SOCIAL-CONTRACT AND DETERRING FAMINE - FIRST THOUGHTS

The links between certain kinds of political systems and protection ag ainst famine ave investigated in this payer. The starting-point is a c ritique of Amartya Sen's observation that famines are unknown in count ries with a free press and competitive elections. This holds true only in India because of a unique political history in which freedom from famine became a right, upon which political legitimacy was founded: an anti-famine 'social contract'. The rise and decline of anti-famine sy stems in Africa is charted. Major reasons for decay include neo-libera lism and the international humanitarian system, both of which undermin e relationships of domestic political accountability that underpin eff ective famine prevention. A number of politically regressive tendencie s in 'actually existing humanitarianism' are identified that work agai nst any nascent anti-famine social contracts in Africa. This is possib le because famine prevention has not been established as a right in Af rica.