Background
Young, Merwin Crawford was born on November 7, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Ralph Aubrey and Louise (Merwin) Young.
(Young's 1965 book is a comprehensive study of Congo decol...)
Young's 1965 book is a comprehensive study of Congo decolonization with a particular focus on events beginning in the late 1950's. The book is derived from the author's research of original documents and on-the-ground investigations in Belgium and the Congo. 659 pp. Chapter titles include Decolonization the Belgian Version, Desegregating Colonial Society, From the Ground Up: The Communes, Elites, The Mass, The Politics of Ethnicity, The Political Sector, The Politics of Force: Army and Police, A Quest for a New Constitution, Fragmentation: The New Provinces.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CMSPO/?tag=2022091-20
( Agricultural policy is critical to the developmental ef...)
Agricultural policy is critical to the developmental efforts of African states lacking major mineral resources. Despite its importance, however, the production of export agricultural crops declined in the rural sectors of Africa as food imports became increasingly burdensome. In this highly original study, Crawford Young, Neal P. Sherman, and Tim H. Rose offer a theoretical and empirical comparison of the role of agricultural cooperatives in two middle-sized African states, Ghana and Uganda. The lessons learned here are of broad value and interest to those involved in planning and development in Third World nations, and to scholars and students in political science, political and agricultural economics, and rural sociology. The authors’ field work for this study was extensive, spanning more than ten years, and including interviews with, and surveys of, more than 1,400 African farmers, government officials, and others involved in agricultural policy in the two nations. Cooperatives have played a paramount role in both nations, in the marketing of the major export commodities (cocoa in Ghana, cotton and coffee in Uganda), and the governments of both nations have played central roles in the development or discouragement of the cooperatives. For this reason, the cooperative experience offers important insight into the political economy of agricultural development. The authors found that the classic cooperative egalitarian ideology was, in both nations, subordinate to local patterns of social hierarchy. Nevertheless, farmers in the two nations—particularly in Uganda—were generally favorable to the cooperative idea in theory and practice. With patient support, the authors conclude, cooperatives can exert a moderately positive influence on agricultural and political development.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0299087107/?tag=2022091-20
( Zaire, apparently strong and stable under President Mob...)
Zaire, apparently strong and stable under President Mobutu in the early 1970s, was bankrupt and discredited by the end of that decade, beset by hyperinflation and mass corruption, the populace forced into abject poverty. Why and how, in a new African state strategically located in Central Africa and rich in mineral resources, did this happen? How did the Zairian state become a “parasitic predator” upon its own people? In this broadly researched study, Crawford Young and Thomas Edwin Turner examine the political history of Mobutu’s Zaire, looking at critical structures and patterns of societal flux, inequality, and cleavage, in particular the urban-rural nexus, the problematic of class formation, and the fluid patterns of cultural pluralism. The authors begin with a succinct history of the origins of the Zairian state (formerly the Belgian Congo), examining in particular the problems, inherited from its colonial heritage, that led to the first few tumultuous years of independence. They then turn to the critical aspects of transformation of civil society, including the relationships between urban and rural factions, class formation, and the rapidly shifting nature of ethnicity as a sociopolitical factor. They offer a comprehensive overview of the major political trends, tracing the regime through its successive phases of power seizure, consolidation, growing personalization, crisis, and decline. Finally, Young and Turner assess the state’s actual performance in several policy areas: economy, international relations, and its package of “Zairianization” and “radicalization” measures. Young and Turner’s thorough research, informed analysis, and straightforward style will do much to illuminate the political workings of a major African state long considered an enigma by most Western observers.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029910110X/?tag=2022091-20
(In this comprehensive study, a specialist and scholar of ...)
In this comprehensive study, a specialist and scholar of African affairs argues that the current crisis in African development can be traced directly to European colonial rule, which left the continent with a "singularly difficult legacy" that is unique in modern history. Crawford Young proposes a new conception of the state, weighing the different characteristics of earlier European empires (including those of Holland, Portugal, England, and Venice) and distilling their common qualities. He then presents a concise and wide-ranging history of colonization in Africa, from the era of construction through consolidation and decolonization. Young argues that several qualities combined to make the European colonial experience in Africa distinctive. The high number of nations competing for power around the continent and the necessity to achieve effective occupation swiftly, yet make the colonies self-financing, drove colonial powers toward policies of "ruthless extractive action." The persistent, virulent racism that established a distance between rulers and subjects was especially central to African colonial history. Young concludes by turning his sights to other regions of the once-colonized world, comparing the fates of former African colonies to their counterparts elsewhere. In tracing both the overarching traits and variations in African colonial states, he makes a strong case that colonialism has played a significant part in shaping the fate of this troubled continent.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300068794/?tag=2022091-20
Young, Merwin Crawford was born on November 7, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Ralph Aubrey and Louise (Merwin) Young.
Bachelor, University Michigan, 1953. Postgraduate, Institute History Research University London, 1956. Postgraduate, Institute d'Etudes Politiques, University Paris, 1957.
Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1964. Doctor of Science (honorary), Florida International University, 1998.
Assistant professor political science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1963-1966;
associate professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1966-1969;
professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, since 1969;
Rupert Emerson professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1983;
H. Edwin Young professor, 1994;
chairman African Studies Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1964-1968;
department chairman political science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1969-1972, 84-87;
associate dean Graduate School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968-1971;
acting dean College Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1992-1993. Visiting professor Makerere U. College, Kampala, Uganda, 1965-1966. Dean Faculty of Social Science National U., Lubumbashi, Zaire, 1973-1975.
Fulbright professor of University Dakar, Senegal, 1987-1988.
(In this comprehensive study, a specialist and scholar of ...)
( Zaire, apparently strong and stable under Presdident Mo...)
( Zaire, apparently strong and stable under President Mob...)
(Young's 1965 book is a comprehensive study of Congo decol...)
( Agricultural policy is critical to the developmental ef...)
( The Description for this book, Politics in Congo: Decol...)
(African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective by Craw...)
Served to 1st lieutenant United States Army, 1953-1955. Member American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy Arts and Sciences, American Political Science Association, African Studies Association (president 1982-1983, Distinguished Africanist award 1991), Council Foreign Relations.
Married Rebecca Conrad, August 17, 1957. Children: Eva Colcord, Louise Conrad, Estelle Merwin, Emily Harriet.