Editorial from ROAPE Volume 29 Number 92
Africa, African Diaspora & Development

In 1995 Zack-Williams commented in this journal: 'development studies has maintained its ostrich-like detachment from issues of race and diasporan concerns' (1995:351). Now, seven years later, we address this 'detachment' and the implications of bringing these two strands of study together in understanding the development of both Africa and its diaspora. In between, there has been a number of books and articles on the African diaspora (for example, Okpewho, Davies, and Mazrui, 1999; Byfield, 2000) but they have tended to be theoretical, cultural and historical as opposed to dealing with pressing questions of the political economy of Africa and its diaspora. Theorising and analysing the diaspora and development is increasingly important given that migration is becoming a key part of many household survival strategies.