'Sail on, o ship of state': Neo-liberalism, globalisation and the governance of Africa

Contrary to many claims, the World Bank's 1997 Development Report The State in a Changing World is no radical departure from neo-liberal development p rinciples. Rather, it marks the culmination of the Bank's gradual move away from crude anti-statism to its 'good governance' discursive efforts to 'ge t the stare right' in its quest for a solution to the post-1970s developmen t crisis. This article examines The State in a Changing World from within t he Bank's discourse on the role of the state and its managers, and current academic discussions of the 'third world' state and globalisation. It is di fficult for these realms of discourse to construct a hegemonic vision of 'd evelopment' in the current conjuncture - particularly while the Bank remain s hostage to private capital markets. Perspectives on the role of the state with deeper than Hayekian neo-liberal roots must go beyond the contradicto ry melange of anti-statism and managerialism which make up the current disc ourse of 'neo-statism'. However; such alterations rake place within much la rger realms of transformation than analyses such as the 1997 report conside r.