Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Political Science Human Rights

Reparations to Africa

by (author) Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

with Anthony P. Lombardo

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Initial publish date
Feb 2011
Category
Human Rights, Developing Countries
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780812221640
    Publish Date
    Feb 2011
    List Price
    $26.50 USD

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

What is the just measure of Western obligations to Africa? As Africans and their supporters mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the United States and Great Britain, the question becomes increasingly salient. Calls for reparations for the evils of slavery, as well as for past colonial and current economic and political abuses, can be heard across Africa and the African diaspora.
Human rights scholar Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann examines these calls for redress in Reparations to Africa. Her study analyzes the reparations movement from the perspectives of law, philosophy, political science, and sociology. While acknowledging the brutal background of the slave trade and colonialism, and the mistreatment of the peoples of Africa, Howard-Hassmann finds that the complexity of this history, along with facts of the contemporary situation, weakens the case for financial compensation, although she does recommend acknowledgment of, and apologies for, some actions. The book not only provides a bold reckoning of the root causes, both internal and external, of African underdevelopment and unrest but also suggests alternative means for restorative justice and examines the role that institutions such as the International Criminal Court can play.
By including the voices of 74 African academics, diplomats, and activists interviewed by Howard-Hassmann and Anthony P. Lombardo, Reparations to Africa makes a valuable contribution to the reparations debate. In an emotionally and politically charged postcolonial environment, this book serves as a judicious guide to the search for economic justice for Africans today and into the future.

About the authors

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann holds the Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights and is Professor in the Department of Global Studies and the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann's profile page

Anthony P. Lombardo's profile page