the debt burden,
which has become unsustainable by African countries, which gives the Western
institutions an opportunity to continue imposing neo-liberal policies in order to obtain
loans, reach stabilization, and obtain debt forgiveness. Simutanyi (2006: 2) mentions
the negative impacts of neo-liberalism in Africa such as the unfair trade practices by
the Western countries, the unequal terms of trade which benefit the Western states
while being detrimental to the African states, and also the protectionist tendencies of

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the Western states while they open the economies of the African states, making
them vulnerable to the bombardment of the dominance of transnational corporations,
foreign direct investment, and also the exploitation of the African resources by the
Western states. This form of argument goes along the lines of Structuralism and
Marxism. Simutanyi (2006: 2) emphasises that the majority of the African states
especially in the South of the Sahara have been ‘forced’ to embrace the paradigm of
‘neo-liberalism’ as a panacea to their economic problems. Aime (2008: 1) agrees
with Simutanyi (2006: 2) on this point by elaborating that attempts are being made by
the International community to ‘guide’ the internal administration and organisation of
the African states which are considered to be fragile or ‘failed states’ through
promoting certain standards and a way to have these states restructured. This then
evidences the fact that there has been external, outside and exogenous involvement
in the internal, domestic and public policies of the African states by Western
countries using Western institutions and the International Community which is
triumphed by the control of the status of the Western countries who have a major
influence in the hierarchy of such institutions. Aime (2008: 4) further argues that the
paradigm of neo-liberalism in the African states has not only turned the
marginalisation of these countries more acute but have also perpetuated polices
which are based on clientelism. Meaning that the African states have become
consumers of paradigms produced by the Western-states, with a consultation taking
place by African countries to Western institutions when devising their domestic or
public policies. According to Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) this is
considered the delegation of power to the epistemic community or experts (teachers)
who then decide and determine what is to be included in the domestic policies of the
‘learners’ (decision-makers).

According to Ibhawoh (n.d) a discussion has been brought forth about the ‘Structural
Adjustment Programs’ by the Western financial institutions, concerning the problems
of the readjustment of the countries of the African continent in accommodating and
assimilating the paradigm of ‘neo-liberalism in their public policies. Ibhawoh (n.d)
mentions that the imposition of neo-liberalism as a paradigm in African states has
created tensions between the economic goals of the Structural Adjustment Programs
and the negative social implications they cause in the countries that have to
implement them. According to Waddock (2016) the consequences of neo-liberalism

8
have not only been felt by African states but also by the Western states, as they also
faced financial crises recently, with a growing gap in the levels of inequality
pertaining to income, and to support Ibhawoh’s (n.d) point regarding social
implications, there has been a growing number of populist movements which
Waddock (2016) mentions that these movements not only threaten free trade and
open markets but also the essence of freedom it was meant to safeguard. This
raises a concern as to why the Western states would impose a paradigm to African
states as a solution to their economic crises while that same paradigm has been
deemed a failure in their own states. According to Tsikita (1995) development and
economic issues, especially the ones related to Structural Adjustment Programs
have been dominating the concerns of the African women, as being the cause of the
rise of poverty, with a major impact felt by the women of Africa. Tsikita (1995)
mentions that the existence of the Structural Adjustment Programs in the policies of
the South has been there since the beginning of the 1980s. Perhaps, the most
notable point by Tsikita (1995) is the one where he mentions that there has been an
opposition of these programs which gained attention and ground during the
Copenhagen summit, which required the programs to be reformed as to be more in
tune with the people in development. This means that the Structural Adjustment
Programs were created with the intention of- and geared towards- economic growth.
This is because they reflected the realities of the Western states, while these states
were already past the development stage. Therefore, they did not take into account
the reality of the African states; which are still underdeveloped and therefore not
suitable for such policy recommendations.

Limpach and Michaelowa (2010: 1) analyse the impact of the interference by the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the domestic politics of the
developing countries, by how there has been a change in the power balance
between anti-democratic and pro-democratic forces. They argue that there is an
impact in the recipient countries who adopt the programs of these Western financial
institutions concerning the African countries’ democratization (Limpach &
Michaelowa 2010: 1). Limpach and Michaelowa (2010: 2) mention that in the 1990s
there was a rise in the criticism of the Structural Adjustment Programs by the civil
society as these programs produced negative economic and social conditions for the
marginalized people. Furthermore, not only did it produce negative impacts but it

9
also undermined democracy in these recipient countries (Limpach & Michaelowa
2010: 2). Limpach and Michaelowa (2010: 2) argue that the programs failed to lever
critical economic and political reforms. They warrant what is called ‘Poverty reduction
strategies’ which they claim is suitable for replacing the Structural Adjustment
Programs as these strategies are concerned with good governance, poverty
reduction and also the involvement of civil society (Limpach & Michaelowa 2010: 2).
This means that these strategies seek to respond to societal pressures, include
advocacy and community relations and involvement in structuring effective policies.
Furthermore, these strategies do not undermine the power and sovereignty of the
developing countries in structuring their own policies without the interference and
imposition of solutions by the veto players such as the Western financial institutions.
Limpach & Michaelowa (2010: 2) consider these strategies to be more favourable
and idealistic to replace the Structural Adjustment Programs. This type of strategy
can also be applied in the typologies of Dunlop & Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619)
concerning informal learning, where the learner or ‘decision-maker’ has control over
what to learn instead of having an ‘expert’ or ‘teacher’ choosing for the learner. In
application to the African context this means then that the process of the policy
formulation will be under the control of the decision-maker. This then means that the
country’s (recipient’s) democracy and sovereignty will not be undermined by Western
institutions and the content of the policy will be purely decided by the decision-maker
who will then make it reflect the reality of his own country as per Peter Hall’s (1993:
275 – 296) model concerning social learning. The decision-maker will not be
spearheaded by external experts and will in fact consult with an internal policy
network such as the civil society, interest groups, different government departments
within the country and also the domestic think-tanks as being the advisors.

Siddiqui (2012: 1) mentions that despite the failure of neo-liberalism in Latin America
and African countries, there still exists an imposition of these policies by International
institutions to developing countries. He mentions that the lack of a change in this
behaviour means that little has been learned from the past (2012: 1). The ignorance
of these previous outcomes in regards to neo-liberal policies signal avoidance of
what Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296) mentions as the previous experience and new
information. Therefore, if a policy outcome is considered a failure then new ideas
should be sought out instead of focusing on power relations, as the Western

10
institutions do without considering ‘knowledge’ as a basis for a policy change but
only consider power. Siddiqui (2012: 1) mentions that numerous Latin American
countries have abandoned these neo-liberal policies, and have adopted alternative
policies, which are quite suitable for their national interest instead of policies that
please the owners of foreign capitals. This means that instead of adopting solutions
from the external environment such as from the Western financial institutions they
rerouted their focus to the internal environment. The author of this research paper
suggests this to also be considered by African countries. Siddiqui (2012: 1) makes a
crucial point when he illustrates that the international economy is very ungovernable
and therefore, policy formulation on a national-level should be considered as central.

Heidhues (2011: 55-64) details the harsh lessons brought forth by the Structural
Adjustment Programs and their effect in Africa. He mentions that there were high
hopes and anticipations regarding rapid growth and development by the African
states upon their independence in the 1960s (Heidhues 2011: 55-64). He further
mentions that the Africans states as a form of response to their new independent
status attempted to channel economic growth using investments which were state-
led, and also using strategies of import-substitution industrialisation which were
unsuccessful (Heidhues 2011: 55-64). This then gave the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank and other Western donors an opportunity to advocate and
develop the Structural Adjustment Programs which were themed under Macro-
economic policies for the purpose of economic stabilization, non-government
intervention in the free market, and also privatisation of corporations, enterprises and
free ownership of resources and property by private individuals (Heidhues 2011: 55-
61). This then he claims resulted in less attention being paid to the social dimension
when taking development into consideration, and also the weakness of the
institutions of the developing countries as Western Institutions were privileged above
them (Heidhues 2011: 55-64). Heidhues (2011: 55-64) argues that the Structural
Adjustment Programs influenced the programmes and strategies for food, nutrition
and agricultural security in African countries and their overall economic development.
These SAPs were a response to the economic crisis of the African states in the
1970s, and they were introduced in Africa in the 1980s, and continued to operate
throughout the 1990s (Heidhues 2011: 55-64). Wynne (2016) also supports the
redirection of the focus of public policy formulation to the internal for African

11
countries as the Latin American countries did. He mentions that a collective action by
the poor people and the working class of Africa, in addressing the issues
surrounding the redistribution of wealth and income could be essential and effective
in reducing poverty in Africa (Wynne 2016). Wynne (2016) mentions that the
Western recommended policies for Africa fail when it comes to being crafted to meet
the realities of the continent.

According to Bond and Dor (2003: 1), Globalisation marginalized Africa and that the
policy recommendations by the Bretton woods institutions did not produce neither
recovery nor stabilization as they had intended. They mention that alternative
regional institutions were proposed for the domestic focus on public policy
formulation especially in the dimension of the economy such as the ‘New Partnership
for Africa’s Development’ (Bond & Dor 2003: 1). They argue however, that this
alternative institution has been criticized as further strengthening the paradigm of
neo-liberalism of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as its goals
include: flows of direct investment, an increase in trade and neo-liberal ideas
regarding finance. They highlight the advantage of this regional ‘Home-grown’
institution as its vision in promoting good governance (Bond & Dor 2003: 1).

The concept of ‘Social learning’ in reaching a paradigm shift in a policy

change: The case of the African countries

Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296) mentions that in order for there to be a policy change, it
has to be based on past experience and new information, therefore past experience
in the case of the African states concerns the Structural Adjustment Programs being
the failure as a policy recommendation, the widening poverty and debt burden and
also increasing underdevelopment, with the new information being a rerouting of
what Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296) terms as a ‘policy network’ from the external
experts (Western institutions) to the internal experts such as African regional
institutions, interest groups and academic think-tanks to better address societal
issues in an insider perspective instead of the Western outsider perspective. Peter
Hall (1993: 275 -296) mentions that when a state is at the level of policy change it
means that the paradigm it uses no longer reflects and explains that state’s reality,
therefore new ideas are needed, he calls this process the ‘Third-order change’ in his
systematic and scientific theory of social learning, which it seeks to explain how a

12
‘paradigm shift’ could be reached. His theory then serves to explain how African
policy makers can move away from the paradigm of neo-liberalism and consult their
own think tanks and internal experts to reach a paradigm shift, into a paradigm that
will better reflect and explain their own realities instead of applying a Western
paradigm to their African policies.

Peter Hall (1993: 275-296) mentions that the ideas of social learning in reaching a
policy change have been inspired by neo-Marxism and have gained attention and
interest among scholars due to the persistence of capitalism in the International
community. His stance about the idea of social learning is that the state should be
the focus when it comes to the creation of public policy, emphasising the
independence of the state from other interests considered as the drivers of policy
(Hall: 275-296). In the case of the research purpose, the interests that tend to drive
the process of domestic policy formulation in Africa are the external Bretton wood
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In order for
a paradigm shift to occur in African policies that operate under the paradigm of neo-
liberalism, the state has to act independently from these outside ‘experts’ and avoid
their influence in the state’s public policy.

Feindt (2010: 296-314) cites Schmidt and Radaelli (2004: 189) who argue that social
learning has elevated to a concept which is mostly utilized by social scientists who
are concerned with the explanation of the adjustment of a policy, which is caused by
an existence of a crisis and also the past solutions to the policy having been deemed
a failure. Feindt (2010: 296-314) argues that the policy learning theories have sought
to challenge the older models that perceived a policy change as direct response to
exogenous or outside events, power relations and also societal pressure. In terms of
the research enquiry context this then means that social learning when applied to
African countries’ scenario, seeks to challenge the structuring of these countries’
policies by outside ‘experts’ such as the Western financial institutions. Social
learning also challenges the power relations between these institutions and the
African states, in regards to the imposition of the Structural Adjustment Programs
that perpetuate the paradigm of ‘neo-liberalism’ in these countries. Feindt (2010:
296-314) cites Grin and Loeber (2007: 201) who argue that the theories of social
learning seeks to address complicated relationship between knowledge and power in
the process of policy formulation, and to also consider the change of ideas being the

13
central factor when it comes to understanding a policy change. This means instead
of power playing a major factor in the process of a policy, knowledge and the
changing of ideas should be the ones prioritized.

Feindt (2010: 296-314) further elaborates; by using the model of social learning by
Peter Hall (1993: 277), which consists of three elements: the first one being that ‘a
policy change should build on the past policy’s experiences’. The second element
being ‘the key agents are given the status of experts in a given policy field and are
referred to as a policy community’, and the last one being the ‘the capacity and
ability of states in acting independently from the pressures of society’ (Hall 1993:
277). When applying the research purpose in these elements, the first two crucial.
The first element translates to African countries’ having to reflect on their past ‘neo-
liberal’ policies, and their failure with these policies as an experience with it.
Therefore, a consideration to reflect back at these policies, for revisions and
alterations is required. Alterations could include alternatives from the Structural
Adjustment Programs such as what (Limpach & Michaelowa 2010: 2) refer to as the
‘Poverty reduction strategies’. Another example of an alternative is the ‘New
Partnership for Africa’s Development’ as mentioned by Bond and Dor (2003: 1). The
problem with these strategies is that, the “Poverty reduction strategies’ although
being much more suitable for African countries, are still exogenous as they were
introduced by the Western institutions. Furthermore, the ‘New Partnership for Africa’s
Development’ is suitable because it is domestic and bases a focus on good
governance; it still promotes neo-liberal policies instead of shifting to a paradigm that
best fits the African reality. The second element is also important as it signals a
change in the holders of the status of ‘experts’, with key agents being different
domestic government departments, think-tanks and also certain interest groups who
build the policy network or community instead of Western institutions. However, the
last element is conceived in a different manner by the author of this research paper
than its original context by Peter Hall. The author is convinced that societal pressure
such as an aggravated civil society is the main reason for the attention given to the
issues associated with the revision of Structural Adjustment Programs and ‘Neo-
liberal’ policies in Africa. Therefore, African states would are not acting
independently from the pressures of society, but would be in fact engaging in the
process of a policy change as a form of response to those societal dissatisfactions.

14
This then means that the African states are not acting separately from societal
pressure, as societal pressure is the major influence for the reasons behind the
considerations of a policy change. Feindt (2010: 296-314) further validates Peter
Hall’s concept of social learning as he cites him arguing that; social learning is
considered to be a deliberate attempt to change and adjust the goals and methods of
policy, as a form of response to previous experience and new information. He further
extends his elaboration of Peter Hall’s (1993: 278) concept of social learning by
mentioning that learning is then prevalent when the result of such a process brings
about a policy change. To conclude Feindt’s (2010: 296-314) arguments concerning
social learning, he notes that Oliver and Pemberton (2004: 418-420) consider the
introduction and assimilation of new ideas to a policy change constitutes what they
term as a ‘paradigm evolution’ instead of a ‘paradigm revolution’. This means that
the policy change will occur in a gradual or incremental manner, which will transition
and transform the policy peacefully instead of drastically.

Pemberton’s (2000: 771-792) ideas are similar to those of rerouting the channel of
the adoption of Western paradigms, recommendations and instructions by African
countries to move towards the internal drivers of the African countries’ policy network
and community instead of exogenous Western institutions or ‘experts’. Although
referring to the United Kingdom’s domestic policy making in his article, his ideas are
very applicable and useful in the research paper’s concept. He mentions that the
Westminster model as an approach to structuring policy is being replaced by an
alternative model which focuses on advancing ‘Policy Networks’ (Pemberton 2000:
771-792). However, he mentions that this type of theory poses typological problems
and also the internal dynamic (Pemberton 2000: 771-792). This latter argument may
have been true at the time of his article (2000) but typologies have already been
created for the theory, such as the ones mentioned in this paper by Dunlop and
Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619). This then means that scholars are paying attention to
this theory and also contributing towards it to make it effective in regards to its
execution in reality. This means that as the theory progresses, its practice will
gradually be successful, and the author of this paper suggests that African countries
should utilize this theory in their public policy formulation as it can lead them towards
a ‘paradigm shift’. To further support this line of thought, Pemberton (2000: 771-792)
mentions that the lack of internal dynamism of his proposed theory could be solved

15
by the inclusion of the idea of social learning by Peter Hall (1993: 275-296). The idea
of the internal policy network is also supported by Jordan and Greenaway (1998:
669-694) as they mention that policies that are formulated in an area which is
dominated by a policy community which is well-established; tend to lead to stability.
This then means that if African countries strengthen their policy communities, such
as increasing the flexibility of their regional institutions, their policies will be much
more stable than they currently stand. Jordan and Greenway (1998: 669-694)
mentions that policies that exist and operate on institutional support and also the
underpinnings of an ideology are always subject to a shift and change. In the
research context, the ideological underpinning of neo-liberalism which is imposed in
public policies of the African countries has the institutional support of the Western
institutions, which render these policies subject to a shift and change as they tend to
not address the reality of the areas they are intended for.

Medrano (n.d) uses the case study of Mexico to emphasise the importance of a
policy-actor centred approach in devising public policy. He mentions that ideational
policy proposes that the ultimate choice and decision in what should be included in
the public policy of a certain country should lie with the key policy actors. This then
means there should be a resistance built by key policy actors of a country from the
influence of external agents (such as powerful states acting as dictators of weaker
states’ public policy). These key policy actors will then fight to materialize their own
determined specific and domestically focused ideas in their actual policy. According
to Peet (2002: 54) South Africa used the same strategy right after apartheid,
whereas the country emphasised the leftist idea of socialism, focusing the on
Reconstruction and Development Programme as the country’s popular economic
policy foundation. He mentions that this path that South Africa was taking was
positive, however, after two years South Africa adopted the paradigm of neo-
liberalism, started promoting deregulation, trade liberalization and privatization (Peet
2002: 54). Peet (2002: 54) seeks to criticize the change in the approach of South
Africa in addressing its economic policy. He deems the change to be negative and
also being responsible for internal-external links of what he terms as the academic-
institutional-media complex and also the centres of persuasion both outside and
inside the country (Peet 2002: 54). Therefore, through the transition from the
paradigm of socialism to neo-liberalism, South Africa perpetuated the influence of

16
Western institutions in African countries’ domestic and public policy, especially in the
realms of the economy. This is because South Africa was considered and perceived
to be the African leader in African regional institutions such as the African Union, and
the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, post the country’s apartheid era.

According to Carmody (2007: 2) the paradigm of neo-liberalism has not reversed but
has actually worsened the condition of Africa’s marginalization when taking the
global economy into account. Carmody (2007: 2) argues that neo-liberalism’s central
point is its commodity of labour or people’s work and the law of demand and supply
being applied into society. Carmody (2007: 2) argues that as much as this promotes
inclusion, it also promotes exclusion; as the competition in the free market is
considered to benefit society but this being limited to how sufficient the market
demand is in absorbing the job seekers available, and this being very far from the
case in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Alternative African regional institutions and other internal forces, influencers

and drivers of African countries’ public policy that can replace the external
Western financial institutions

According to Adogamhe (n.d) the issue of the debt burden has a significant impact
on the people of the African countries who are often referred to as the poor. He cites
the World Bank to have mentioned that the amount that has to be repaid by the
African countries to the Western institutions is equal to their domestic public
expenditure on primary education and public health combined (Adogamhe n.d). This
signals a major negative impact that the repayments of these loans has on the social
dimension of the African countries considering the poor. These debts had to be
rescheduled it terms of the Western institutions offering new loans, which further
extended their power over the formulation of public policies of the African states, and
they have used their control to introduce their own form of market-related strategies
and the restricting of the economies of African countries (Adogamhe n.d). Adogamhe
(n.d) stresses how these multilateral Western financial institutions play an over active
role in the decision making process of African policy formulations. This then created
the ground and foundation for what he proposes, which is a relocation of the forces,
drivers and influencers of African economic public policies to be determined by
regional institutions, with African governments, state-actors, think-tanks, interest

17
groups and civil society being the key players in the decision making of African
public policy making (Adogamhe n.d). This then is the same strategy which is
emphasised by the social learning concept and theory. He operationalizes his
proposal by using the African Union as a case in point, as being the alternative to
Western institutions. Adogamhe (n.d) argues as a form of gaining International
leverage, they have attempted to create internal African institutions which promote
the idea of a collective self-reliance. These regional institutions include the ‘African
Economic Community’, the ‘Cross-border initiative’, the ‘West African Economic and
Monetary Community’, the “Economic Community of the West African States’, the
‘Southern African Development Community’, and the ‘Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa’ (Adogamhe n.d). Adogamhe (n.d) enquires on whether these
economic integration attempts by African countries is are effective enough to resist
and withstand the pressures of marginalization and globalization.

6. Discussion

The idea of social learning by Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296) is considered as an
important theory and concept to the research purpose of this paper, as it details the
occurrence of a paradigm shift in the process of policy change. A paradigm shift in a
policy change is considered as a ‘third-order change’ according to Peter Hall’s
concept of social learning, which involves the disregarding of power relations and
privileges knowledge, with an emphasis on the introduction of new ideas in the
process of policy change, which then create a ‘paradigm evolution’ which shifts from
the existing paradigm (Peter Hall 1993: 275 – 296). Peter Hall (1993: 275 – 296)
mentions that such an action should be considered when the existing paradigm no
longer reflects the reality of the area where the policy is made. Peter Hall (1993: 275
– 296) also mentions that the idea of social learning the process of policy change
should consider the previous experience related with the existing policy that has to
be changed and also new information. To apply the concept of social learning in the
context of African countries, to figure out how African countries’ public policies could
be changed and reach a paradigm shift, means then that the power relations of the
Western financial institutions should be disregarded. This then will enable the African
countries to focus on knowledge and ‘new ideas’ on their process of a policy change,
which will lead to a ‘paradigm evolution’ that reflects the realities of the African
countries instead of the neo-liberalism paradigm that does not do this. In order for a

18
paradigm shift to be successful in the African states when applying the concept of
social learning, the past experience with the existing policy should be revisited, and
this will highlight the failure of the paradigm of neo-liberalism and the Structural
adjustment programmes which were adopted by African countries and imposed by
the Western financial institutions. Another factor which has to be noted is ‘new
information’ which highlights the reality of the African countries, the dissatisfaction of
the civil society, and the worsening poverty related to the burden of the adoption of
the paradigm of neo-liberalism in Africa. Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) bring
up typologies to further advance the theory of social learning, simplifying the forces
involved in formulating policy being in a form of a relationship between ‘Teachers’
also known as ‘Experts and the ‘Learners’ also known as the ‘Decision-makers’.
Dunlop and Radaelli (2013: 599 – 619) mention the typology of the ‘epistemic
learning’ and also ‘the shadow of hierarchy’ as being problematic, as these
typologies obligate the decision-makers of policy to adopt ideas for their public
policies offered by external forces (Experts) such as the Western financial institutions
even when these decision-makers do not approve of these ideas. The decision-
maker’s flexibility in choosing how to structure the policy and what to include in the
policy is limited as power has been delegated to the ‘experts’ (Western financial
institutions) who then use institutional rules, hegemony and hierarchy to impose
ideas in African countries’ public policies as they deem fit. In the African case, the
delegation of power to these external Western institutions occurred when the African
countries agreed to accept International loans which were offered by these
institutions which came with requirements (Stewart 1987: 29). In order for African
countries to be flexible in their public policy formulation, they will need to reroute
external experts influence to internal influence, such as the domestic policy network
and community that involve different government departments, African regional
institutions, interest groups and think tanks. An important question is however raised
by Adogamhe (n.d) about the extent of the effectiveness of African regional
institutions in resisting the influence of Western financial institutions. This highlights
the still existing debt burden issue still faced by African countries in regards to
replaying the loans they owe to the Western financial institutions. This issue could
make it difficult for Africa to dissociate itself from the Western influence in its public
policy formulation as the debt burden gives the Western Institutions an opportunity to
continue imposing their paradigms and recommendations in the macro-economic
19
policies of African countries who still owe these institutions. Therefore, the
alternative African regional institutions need to come up with strategies to repay the
Western institutions collectively, so that no single African country gets to deal with
this alone. The author of this paper believes that the debt burden could be severely
decreased and gradually eliminated, so that African countries can have no
obligations to external forces, and have more flexibility in their domestic policy
formulation. A success at the attempt of breaking ties with Western financial
institutions will give African countries to reach a paradigm shift in their policies and
replace imperialistic paradigms of the West in their policies with an African produced
paradigm which will be prevalent in African countries’ policies after the success of
the process of policy change. The literature review of this research paper highlights
the fact the majority of the writings of scholars who focused on the paradigm of neo-
liberalism and the issue of Structural Adjustment Programmes are based on critics.
The ideas of Peter Hall 1(993: 275 – 296) concerning social learning in reaching a
paradigm shift in a process of a policy change have been supported and been built
upon by a wide range of scholarship. The author of this paper is confident that if
African countries were to apply the concept of social learning in their policy
formulation, they would be able to succeed in reaching a paradigm shift.

7. Conclusion

This research paper problematized the relationship between African countries and
Western financial institutions. It has highlighted the failure of the paradigm of neo-
liberalism and the Structural Adjustment Programmes in stabilizing African countries’
economic situation. The paper has sought to find a way that African countries can
use to eliminate the influence of the Western financial institutions in their public
policies. The idea of social learning to reach a paradigm shift in the process of policy
change was then recommended as a solution for African countries.

20
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