Botswana Essay

Botswana, a country located in Southern Africa, has seen immense economic growth due to their development into what Atul Kohli would consider a cohesive-capitalist state. The state of Botswana was released from colonialism by the British in 1965, which led them to develop a strong central government that invested in public goods and worked alongside entrepreneurs like De Beers Diamonds. They now benefit from the highest GDP per capita growth in all of sub-Sahara Africa, which stems from their implementation of the “right” policies. Kohli’s argument of the importance of a strong centralized government that promotes economic advancement clearly explains the rapid growth of Botswana after it gained independence.

As a strong centralized government, Botswana invested in education and infrastructure, supported private property rights, and made sure to limit tax evasion by penetrating all levels of society. Each of these elements would be considered vital to establish a legitimate government that could encourage economic advancement. Further, Botswana built a state that put the capitalist class at the forefront, similar to that of South Korea. Botswana played an important role in the development of a national cattle-based bourgeoisie, which promoted broad capitalist interests rather than narrow sectional interests. This helped secure the legitimacy of Botswana’s capitalist developments, therefore stimulating economic growth (Tsie 611). Although this system was similar to that of South Korea, it greatly differed from the economic system put in place by India.

South Korea and Botswana both had a narrow focus on society and focused to support the capitalists. India had many constituencies they were attempting to satisfy, not just the capitalist class. The fact that India was trying to accommodate too many individual groups limited its focus on the capitalist class, and thus negatively impacted the country’s economic performance.

Kohli’s argument for why some countries become rich is based on the development of a strong centralized government through a combination of factors including colonial rule, nationalist movements, and the contribution of armed forces. As previously stated, a developing country also needs a legitimate and trustworthy bureaucracy that is able to foster economic growth by investing in the country, work with entrepreneurs, and possess the capability of penetrating through all levels of society. Botswana has demonstrated a strong commitment to the fundamentals that Kohli believes promote economic success, which contributes to their impressive GDP growth.

According to Kohli, one way third-world countries are able to develop strong centralized governments comes from their past colonial experience. For example, South Korea was able to develop into one of the fastest growing economies because of an intense period of colonialism where Japan made their presence felt throughout the country. Japan invested heavily into the education of Koreans, developed a strong police force, and focused on promoting exports from the country. They also trained Koreans to take over the Japanese elite positions after they left the country, which helped the Koreans to set up a legitimate bureaucracy.

In Botswana, Britain took a much different approach to colonial rule, deciding to do almost nothing at all. This is similar to the case of Nigeria, but Botswana benefited from the limited rule, unlike Nigeria, who ended up as a neopatrimonial state. One thing the British did that was important for the development of Botswana was to institute a hut tax. This was important because it forced Africans into the labor market to pay more taxes (Acemoglu et. al. 2001). Another important element of British colonialism is that Seretse Khama, the future leader of Botswana, studied in Britain, and therefore he took an active role in the Joint Advisory Council, which was formed by the British in 1951 (Acemoglu et. al. 2001). This was important because it helped to develop the Botswana People’s Party, which promoted anti-colonial ideas inspired by South Africa. Khama responded to this party by creating the Botswana Democratic Party, which bridged the gap between European and the Tswana ideals. He was able to connect these ideas because he was European educated and also the leader of the largest Tswana state (Acemoglu et. al. 2001). The Botswana Democratic Party is essentially a hybrid form of government, which contributes to its success in winning every election since its inception. Their success shows that the BDP is a strong centralized government entity, which formed as a product of colonialism. This