Botswana (Bechuanaland) (African Studies)

Introduction

Botswana became independent in 1966. Previously, it was a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which ruled the territory from the South African town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng). Called Bechuanaland, the protectorate was established in 1885. It brought together eight Tswana tribes of varying size; some other smaller Bantu groups such as the Bayei, Hambukushu, and the Bahero; and a collection of hunter-gatherer communities, often collectively called the San, Basarwa, or Bushmen. This mix of ethnicities has coexisted in varying degrees of conflict and cooperation on the Kalahari Desert and adjoining low-rainfall savannah regions for between 500 and 1,000 years. Botswana is of particular interest to scholars for a number of reasons. It has shown remarkable progress relative to most African countries in terms of democracy, economic development, and education. Additionally, the government and people have addressed extensively, if not always successfully, a number of important development issues, including corruption, conservation, social justice, HIV/AIDS, and rights of indigenous peoples. The literature examining these state-initiated social programs has been of relatively high quality and extensive, especially for a country of about 2 million people. Overall, writing on Botswana can be divided into two parts. One is the colonial and immediate postcolonial period (1950s through mid-1980s) when European and American authors produced most of the important writing. Starting in the late 1980s, a growing number of Botswana intellectuals began to complete their graduate education and begin scholarly careers. They inevitably developed different perspectives from those of their outsider predecessors. A significant number of these new voices are on the faculty of the University of Botswana, where they have considerable financial support relative to most African universities to the north. A number of the local scholars have engaged in serious and long-term research projects. The university has also offered a modicum of political protection so that staff members can put forward arguments at odds with the government’s vision and policies. The result is a more expanded range of perspectives on development issues, international and local, than is found in many African countries.

General Overviews

Batswana (the plural for citizens of Botswana) for the most part are not yet concerned with general overviews of their country. They tend to be focused on specific issues, especially related to development. Thus most of the general sketches, even in the 21st century, are done by Europeans and Americans. Probably the first general introduction to the country was provided in Munger 1965. It gives a good picture of how sympathetic outsiders viewed the territory, at independence, when few Batswana had any advanced formal education, no mining sector existed, and the government was largely staffed by white foreigners. Tlou and Campbell 1997 articulates an overview from three decades later. In contrast to Munger, these co-authors lay out a richly textured precolonial and colonial history of the country, a nuanced view of the independence movement, and a perspective on the changing nature of state and society in the immediate postcolonial period under the first president, Seretse Khama. It is probably still the best overview of the country. A recent concise analysis of Botswana’s challenges at the beginning of the 21st century is provided in Throup 2011. It focuses on major problems Botswana must confront for its future development, including finding alternative sources of income to diamonds, reducing dependence of the population on welfare services, and ensuring possible turbulence in South Africa does not spill over and undermine the country politically and economically. A general overview of the Tswana mass culture in the postcolonial period is provided in Denbow and Thebe 2006. The authors summarize a wide range of aspects of everyday Tswana life (food, clothing, language, and the arts), as well as briefly sketch the country’s history, politics, economy, and religions. Morton, et al. 2008 is the fourth edition of a historical dictionary for the country. It contains summary descriptions of a wide range of personalities, events, institutions, cultural practices, and places, and is an invaluable reference even for persons who are already familiar with Botswana. While it is over two decades old, Hitchcock, et al. 1987 remains the best overview of research from the 1960s to the 1980s and a very good elaboration of key questions that still need to be explored.

Denbow, James, and Phenyo C. Thebe. Culture and Customs of Botswana. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a detailed discussion of basic culture regarding everything from food, clothing, marriage, and funeral rituals to general information on politics, economy, and religion.
Find this resource:
Hitchcock, Robert, Neil Parsons, and John Taylor, eds. Research for Development in Botswana: Proceedings of a Symposium Held by the Botswana Society at the Gaborone Sun Conference Centre, Gaborone, August 19–21, 1985. Gaborone: Botswana Society, 1987.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a useful summary of the research done almost completely by European and American scholars up to the mid-1980s. The key research questions for the future are specified. Each chapter has extensive references to the literature discussed.
Find this resource:
Morton, Fred, Jeff Ramsay, and Part Themba Mgadla. Historical Dictionary of Botswana. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is the fourth edition, and it has improved to the point where it is the best source of basic facts on contemporary Botswana and its history. Additionally, the authors provide a fifteen-page chronology of Botswana history and the best general bibliography on the country (ninety pages).
Find this resource:
Munger, Edwin S. Bechuanaland: Pan-African Outpost or Bantu Homeland? New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This short book is a good source for understanding the dearth of knowledge in the developed world on Botswana in the mid-20th century. The basic concern is with how the soon-to-be-independent country was likely to fit into world politics of the time in terms of southern Africa and the East-West struggle.
Find this resource:
Throup, David W. Botswana: Assessing Risks to Stability. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2011.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides an up-to-date survey of the economic, political, and social problems Botswana confronts at present; namely, a population highly dependent on state welfare, an economy overly dependent on diamonds, and a weak power position relative to the major actors in the region.
Find this resource:
Tlou, Thomas, and Alec Campbell. History of Botswana. Gaborone: Macmillan Botswana, 1997.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Takes the history of Botswana from the origins of mankind to the present. It was written as a secondary school text, but for a general reader desiring a short but basic scholarly perspective on Botswana, this book has no equal.
Find this resource:
Academic Journals

There are two journals devoted almost exclusively to scholarly research on Botswana. Most of the authors are permanent residents and (to a somewhat lesser extent) citizens. The oldest journal is Botswana Notes and Records. It was started largely by Europeans who were scholars or scholarly inclined and who engaged in systematic research on topics related to Botswana. Of particularly long-term interest for BNR has been a focus on environmental issues and historical events related to Botswana. Since its founding (1968) BNR has been published annually by the Botswana Society, which is an NGO promoting rigorous analysis of concerns related to Botswana. Over the years it has come to reflect the emergence of Batswana scholars who now author approximately half its essays. The other main Botswana-oriented journal is Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies. It is published by the University of Botswana and has provided a regular outlet since 1979 for the writing of local Batswana scholars on social sciences and humanities topics. While entitled an “African” studies journal, the vast majority of its essays focus on Botswana issues. It tends to provide a very good perspective on the latest thinking among Botswana intellectuals on contemporary social issues.

Botswana Notes and Records.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The best source for natural science and humanities research on Botswana published by local scholars. An index of articles published up through 2006 can be found on the journal’s website. Articles are available at JSTOR four years after their publication in hard copy by the Botswana Society. Until the four years has elapsed, the best option is to purchase a copy of the relevant journal from the Botswana Society. Published by the Botswana Society.
Find this resource:
Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Published by the University of Botswana, this journal focuses on the social sciences and humanities. A good journal for surveying the current thinking of Botswana intellectuals. Michigan State University provides the only full text archive for the years 1979–2003. Subsequent issues are only available in hard copy, although individual articles are sometimes available from authors.
Find this resource:
Primary Sources

The Botswana National Archives contains a wide range of public documents including papers of the office of the president, various ministries, the Hansard for the National Assembly, and the government newspaper (Daily News). Two accessible primary sources of information on Botswana and available worldwide are local private newspapers and personal narratives (see Newspapers and Personal Narratives).

Botswana National Archives.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In addition to government documents, these archives now collect private records from prominent individuals, NGOs, and corporations. However, the archives do not provide online access to any of their holdings, and a significant number of documents are only open twenty years after the date of their official printing. The archives also have a complete run of the government’s newspaper, the Daily News.
Find this resource:
Newspapers

Botswana has a number of privately published newspapers, and most are available online. Each has a somewhat unique point of view, but together they offer a reliable record of daily political events in the country. The generally accepted newspaper of record is Mmegi, which publishes five days a week. The Friday edition provides the most extensive and nuanced perspective on the week’s events. The Sunday Standard is by far the most aggressive newspaper in terms of investigative and controversial reporting; it also provides more comprehensive information on developments in the mining industry than any other publication in Botswana. In recent years both newspapers, as well as other weeklies such as the Botswana Gazette, the Botswana Guardian, the Voice, and the Monitor (the Monday edition of Mmegi), are to be found on the Internet. All have opinion pages where the emerging Botswana intellectual class can be read, especially if they are critical of the government. The government’s newspaper, the Daily News, generally supports government policy. It is useful as a source of policy intentions and related programs, gives dates on which events took place, and sometimes shows the amount of funds committed to specific programs.

Botswana Gazette.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Archived beginning in 2012. The archive is searchable by subject matter and date.
Find this resource:
Botswana Guardian.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Selected articles are available online since 2012 and are accessed by month.
Find this resource:
Daily News.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is the government newspaper. While uncritical of government policies and actions, it is a reliable source of government announcements and activities and therefore is useful for fact checking. It is searchable by date of publication. The archives maintain a collection of the Daily News from its inception in the 1960s to 1999.
Find this resource:
Mmegi.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The archive goes back to January 2008 and can be searched by date of publication. The Friday edition is the most extensive compilation of news stories of the week published by any of the private newspapers. The Monday edition of Mmegi is called the Monitor. While there is a website for the most recent Monitor, all previous issues are found under the Mmegi site.
Find this resource:
Sunday Standard.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Archived articles since July 2006 are to be found by searching under the headings for the various sections of the newspaper and then by date. Most interesting are the “news” and “opinions” sections. Some pieces in the opinion section are among the better thinking of the Botswana intellectual class on current events. The Telegraph is published as a hard-copy newspaper on Wednesday by the Sunday Standard organization, though its articles are intermixed with the rest on the Sunday Standard website.
Find this resource:
The Voice.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Best known for informative articles on entertainment in Botswana; otherwise, it is tabloid journalism. It has a considerable archive but provides no useful search tools.
Find this resource:
Personal Narratives

There are no shortage of personal narratives on lives lived in Botswana. Some provide important insights into aspects of the country’s history and culture. Long edited the journals and letters of Elizabeth Price, who was the wife of a missionary living among the Batswana in the 19th century. The collection gives many details on daily life and politics among the Kwena and Ngwato peoples. Most importantly, Price has many insights on the thinking and behavior of the most important chief (Schele) in the mid-19th century, a vast range of popular beliefs and activities, and the problems of promoting Christianity in the early years. The journals cover the time toward the end of David Livingstone’s life and the decade afterward. Fawcus and Tilbury 2000 gives an extensive account of the process by which Fawcus as the top colonial administrator dealt with decolonization so as to facilitate the development of one of the most successful governments of independent Africa. After independence, Botswana became home to a number of charismatic and entrepreneurial development visionaries. The most prominent and substantial in terms of institution building was van Rensburg 1974. The author created a series of independent schools in Botswana that combined work experience with educational programs fostering creativity and self-reliance. Over the years van Rensburg’s experiment was undermined by conservative government policies and a youth culture that resented the self-help part of the program. See Rush 1991 (cited under Foreign Writers) for a novel whose leading male character is said to be based on van Rensburg, as well as several others. The author of Masire 2006 was the first vice president and second president of Botswana. He presents a personal perspective on the key development decisions made in the first two decades after independence, including Botswana’s strategy for dealing with apartheid South Africa. The author of Magang 2008, while active in the ruling party’s leadership (including the cabinet) for close to forty years, has written a frank autobiography highlighting his opposition to critical policies of the first three presidents (including Masire). Dow and Essex 2010 presents a number of accounts of Batswana experiences with HIV/AIDS while it was ravaging the country around the turn of the century. Dow writes short narratives of individual cases that illustrate various effects of the disease, and Essex follows each narrative with a medical explanation of the processes at work.

Dow, Unity, and Max Essex. Saturday Is for Funerals. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Captures the personal stories of Batswana during the height of the AIDS crisis around the turn of the century, when every community in the country was ravaged by the deaths of its sexually active population. The book also identifies some of the treatment strategies that have been successful in Botswana.
Find this resource:
Fawcus, Peter, and Alan Tilbury. Botswana: The Road to Independence. Gaborone: Pula, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Peter Fawcus was the last resident commissioner of the British colonial government. He provides a detailed account of the events that led to independence, giving some very insightful analyses of the transformation of government structure, the emergence of political parties, the beginnings of development planning, and the personalities he engaged with.
Find this resource:
Long, Una, ed. The Journals of Elizabeth Lees Price Written in Bechuanaland, Southern Africa 1854–1883, with Epilogue: 1889 and 1990. London: Edward Arnold, 1956.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Probably the best first-person account available of mid-19th-century life in what is now Botswana. Price had daily interaction with the ruling Tswana families among the Bakwena and Bangwato tribes. Her very tolerant perspective renders her narrative most informative.
Find this resource:
Magang, David. The Magic of Perseverance. Cape Town: Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Magang as a Botswana Democratic Party leader is most interesting for his recounting of his repeated attempts to increase Botswana’s income from De Beer’s huge mining operations in the country.
Find this resource:
Masire, Quett Ketumile Joni. Very Brave or Very Foolish? Memoirs of an African Democrat. Gaborone: Macmillan Botswana, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a good perspective on the narrow political elite that shaped the economic policies and political structure of the first two decades of post-independence Botswana. Also, Masire details the complexities Botswana confronted from the 1960s to the 1990s in dealing with both the South African government and its enemies in the liberation movement.
Find this resource:
van Rensburg, Patrick. Report from Swaneng Hill: Education and Employment in an African Country. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1974.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Author describes his experience setting up a series of secondary and vocational schools in Botswana, which were low cost and focused on producing students with relevant skills for development and a commitment to social justice. He is very frank about the problems he encountered and outlines possible new strategies.
Find this resource:
History

The history of Botswana can best be divided into four periods: Prehistory and Archaeology, Precolonial, Colonial, and Post-Independence.

Prehistory and Archaeology

Archaeology as a formal research endeavor started late in Botswana due to the almost total absence of trained researchers. However, in the last fifty years, scholars from the discipline have been digging up an extensive early history of part of the Kalahari Desert area, which is now Botswana. Lane, et al. 1998 lays out the most comprehensive summary of current knowledge gained from Early Stone Age sites through to Tswana tribal culture in the 19th century. The editors asked experts on the archaeology of the major historical periods to summarize the evidence obtained at various sites, the interpretations made, and the plethora of research questions that remain to be answered. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries a major intellectual dispute called the “Kalahari Debate” has been ongoing among Botswana archaeologists. It concerns the extent of the development of the Bushman/San, their interaction with surrounding Bantu groups, and their suppression over the last two centuries. Wilmsen 1989 provides the most extensive and early articulation of this “encapsulation” point of view, namely that the San had achieved considerable development and interaction with the surrounding Bantu, who then suppressed the San so much that they returned to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. A concise and blunt rejection of Wilmsen is to be found in Sadr 1997, which evaluates the evidence and finds it grossly insufficient. Boeyens and Plug 2011 provides a detailed insight into the daily life of Tswana elites at the turn of the 19th century in southern Botswana by examining the faunal remains in a chief’s courtyard. Campbell, et al. 2010 brings together a collection of scholars to report on findings on research in the Tsodilo Hills, Botswana’s most fecund archaeological site, which has been inhabited by human beings for around 100,000 years and is now a World Heritage site.

Boeyens, J. C. A., and I. Plug. “‘A Chief Is Like an Ash-Heap on Which Is Gathered All the Refuse’: The Faunal Remains from the Central Court Midden at Kaditshwene.” Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 1 (2011): 1–22.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Based on the debris found in an abandoned chief’s courtyard from the early 1800s, the authors reconstruct the daily life of a Tswana elite.
Find this resource:
Campbell, Alec, Larry Robbins, and Michael Taylor, eds. Tsodilo Hills: Copper Bracelet of the Kalahari. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Overview of archeological findings of a site inhabited 100,000 years ago. Useful pictures of artifacts, paintings, locations, flora and fauna, and informative tables and maps. Authors also report on interactions with local inhabitants as plans were forged for the developing Tsodilo Hills as a World Heritage site. A must-read for visiting the area.
Find this resource:
Lane, Paul, Andrew Reid, and Alinah Segobye. Ditswa Mmung: The Archaeology of Botswana. Gaborone: Pula and Botswana Society, 1998.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The most comprehensive survey of archaeological knowledge of Botswana. An extensive bibliography is provided for each historical period, and each author lists the crucial questions that need to be answered to expand our knowledge of the prehistory of Botswana.
Find this resource:
Sadr, Kari. “Kalahari Archaeology and the Bushman Debate.” Current Anthropology 38.1 (1997): 104–112.
DOI: 10.1086/204590Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Goes point by point through the revisionist (often called the “encapsulation”) argument on the Bushman/San made by Wilmsen and others such as Denbow. Sadr bases his rejection on the evidence found at the major early history sites in Botswana (including those used by Wilmson and Denbow) as well as southern Africa generally.
Find this resource:
Wilmsen, Edwin N. Land Filled with Flies: A Political Economy of the Kalahari. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The Wilmsen argument is that the Bushman/San were not socially isolated after Bantu groups migrated into southern Africa 2,000 years ago. Rather, from the beginning they interacted with the Bantu, adopted their advanced technologies, and ultimately became suppressed and exploited by the Tswana and other Bantus in the area.
Find this resource:
Precolonial

Precolonial history in Botswana tends to focus on authority relations between the people and their chiefs and between the chiefs and the encroaching European traders and missionaries. Schapera 1940 makes the classic case for the authoritarian character of the Tswana chieftaincy. The opposite pole is to be found in Ngcongco 1989, which stresses the extent to which chiefs and headmen were controlled by democratic processes inherent in Tswana culture. Parsons 1976 expands the picture by looking at the economy of the Ngwato, by far the largest of the Tswana tribes, and the extent to which European traders increasingly came to dominate the Tswana economy as the 19th century proceeded. Morton 1994 adds an underclass dimension to the precolonial society authority structure by arguing that the San were not just serfs, as most scholars from the time of Schapera had contended, but slaves who were bought and sold as human chattel. The more recent generation of Batswana writers, such as in Otlogetswe 2010, tend to stress the authoritarian character of traditional authorities in the precolonial period, although many are less inclined to deal with the status of the San.

Morton, Barry. “Servitude, Slave Trading and Slavery in the Kalahari.” In Slavery in South Africa: Captive Labor on the Dutch Frontier. Edited by Elizabeth A. Eldredge and Fred Morton, 215–250. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1994.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The prevailing argument of anthropologists and historians has been that the Tswana tribes did not practice slavery but rather had serfdom. The reason was that the Batswana did not buy and sell their underclass of San and Bakgalagadi. Morton shows that buying and selling did go on.
Find this resource:
Ngcongco, L. D. “Tswana Political Tradition: How Democratic.” In Democracy in Botswana: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Gaborone, 1–5 August 1988. Edited by John Holm and Patrick Molutsi, 42–47. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The author states the case, which enjoys wide public support, that precolonial Tswana political structures entailed popular controls on the chiefs and headmen. This point of view sustains a belief system supportive of the present democratic politics.
Find this resource:
Otlogetswe, T. J. Don’t Tell Me the Kgotla Is an Epitome of Democracy. 16 July 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This blog posting bluntly lays out the perspective of a Botswana intellectual on the authoritarian character of the kgotla, the traditional Tswana village meeting.
Find this resource:
Parsons, Neil. “The Economic History of Khama’s Country in Botswana: 1844–1930.” In The Roots of Rural Poverty in Central and Southern Africa. Edited by Robin Palmer and Neil Parsons, 113–143. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Article traces transformation of the Ngwato economy, the largest tribe in precolonial Botswana, in terms of production and trade from the 1830s to the first third of the 20th century. The principal thesis is that relative economic equality between the Europeans and Africans turned into exploitation of the latter by the former.
Find this resource:
Schapera, Isaac. “Political Organization of the Ngwato of the Bechuanaland Protectorate.” In African Political Systems. Edited by M. Fortes and E. E. Evans-Pritchard, 56–82. London: Oxford University Press, 1940.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While written during the colonial period, this essay provides a short but very accurate description of the typical Tswana political organization prior to the colonial period. It details the extensive power the Tswana chiefs had over all aspects of community life.
Find this resource:
Colonial

Colonial history in Botswana was very similar to that in other parts of non-settler Africa. First there was the subjection of the traditional political systems by various means around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. As with most British colonies government was indirect, with the tribal chiefs ruling but supervised by a small group of Europeans. The dynamics of this system within Tswana society are best captured in Wylie 1990, which explores the many ways in which one savvy chief maximized his authority relative to both the British overlords and his subjects. Crowder 1988 provides graphic detail on how this same chief was able to actually force the colonial government to bow to British public opinion and accept, if grudgingly, his authority to discipline white settlers of questionable morals within his territory. Schapera 1947 provides a detailed account of the major economic activity of Bechuanaland, which was migratory labor to South African mines, businesses, and homes. The author is particularly concerned with how this activity reshaped social and economic life in the protectorate. Morton and Ramsay 1987 presents the most complete account of the emergence of new voices outside the tribal structures after World War I and eventually a nationalist movement at the mid-20th century. Part of the reason colonial Botswana experienced slow economic and political modernization relative to the rest of Africa was the colonial government’s exceptionally inadequate educational programming. Mgadla 2003 provides a good description of the limited system that was put in place.

Crowder, Michael. The Flogging of Phinehas McIntosh. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While ostensibly about a chief’s battle with the colonial administration, this book provides a nuanced view of the colonial system in terms of a whole range of considerations, including justice, sexual morality, legal foundation, the role of chiefs in Tswana society, racism, and the close linkages of white settlers in Bechuanaland with traditional authority.
Find this resource:
Mgadla, Part Themba. A History of Education in Bechuanaland Protectorate to 1965. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Traces the development of education in Botswana, focusing particularly on the ways in which the missionaries and the British limited the spread of primary and secondary education prior to independence, especially with regard to women and minority groups.
Find this resource:
Morton, Fred, and Jeff Ramsay, eds. Birth of Botswana: A History of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910 to 1966. Gaborone: Longman Botswana, 1987.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Covers the reaction of the Tswana chiefs to the policies and structures of the Bechuanaland protectorate government; the emergence of an educated class and its first challenges to colonial authority; and finally the character and effectiveness of the nationalist movement that demanded independence in the 1960s.
Find this resource:
Schapera, Isaac. Migrant Labour and Tribal Life: A Study of Conditions in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. New York: Oxford University Press, 1947.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The main driver of economic development in Bechuanaland during the colonial period was the migration of young males to South Africa for work. At times the number away from the country in the under-forty-five age group was around 40 percent. This book discusses the methods, causes, and impact of migration.
Find this resource:
Wylie, Diana. A Little God: The Twilight of Patriarchy in a Southern African Chiefdom. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1990.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This biography of Tshekedi Khama, regent of the Ngwato chiefdom, gives a picture of the continuing struggle between the traditional authorities and British colonial rulers. Khama limited British influence on a regular basis while fighting to maintain his power against myriad challenges from his royal relatives. Once he was imprisoned, and on another occasion he was exiled.
Find this resource:
Post-Independence

Seretse Khama has come increasingly to stand out among African leaders for his good sense and strong leadership. Parsons, et al. 1995 presents him as bringing together in his personal life traditional Tswana ways with the worldly knowledge of an educated middle-class African. And at the same time they emphasize that an English schooling and an English wife rendered him at ease in international discussions with the leaders of the major developed states of the Western world. While the state Seretse established was very successful in terms of developing a massive mining sector that sustains the modern Botswana welfare state and education system, it has had trouble initiating modernization of other economic sectors. Hillbom 2008 contends that the reason for this lack of progress is a failure to channel the country’s abundant resources into building a culture focused on creativity, productivity, and use of technology. Baily, et al. 2012 suggests that one factor in this lack of transformation has been the University of Botswana, which over its last three decades has yet to develop sufficient research and teaching capacity to become a major factor in promoting economic change. Tabulawa 2009 sees the K–12 system as also at fault in that the Ministry of Education has encouraged memorization and rote learning rather than creativity and flexibility. One tribal group that has taken advantage of the postcolonial context more than any other is the Kalanga. While a minority of the population, they have been aggressive in advancing themselves, especially at the elite level, through education, private business, and politics. The author of Werbner 2004, an anthropologist, seeks to explain their success as stemming from a culture of practicality, pluralism, education, and networking, as well as a willingness to insert themselves into all aspects of Tswana culture, including marrying Tswana women.

Baily, Tracy, Nico Cloete, and Pundy Pillay. Case Study: Botswana and the University of Botswana. Wynberg, South Africa: Centre for Higher Education Transformation, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Mobilizes extensive data to evaluate the extent to which the University of Botswana has developed the necessary teaching and research capacity to promote the country’s economic development. The overall conclusion is that the university has not effectively focused its efforts on promoting economic growth, and the government has not provided necessary funding and direction.
Find this resource:
Hillbom, Ellen. “Diamonds or Development? A Structural Assessment of Botswana’s Forty Years of Success.” Journal of Modern African Studies 46.2 (2008): 191–214.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Hillbom explores why Botswana’s huge income from diamonds over the last forty years has not financed the economy’s overall modernization. Her conclusion is that the government’s investments in education have not promoted the necessary uses of technology, improved labor productivity, or transformed traditional social and ideological outlooks.
Find this resource:
Parsons, Neil, Willie Henderson, and Thomas Tlou. Seretse Khama: 1921–1980. Gaborone: Botswana Society, 1995.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The most complete biography of the first president of Botswana. It includes all the important events in his life, from schooling and conflicts with the colonial government to the major issues of his political career as president of Botswana.
Find this resource:
Tabulawa, Richard Tjombe. “Education Reform in Botswana: Reflections on Policy Contradictions and Paradoxes.” Comparative Education 45.1 (2009): 87–107.
DOI: 10.1080/03050060802661410Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The author argues that the government’s 1994 vision of creating a K–12 system that produces graduates who are individualistic, creative, and adaptable has been undermined by the Ministry of Education’s behaviorist policies. Also blames the syllabi for turning students into inflexible memorizers.
Find this resource:
Werbner, Richard. Reasonable Radicals and Citizenship in Botswana. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Author provides account of a minority ethnic group, the Kalanga, which plays an oversized role in Botswana society relative to its numbers. The second part of the book is a biography of the career of one of the earliest and most impressive of all the leading Kalanga civil servants.
Find this resource:
Politics

While most scholars acknowledge the success of the Botswana state in political and economic terms, there is considerable disagreement as to the reasons for this success. Gulbrandsen 2012 emphasizes the pervasive influence of Tswana culture in the building of the modern Botswana state. Samatar 1999 puts stress on the importance of an enlightened ruling class in building a professional bureaucracy that designed and implemented development plans and carefully promoted the country’s interests in the global system. Holm and Molutsi 1989 provides an array of perspectives on the way various parts of the political system from political parties to civil servants have engineered democratic interconnections of state and society. Probably the most critical writing on the Botswana polity appears in Good 2008, which emphasizes that the ruling party’s control of the presidency ensures its perpetual domination of the country’s politics, in spite of the regularity and nominal freedom of elections. The government declared Kenneth Good a prohibited immigrant, probably more for his support of indigenous rights advocates in the United Kingdom than for his writings on democracy. Molomo 2004, written by a Botswana academic, agrees with Good on the lack of democracy in Botswana but argues that this can be changed by reforms such as public funding of campaigns, proportional representation, and direct election of the president.

Good, Kenneth. Diamonds, Dispossession and Democracy in Botswana. Woodbridge, UK: James Currey, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Good’s thesis is that Botswana’s democracy is a sham in which a strong presidency funded by diamond wealth suppresses almost all opposition, skews wealth and income to political cronies, and maintains gross discrimination of non-Tswana ethnic groups, especially the San.
Find this resource:
Gulbrandsen, Ornulf. The State and the Social: State Formation in Botswana and Its Pre-Colonial and Colonial Genealogies. New York: Berghahn, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Explores the many ways in which indigenous Tswana ideas, behaviors, and institutions have been integrated by the political elite of post-independence Botswana with Western political concepts and practices to create a strong state. Gulbrandsen contends that his model does not include the patrimonialism most analysts argue sustains African politics.
Find this resource:
Holm, John, and Patrick Molutsi, eds. Democracy in Botswana: The Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Gaborone, 1–5 August 1988. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Contains a number of classic statements on the way in which elements of Botswana politics connect to its democracy. Of particular importance are interest groups, social class, chieftaincy, mass behavior, political and group rights, and political parties.
Find this resource:
Molomo, Mpho G. “The Need for Electoral Reform in Botswana.” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 4.2 (2004): 55–77.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that the lack of internal democracy in political parties and the fact that the president is not popularly elected severely restrict popular control of government. As a remedy, he proposes that Botswana adopt public funding of elections, popular election of the president, and a modified form of proportional representation.
Find this resource:
Samatar, Abdi Ismail. The Miracle: State and Class Leadership and Colonial Legacy in Botswana Development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Samatar’s thesis is that Botswana’s state has succeeded in promoting economic development because (1) it was dominated by a unified elite in economic, political, and cultural terms; (2) it fostered a professional civil service; and (3) it managed its relations with the outside world to maximize its interests.
Find this resource:
Courts

Judges in the Botswana court system, while appointed by the president, have shown themselves able in significant instances to put limits on the executive branch and parliament. For a general review of the human rights situation in Botswana, see US Department of State 2012. Most significant since independence have been two cases where the courts limited the power of the other two branches to deprive citizens of important human rights. The first was the Unity Dow case. Dow 1995 argued that the laws of Botswana prohibited a woman from passing on citizenship rights to her children when she married a non-citizen of Botswana. In Tswana culture only males pass on community membership to their children. Dow won the case, and after much Sturm und Drang, the parliament enacted a new citizenship law that allowed Botswana women to have the same citizenship rights as men. The second case that challenged Tswana culture involved the attempt of the Botswana government to remove all San (also called “Bushmen” and “Basarwa”) from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Effectively the government sought to establish that the San, even though they are indigenous people in Botswana, had no inherent right to land in the country. Sarkin and Cook 2010–2011 provides a sympathetic analysis of the background, facts, decision, and the partially successful outcome of the San’s challenge of their removal. One area where the courts have shown no inclination to support civil rights has been the freedom of expression of foreign academics and journalists. From the time of the first president, Seretse Khama, the government has occasionally but consistently banned writers who have taken positions on domestic political issues that have seriously angered top officials of the ruling party. The law permitting this sort of banning prohibits the courts from intervening to evaluate the justice of the order. No court has seen fit to find that this law violates constitutional rights of expression. The most recent case concerned Kenneth Good, an expatriate professor at the University of Botswana, whose writings for over a decade aggressively attacked government policies. Taylor 2006 discusses the case in detail. Most interesting about Taylor’s report is that almost no one associated with the University of Botswana saw fit to defend Good. This is reflective of the fact that while Batswana could and did make all the arguments put forth by Good, many in the country perceive foreign writers attacking government policies to be embarrassing the nation before the international community.

Dow, Unity, ed. The Citizenship Case: The Attorney General of the Republic of Botswana vs. Unity Dow: Court Documents, Judgements, Cases, and Materials. Gaborone: Lentswe La Lesedi, 1995.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a compilation of all the significant documents related to Dow’s case against the government, including the final decision by the judge. This case has had wider implications in that it effectively overturned the traditional custom of routinely treating women as minors, i.e., as equivalent to children in relation to their husbands. Text available online.
Find this resource:
Sarkin, Jeremy, and Amelia Cook. “The Human Rights of the San (Bushmen) of Botswana: The Clash of the Rights of Indigenous Communities and Their Access to Water with the Rights of the State to Environmental Conservation and Mineral Resource Exploitation.” Journal of Transnational Law and Policy 20 (2010–2011): 1–40.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides excellent background on government decisions that led the San to sue for land rights in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the legal grounds on which the case was argued, the resulting decision, and the minimal extent to which the government has been willing to implement the decision.
Find this resource:
Taylor, Ian. “The Limits of the ‘African Miracle’: Academic Freedom in Botswana and the Deportation of Kenneth Good.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies 24.1 (January 2006): 101–122.
DOI: 10.1080/02589000500513804Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Seeks to expose the violations of Good’s civil and academic rights involved in his deportation by the government of Botswana. This article and others like it have proved a considerable embarrassment to the country’s record of political liberalism.
Find this resource:
US Department of State. Botswana: Respect for Human Rights. Washington, DC: US Department of State, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Summarizes in concise form Botswana’s human rights record to the date of its publication on a wide range of issues.
Find this resource:
Environment

Botswana’s physical environment is extremely fragile because of the low rainfall and a diversity of competing pressures for its use. A detailed general perspective on the most important issues is provided in Moleele and Ntsabane 2002. The authors argue that the various environmental strategies pursued thus far have failed to stop serious deterioration on all major environmental fronts and that major changes are required. The most serious long-term environmental problem is desertification. Darkoh 1997 documents the process by which traditional cattle posts expanded onto the Kalahari Desert through the drilling of private boreholes supported by generous government funding and lax land allocation policies. The author notes that the EU subsidy for Botswana beef imports has provided an added impetus for this expansion. Swatuk 2005 shows that critical to the failure of all forms of environmental policymaking in Botswana is the maze of pressures coming from the global to the local levels with none able to cancel the others out. Probably the most dramatic environmental conflict occurs around wildlife hunting, which the government is committed to banning almost completely starting in 2014. The reason is the drastically declining wildlife numbers. The government’s primary concern is protecting animals for its photo-tourist industry, the biggest foreign exchange earner after diamonds. This ban is rejected adamantly by a number of groups. Those such as the authors of Mbaiwa and Mbaiwa 2006 believe the decline in numbers derives from long veterinary fences that protect cattle at the expense of wildlife grazing and migration. Others, as in Hitchcock 2012, argue that hunter-gatherers, even though they are settled down, subsist significantly on meat obtained by hunting. In effect, the ban will have a devastating impact on the diet of the poorest of the poor. And then there is the hunting safari industry, which sees Botswana’s decision as leading to the banning of trophy hunting in other parts of Africa. Scholars such as the author of Lindsey 2010 contend hunting is crucial to sustainable conservation in terms of promoting herd growth and producing income to sustain conservation activities.

Darkoh, Michael B. K. Desertification in Botswana. Rala Report No. 200: Rangeland Desertification. Reykjavik, Iceland: Agricultural Institute, 1997.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides an overview of the character of rainfall and vegetation on the Kalahari and the factors that are leading to the expansion of the desert to cover more and more areas of Botswana. The author sees some possibility that certain government policies could contain this process.
Find this resource:
Hitchcock, Robert. “Subsistence Hunting and Social Justice Issues in Botswana.” Just Conservation (December 2012).
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Documents the importance of hunting and game consumption among hunter-gatherer communities, which are almost all settled in a permanent location. Argues that game meat is crucial to a healthy diet for the people involved and that the off-take is well below the wildlife replacement rate.
Find this resource:
Lindsey, Peter. “The Future of Wildlife-Based Land Uses in Botswana.” Panthera Current Conservation (January 2010): 23–24.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that trophy hunting not only promotes protection of endangered species but also produces crucial income for Botswana.
Find this resource:
Mbaiwa, Joseph E., and Onaletshepho I. Mbaiwa. “The Effects of Veterinary Fences on Wildlife Populations in Okavango Delta, Botswana.” International Journal of Wilderness 12.3 (2006): 17–23.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that the extensive use of fences to control the spread of diseases among cattle herds and between cattle and wildlife has resulted in dramatic declines in wildlife numbers. The wildlife cannot undertake their normal migration, are kept away from water sources, and become easy prey for poachers.
Find this resource:
Moleele, Nkobi N., and Tidimane Ntsabane. Environmental Issues and Management in Botswana: Have the National Conservation Plans Worked? Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides an excellent summary of the major environmental issues in Botswana (wildlife decline, pollution, veld and woodland depletion, overgrazing, and water scarcity), elaborates the various conservation strategies employed from precolonial times to the present, and evaluates the extent of their success. The authors draw on a vast literature available in the bibliography.
Find this resource:
Swatuk, Larry. “‘Project’ to ‘Context’: Community Based Natural Resource Management in Botswana.” Global Environmental Politics 5.3 (August 2005): 95–124.
DOI: 10.1162/1526380054794925Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that the conflicting demands of global conservation interests, national politics, and local land uses make the implementation of programs promoting social justice in wildlife policies difficult if not impossible. The argument is illustrated with a case study from a local area in northwestern Botswana.
Find this resource:
Health HIV/AIDS

Botswana has been ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic since the mid-1990s. For a decade, young and middle-aged persons were dying at an appallingly high rate. But, in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, the Botswana government was one of the first in Africa to address the disease aggressively. The infection rate has declined somewhat, especially among the young, and ARV programs (covering over 100,000) supported by government, large corporations, and foreign donors have greatly reduced the death rate. Initial prevalence research produced alarming rates, running as high as 38 percent for the adult population. However, beginning in 2001 the government began conducting much more sophisticated survey research. The result has been three Central Statistics Office and National AIDS Coordinating Agency reports. The most recent is Central Statistics Office and National AIDS Coordinating Agency 2009, which places the national prevalence rate (proportion of the population living with AIDS) at around 17.5 percent (24.1 percent for adults). The CSO reports provide a nuanced picture of behavior, knowledge, attitudes, and testing for age groups, gender, residence, and education. The three reports so far (a fourth survey is being conducted in 2013) have shown some decline in prevalence among younger age groups while the rate for those over thirty has been increasing, with the forty-to-forty-four age group being over 40 percent. Two treatment approaches bringing major improvements in Botswana have been male circumcision (see Bollinger, et al. 2009) and mother-to-child transmission (see Baleta 2010). Females, on the other hand, still appear to be at serious risk because of their adverse power relationship with men, as detailed in Langen 2005. Also, as discussed in Physicians for Human Rights 2007, traditional beliefs about sex and family further disadvantage women by putting them at further risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The most recent CSO survey shows the consequences: 20 percent of females in Botswana were infected compared to 14 percent of males. This ratio has probably become more adverse for women as a result of the adoption of male circumcision reducing the rate of male infection.

Baleta, Adele. “Botswana Reduces Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV.” The Lancet 375.9730 (June 2010): 1954.
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60909-9Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Reports on the major advances that have been made in Botswana relative to decreasing the mother-to-child transmission rate. Subsequent newspaper reports indicate even further reduction.
Find this resource:
Bollinger, L. A., J. Stover, G. Musuka, B. Fidzani, T. Moeti, and L. Busang. “The Cost and Impact of Male Circumcision on HIV/AIDS in Botswana.” Journal of International AIDS Society 12 (2009): 7.
DOI: 10.1186/1758-2652-12-7Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides estimation of the impact that male circumcision could have on containing contraction of HIV/AIDS among the male population in Botswana. Given the success of the government’s circumcision campaign, the infection rate ratio between males and females is likely to increase because fewer males are being affected with the virus.
Find this resource:
Central Statistics Office and National AIDS Coordinating Agency. Botswana AIDS Impact Survey III: Statistical Report. Gaborone: Central Statistics Office, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides the most up-to-date data on prevalence and incidence rates relative to the population as a whole and among the critical subgroups of age, education, gender, and residence.
Find this resource:
Langen, Tabitha T. “Gender Power Imbalance on Women’s Capacity to Negotiate Self-Protection against HIV/AIDS in Botswana and South Africa.” African Health Sciences 5.3 (September 2005): 188–197.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Data are presented demonstrating that women who are much younger than their partners, abused by the latter, or married are less likely to suggest protected sex; and male partners who are older, do not talk about AIDS, and are married are more likely to refuse use of condoms.
Find this resource:
Physicians for Human Rights. Epidemic of Inequality: Women’s Rights and HIV/AIDS in Botswana & Swaziland, an Evidence-Based Report on the Effects of Gender Inequity, Stigma and Discrimination. Cambridge, MA: Physicians for Human Rights, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Demonstrates that traditional belief systems related to women and sexual practice are important in determining which females have unprotected sex and that government’s failure to combat these beliefs has perpetuated the women’s greater vulnerability to HIV/AIDS relative to men.
Find this resource:
Society and Culture

Botswana has a very conservative culture based most especially on Tswana traditions and beliefs. The struggles against this culture have been most intense with respect to minority ethnic groups and women. The following subsections identify some of the major struggles involved.

Ethnicity

Botswana is often viewed as a fairly homogeneous country in terms of ethnicity. However, things are not as simple as they seem. The Tswana tribes themselves are composed of various sub-ethnicities that have been increasingly inclined toward social political independence in recent years. The most complete accounting for the role of ethnic differences in politics and government is provided in Selolwane 2004. The author details the extent to which parliament, the civil service, and political parties are ethnically skewed toward particular tribal groups, especially in terms of leadership. The most important tribal struggle since independence has been over the composition of the House of Chiefs (officially called the “Ntlo ya Dikgosi”). The minority or non-Tswana tribes have long sought more representation. A presidential commission of inquiry investigated the issue in the last half of 2000. Its report (Government of Botswana 2000), while advocating little change, does provide a good grassroots airing of the various perspectives on the extent of ethnic diversity existing in Botswana. Solway 2011 explores strategies for promoting ethnic interests in Botswana, arguing that embarrassing the government’s desire to appear “liberal” at international organizations works much better than seeking foreign intervention in domestic politics. The author also explains how the government uses cultural policies to divert ethnic groups from political goals. Mazonde 2002 is a collection of papers by ethnic rights activists exploring the extent of ethnic diversity in Botswana, detailing the rigid assimilationist orientation of government, and proposing ways to recognize Botswana’s many non-Tswana cultures. Primary concern focuses on the use of minority languages in school, mass media, and government activities. Overall, Makgala 2009 argues that ethnic conflict has been managed so as to minimize this factor from immobilizing the policy process, as has happened in many African countries since the colonial powers granted independence.

Government of Botswana. Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Constitution of Botswana. Gaborone: Government Printer, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a summary of the opinions expressed by people from various tribes on the extent of tribal discrimination in the constitution (i.e., the extent to which the eight Tswana tribes are favored), examples of the solutions on tribal influence in several other African constitutions, and potential recommended solutions to the Botswana situation.
Find this resource:
Makgala, Christian John. “History and Perceptions of Regionalism in Botswana, 1891–2005.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies 27.2 (2009): 225–242.
DOI: 10.1080/02589000902867329Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that while there is definite tribalism involved in the north-south conflict in Botswana in the postcolonial period, mitigating factors such as a relatively equal distribution of resources, cross-cutting political divisions, and strategies of ethnic inclusion have prevented tribalism from immobilizing government decision making.
Find this resource:
Mazonde, Isaac. Minorities in the Millennium: Perspectives from Botswana. Gaborone: Lentswe La Lesedi, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors, mostly minority intellectuals, argue against the assimilationist policies of the Botswana government. Their primary objection is to the fact that Setswana is the only African language recognized by the government. No defense of the status quo is provided.
Find this resource:
Selolwane, Onalenna Doo. Ethnic Structure, Inequality and Governance of the Public Sector in Botswana. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Traces the ethnic composition of political parties, the legislature, and the civil service from their times of inception at the end of the colonial period until the early 1980s. Also reports on the important ethnic controversies that have occurred through the beginning of the 21st century.
Find this resource:
Solway, Jacqueline. “‘Culture Fatigue’: The State and Minority Rights in Botswana.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 18.1 (July 2011): 211–240.
DOI: 10.2979/indjglolegstu.18.1.211Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Demonstrates that Botswana ethnic groups using their own resources are more effective at achieving agreements with the government than those depending on foreign funding and power. Also, Solway illuminates how the Botswana government controls and limits ethnic politicization through massive funding of cultural programming for almost all groups.
Find this resource:
Women and Gender

The subordinate status of women has been a contentious and ever-changing issue in Botswana society and politics since the early 1800s. Mafela 2007 traces the various manifestations of this conflict from the precolonial period through the Victorian beliefs of the colonial government to the first two decades after independence. Department of Women’s Affairs 1998 is based on an expert consultancy detailing the extent to which various laws derived from this history relegate women to a subordinate position in contemporary Botswana. The report contains eighty-eight recommendations for changes, none of which have been implemented. Mookodi 2005 shows that the ruling party has sought to preserve the status quo by resisting significant legal change. It has rather tried to mollify female concerns through programs designed to enhance women’s role in the economy and, to a lesser extent, government. Bauer 2011 chronicles the struggle between women and government since the mid-1980s. The author contends that a relatively strong women’s movement achieved some early political successes but during the 2000s has become increasingly “in abeyance.” This change is in part explained by the fact that the court system has emerged as attentive to the equality provisions in Botswana’s liberal constitution, especially as they apply to women’s status. The judges have ruled twice that laws relating to the status of women are unconstitutional. The Unity Dow case has been mentioned in the Courts section. Even more important, as detailed in the Southern African Litigation Centre report (Botswana: Women’s Inheritance Rights under Customary Law), the Botswana High Court has now ordered not only that inheritance law must be gender neutral but that all laws must be reviewed by parliament for their gender bias and modified to grant gender equality, i.e., the same laws mentioned in Department of Women’s Affairs 1998. This decision can still be appealed; however, if the decision is upheld, it will have major significance for all of southern Africa as well as Botswana.

Bauer, Gretchen. “Update on the Women’s Movement in Botswana: Have Women Stopped Talking?” African Studies Review 54.2 (September 2011): 23–46.
DOI: 10.1353/arw.2011.0040Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Bauer shows that the Botswana women’s movement, which in the 1980s and 1990s was a force for progressive gender change, has since 2000 had few successes. She suggests possible reasons for this decline, including co-optation, less foreign funding, a president less amenable to women’s interests, and satisfaction with previous successes.
Find this resource:
Botswana: Women’s Inheritance Rights under Customary Law.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Accesses the high court (October 2012) ruling stating that the customary practice requiring that only men inherit property is contrary to the Botswana constitution. Additionally, the judge ruled that parliament make all other discriminatory laws gender neutral. The decision, if it holds on appeal, will be precedent setting not only in Botswana but in Africa.
Find this resource:
Department of Women’s Affairs. Report on a Review of all Laws Affecting the Status of Women in Botswana. Gaborone: Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, 1998.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The Dow judgment (see the Courts section) required the government to report all laws discriminating against women. The result is this document that outlines eighty-eight recommendations for legal change, ranging from the constitution and criminal law to private law related to marriage and family. There had been no follow-up until the Dingake decision of October 2012.
Find this resource:
Mafela, Lily. “Batswana Women and Law: Society, Education and Migration, 1840–1980.” Cahiers d’Etudes Africaines 47.187–188 (2007): 523–566.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Details the character of women’s inferior status in the early part of the 19th century and how it was transformed with the advent of colonialism and the emergence of labor migration to South Africa in the first half of the 20th century.
Find this resource:
Mookodi, Godisang. “Situating the Legal Status of Women in Development Processes: The Case of Botswana.” In CODESRIA 11th General Assembly, 6–10 December 2005, Maputo, Mozambique: Rethinking African Development: Beyond Impasse, towards Alternatives. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Points out that the Botswana government’s strategy with respect to women has been to upgrade their inclusion in the overall development process (e.g., target aid to their agricultural activities) but to avoid transforming the cultural norms and structures that inflict a lower status upon women.
Find this resource:
San, or Hunter-Gatherers

The relationship of the San or hunter-gatherers (also known as the “Khoisan,” “Basarwa,” or “Bushmen”) with the Tswana population in particular but with all Bantu groups generally has been a long, complex, and troubled tale. The early years are covered in Prehistory and Archaeology, where the Kalahari Debate is outlined. Additionally, the major legal case between the San and the government is reported in both the Courts and Ethnicity sections, and hunting activities of the San are considered in the Environment section. This section details San perspectives on their overall plight. Bolaane 2004 shows San reactions to being moved twice to make way for a game park in the north of Botswana. Saugestad 2001 demonstrates how the San’s mobilization of their community is complicated by the presence of international donors, UN organizations, and the Botswana government. Kiema 2010 explains the importance of San culture to the author, who is an educated San, and his reactions to the politics of the government’s attempt to relocate his community outside of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Hitchcock, et al. 2006 explores the many ways in which San daily life has been transformed as a result of becoming settled in one location rather than migrating with the seasons.

Bolaane, Maitseo. “Game Reserve Policy and the River BaSarwa/Bushmen of Botswana.” Social Policy Administration: An International Journal of Policy and Research 38.4 (August 2004): 399–417.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2004.00398.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Reports on the process by which two San communities were moved out of their traditional lands to make way for one of Botswana’s major game parks and the problems—legal, psychological, and political—they have faced in attempting to find a new secure land area in which they can ensure their economic survival.
Find this resource:
Hitchcock, Robert K., Kazunobu Ikeya, Megan Biesele, and Richard Lee. Updating the San: Image and Reality of an African People in the 21st Century. Osaka, Japan: National Museum of Ethnology, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Surveys the current sedentary situation of the San in terms of HIV/AIDS; longevity; perceptions of health, language, and heritage preservation; and land use among other issues. Of particular concern in many of the essays are the cultural effects of settlement on a previously mobile people.
Find this resource:
Kiema, Kuela. Tears for My Land: A Social History of the Kua of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Tc’amnqoo. Gaborone: Mmegi, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a San’s view of his own community in terms of its culture, politics, and beliefs, the experiences resulting from the government’s decision to move this community out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and his perceptions on the larger politics of Botswana’s civil society groups and development activities.
Find this resource:
Saugestad, Sidsel. The Inconvenient Indigenous Remote Area Development in Botswana, Donor Assistance, and the First People of the Kalahari. Uppsala, Sweden: Nordic Africa Institute, 2001.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Analyzes the process of political mobilization of the San population and its interactions with (1) the government of Botswana; (2) the international donor community (particularly the Norwegians); and (3) the international movement promoting human rights for indigenous communities.
Find this resource:
Language

Botswana is often commended for having a dominant African language, Setswana; however, Setswana still has to compete with English, which is the other official language of the country. Professor T. J. Otlogetswe champions the idea that Setswana should be a language useful in all contexts. His new Setswana dictionary (Otlogetswe 2012) has sought to incorporate foreign words so as to enhance its utility. To access his ideas in English, one should read his blog, T. J. Otlogetswe: Lexicographer, Corpus Linguist and Translator. Cole 1990 still provides the most comprehensive introduction to Setswana grammar. Hopkins 1979 developed for the Peace Corps a compilation of basic Setswana grammar and a number of useful words and phrases. Minority rights activists have sought to expand the use of other African languages in the national education system. Kamwendo, et al. 2009 provides an array of papers arguing for this approach and outlining the means by which it can be achieved at a reasonable cost. On this point these activists have been totally unsuccessful. Bagwasi 2008 rejects the idea that English can be sufficiently Africanized (or Tswanized) to allow for the effective articulation of Tswana cultural concepts. Furthermore, the author sees English medium education as stripping Batswana students of their traditional heritage.

Bagwasi, M. M. “English Acculturating to African Culture: A Truism or a Fallacy.” In English Language and Literature: Cross Cultural Currents. Edited by Mompoloki Mmangaka Bagwasi, Modupe Moyosore Alimi, and Patrick James Ebewo, 2–14. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that Batswana speaking in English lose their ability to articulate many elements of their culture. Furthermore, she contends that English-based education cannot transmit many aspects of traditional African culture. In her view English as modified by Batswana always compromises Tswana and foreign cultural concepts.
Find this resource:
Cole, D. T. An Introduction to Tswana Grammar. Cape Town: Longman, 1990.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is the most definitive statement of Setswana grammar, including the nine classes of nouns and numerous verb tenses, basic phonetics and grammar, the formation and use of adjectives and adverbs, and the derivation of nouns. Extensive and clear examples are provided for every rule discussed.
Find this resource:
Hopkins, David B. Setswana: Grammar Handbook. Peace Corps Language Handbook Series. Brattleboro, VT: Experiment in International Living, 1979.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
For persons who desire a crash course in everyday Setswana, this introduction is easy to use and will earn the reader much praise when the knowledge gained is incorporated in conversations with average Batswana.
Find this resource:
Kamwendo, Gregory, Dudu Jankie, and Any Chebanne, eds. Multilingualism in Education and Communities in Southern Africa. Gaborone: UBTromso Collaborative Programme for San Research and Capacity Building, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues for mother tongue education in Botswana, stating such an approach is required for equality and justice for all cultural groups. The minister of education writes a two-page paper bluntly rejecting any sort of mother tongue approach.
Find this resource:
Otlogetswe, T. J. Tlhalosi ya Medi ya Setswana. Gaborone: Medi, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is the most complete dictionary of Setswana words. It has been endorsed by authorities on Setswana in both Botswana and South Africa. The dictionary is completely in Setswana. For an English to Setswana dictionary, see T. J. Otlogetswe, English-Setswana Dictionary (Gaborone: Pentagon, 2007).
Find this resource:
T. J. Otlogetswe: Lexicographer, Corpus Linguist and Translator.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Otlogetswe writes this regular blog, which is designed to provide an understanding of Setswana to locals as well as to outsiders. He is an activist for the use of Setswana in all social settings, from home to public forums. His passion for Setswana has provoked opposition from minority language activists in the country.
Find this resource:
Economy

Botswana has experienced very impressive growth since the country gained its independence in 1966. The growth has been fueled largely by a series of diamond mines that produce one-third of the world’s gem diamonds. In contrast to most developing countries, the government has for the last forty years almost obsessively followed a series of economic plans designed by the Ministry of Finance. The strategy and results of the first two decades are to be found in Harvey and Lewis 1990, authored by two of the key architects of the early plans. Colclough and McCarthy 1980 faulted the government’s economic planning during the 1970s for neglect of social justice concerns especially as they relate to the country’s peasant class. By the 1990s economic policy debates began to be more focused on providing stability with continued growth for a fast-growing urban population. Both Salkin, et al. 1997 and Siphambe, et al. 2005 provide collections of papers that explore the progress made in the first thirty years of post-independence development and suggest a wide range of policy recommendations for the 21st century. Both books evidence little attention to the declining agricultural sector or the emerging working class. Mogalakwe 1997 develops a detailed analysis of the weaknesses of the latter group and changes that will be necessary if labor is to obtain a fair share of the national income and adequate living conditions. Motshegwa and Tshukudu 2012 provides a compelling argument that the 2011 six-week general strike, mobilizing close to a hundred thousand workers, collapsed in the face of the government’s effective use of its draconian labor laws.

Colclough, Christopher, and Stephen McCarthy. The Political Economy of Botswana: A Study of Growth and Distribution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Focuses on the development of mining and agriculture in the 1970s. The authors’ value bias is toward social equality, so they argue for the government to use its rising diamond income to enhance agricultural production among peasants and thus redress the growing gap between rich and poor in the rural areas.
Find this resource:
Harvey, Charles, and Stephen R. Lewis. Policy Choice and Development Performance in Botswana. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors were two of the key designers of the first twenty years of Botswana development plans. In this book they elaborate their strategy and the results that were obtained.
Find this resource:
Mogalakwe, Monageng. State & Organized Labour in Botswana, 1966–1990: Liberal Democracy in Emergent Capitalism. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 1997.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Examines how the Botswana state has restrained the power of labor to promote development of a capitalist economy. He also details attempts of the trade union movement to overcome this suppression and ends by suggesting ways in which trade unionism must change to become more successful.
Find this resource:
Motshegwa, Baakile, and Theophilus Tebetso Tshukudu. “Deep Rooted Conflicts and Industrial Relations Interface in Botswana.” Journal of Public Administration and Governance 2.3 (2012): 118–133.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Details the maze of labor laws and policies constraining trade union development in Botswana and discusses how this structure was brought to bear to break a massive six-week general strike in 2012.
Find this resource:
Salkin, J., D. Mpabanga, D. Cowan, J. Sebwe, and M. Wright, eds. Aspects of the Botswana Economy: Selected Papers. Oxford: James Currey, 1997.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a fairly technical discussion of a wide range of topics related to macro-economic performance, economic policy, the financial sector, standard of living, and international trade. The authors are all top civil servants or researchers who have worked extensively in Botswana.
Find this resource:
Siphambe, Happy K., Nettem Narayana, Oluyele Akinkugbe, and Joel Sentsho, eds. Economic Development of Botswana: Facets, Policies, Problems and Prospects. Gaborone: Bay, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Contains a series of essays by economists at the University of Botswana. It promotes government policies that lead to privatization and encourage investment from local and foreign capital. At best several authors give a nod to the need to deal with growing economic inequality.
Find this resource:
International Issues

Discussions of Botswana’s foreign policy prior to the end of South Africa’s apartheid in 1994 focused on Botswana’s conflicted role relative to the liberation struggle. Dale 1995 explores the various ways in which Botswana was able to both put pressure on its powerful neighbor and secure some autonomy from South African influence. Subsequently, the primary foreign threat to Botswana’s stability has been the attempt by indigenous rights advocates in the United Kingdom to label Botswana diamonds as “conflict” diamonds. These advocates justify their position by contending that the Botswana government has sought to force the San out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to make way for diamond mining. Since half of government income derives from diamonds, a consequent international consumer boycott of Botswana diamonds could be devastating. The government has responded thus far to boycott advocates by characterizing local diamonds as for development and stating that moving San from the nature reserve was required to better service them. Taylor and Mokhawa 2003 marshals intellectual support for the boycott but presents a more subtle argument than the UK activists. The authors contend Botswana’s huge diamond income could easily support San development in the CKGR, if diamonds were to benefit the development of all ethnic groups in the country. The government banned Taylor from Botswana for this and other essays supporting indigenous rights in Botswana. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been a second main concern of Botswana’s foreign policy by encouraging developed countries to donate substantial funds to local programming and research. However, this assistance is fast coming to an end, as indicated in Stash, et al. 2012. The final major international dimension of the post-apartheid period has been the continued rapid and substantial development of Botswana’s military, supposedly to defend the country from international threats. Molomo 2001 presents a picture of the Botswana military as overfunded relative to the more pressing social justice needs of the country and as tending to undermine the development of democracy in the country. In contrast, Sharp and Fisher 2005 contends that the BDF is disciplined, under the control of civilian leaders, and funded to the level required for defense of the country. Henk 2005 shows how the BDF has taken on a unique role relative to other African states by being an effective protector of the country’s wildlife from foreign poachers.

Dale, Richard. Botswana’s Search for Autonomy in Southern Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a definitive look at Botswana’s relations with South Africa during the apartheid era, especially relative to the extent it gained autonomy from its powerful neighbor and the means by which it did so. The references provide a massive documentation of sources for the first thirty years of the country’s external connections.
Find this resource:
Henk, Dan. “The Botswana Defense Force and the War against Poachers in Southern Africa.” Small Wars and Insurgencies 16.2 (June 2005): 170–191.
DOI: 10.1080/09592310500079924Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a detailed study of the BDF’s role in successfully combating poaching in Botswana’s game parks and tourist concessions. From the government’s point of view, wildlife tourism is a critical source of income that must be protected as part of the country’s development strategy.
Find this resource:
Molomo, M. G. “Civil-Military Relations in Botswana’s Developmental State.” African Studies Quarterly 5.2 (2001): 3.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Discusses the relationship of the political elite and the military, arguing that the latter’s influence has tended to undermine democratic processes: Molomo argues that given the low level of external threat, the country needs more financing of social justice programs and less military spending.
Find this resource:
Sharp, Paul, and Louis Fisher. “Inside the ‘Crystal Ball’: Understanding the Evolution of the Military in Botswana and the Challenges Ahead.” In Evolutions and Revolutions: A Contemporary History of Militaries in Southern Africa. Edited by Martin Revai Rupiya, 43–60. Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In contrast to Molomo, the authors represent the BDF as a professional military organization with more-than-adequate direction from elected officials. They defend the high level of funding as necessary because no military existed in the colonial period. The second author was commander of the BDF from 1998 to 2006.
Find this resource:
Stash, Sharon, Jennifer Cooke, Matt Fisher, and Alisha Kramer. Competing Pressures for US PEPFAR in Botswana: Rising Ambitions, Declining Resources. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides an overview of the extent of foreign aid Botswana has received for its AIDS programs and the various programming problems that must be addressed if the country is to survive an expected rapid decline in funding.
Find this resource:
Taylor, Ian, and Gladys Mokhawa. “Not Forever: Botswana, Conflict Diamonds, and the Bushmen.” African Affairs 102.407 (2003): 261–283.
DOI: 10.1093/afraf/adg004Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Contends that the government’s “Diamonds for Development” slogan is a sham in that Bushmen are being removed from community lands rather than assisted to “develop” them. The authors say a boycott of Botswana’s diamonds, as well as for “conflict” diamonds in other parts of Africa, is justified to end such oppression.
Find this resource:
Population Changes

Sustained economic development and the creation of a mass education system have together done much to transform the structure and behavior of Botswana society over the last half century. Indeed, the change has been very rapid, often more so than other African societies. Nair 2010 provides an overview of the expanding character of the economically active section of the population, which the author predicts will reach 70 percent by 2050. Gwebu 2004 outlines the process by which urbanization has been taking place in Botswana from the creation of central cities to ex-urban settlements. The author also sketches the range of urbanization problems that challenge the government at various levels and provides summary assessments of the extent to which there has been both success and failure. Botswana’s history over the last century has been tied to radical changes in migration patterns. In the first half of the 20th century there was massive labor migration (see Schapera 1947, cited under Colonial) to South Africa. Lefko-Everet 2004 takes up the story after independence, explaining how economic development brought the migrants back home and also how political disturbances in South Africa (and now Zimbabwe) have pushed a steady stream of political refugees into Botswana. The author notes that the Zimbabweans have been met by intense xenophobia, forcing the government to develop deportation programs of questionable morality and effectiveness. Probably the most profound population change is identified in Dintwa 2010. This transformation is the rise of the single-parent family as the dominant household form in the last two decades of the 20th century, accompanied by a rapid decline in fertility. In the case of both these changes, Botswana has moved at a faster pace than most other African countries.

Dintwa, Kakanyo Fani. “Changing Family Structure in Botswana.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 41.3 (2010): 281–297.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Uses census and survey data to show that economic development, migration, HIV/AIDS, rising marriage age, education, and the retention of traditional family customs have produced in the 1980s and 1990s both a decline in fertility and an increase in single-parent families, to the extent that this is now the dominant family form.
Find this resource:
Gwebu, Thando D. “Patterns and Trends of Urbanization in Botswana and Policy Implications for Sustainability.” Paper presented at “City Futures: An International Conference on Globalism and Urban Change,” held at the University of Illinois at Chicago, July 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Identifies the process by which urbanization has occurred in Botswana (core city and then various types of peri-urban settlements), the problems (land scarcity, housing shortages, service deficiencies, unemployment, and uncontrolled waste disposal) that have arisen, and government policies seeking to address these problems.
Find this resource:
Lefko-Everet, Kate. “Botswana’s Changing Migration Patterns.” Migration Information Source, September 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Traces Botswana’s transformation from exporter of labor to an importer with the advent of diamond mining and the resulting rapid development. Expatriates have been a critical factor in the country’s rapid economic growth; however, xenophobia (particularly toward Zimbabweans) in the new millennium has resulted in increasing restrictions on immigration.
Find this resource:
Nair, P. Sadasivan. “Population Aging in Botswana: Trends and Implications.” Journal of African Studies and Development 2.3 (April 2010): 58–64.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Traces population aging trends from 1970 to 2000. The most important finding is that the economically active population in 2000 was 58 percent of the total population, with an expected increase to 70 percent by mid-century. Proportion of those sixty-five years of age and older is beginning to increase, and thus the government faces greater social security needs in the near future.
Find this resource:
Religion

Christian missionaries began proselytizing in Botswana almost two centuries ago. Today a vast majority of the population says they are Christian. However, the reality of religion in the country is much more complex in that many Christians continue to hold traditional religious beliefs and engage in practices such as visiting a traditional healer. Amanze 2002 provides a comprehensive survey of the Tswana belief structure and the many ways in which it penetrates the contemporary culture of Botswana. As a Malawian, the author writes as both an insider to Bantu religious beliefs and an outsider to the particularities of Tswana beliefs. Staugard 1985 provides the most definitive study of traditional healers in Botswana. The author explores the religious base for their practices, their social cohesive function in local communities, and the various interconnections of European and traditional health-care systems, including the criteria Batswana use in choosing between the two. Nkomazana and Lanner 2007 is an edited collection of papers on the history of Christianity in Botswana, which are mostly written by Botswana authors or African scholars who have been resident in the country for a considerable time. The essays focus on the diversity of Christianity in Botswana and the many institutional conflicts that have occurred from the time of missionary contact to the early 21st century.

Amanze, James M. African Traditional Religions and Culture in Botswana. Gaborone: Pula, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Covers the basic beliefs of Tswana traditional religion as well as its implications for health, marriage, morality, politics, social justice, the environment, gender, and the economy.
Find this resource:
Nkomazana, Fidelis, and Laurel Lanner, eds. Aspects of the History of the Church in Botswana. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: Cluster, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a good sampling of the range of institutional Christianity in Botswana and its interaction with broader society, including the chiefs, the language, minority populations, education, and women. The reader is introduced to personal reactions of contemporary Batswana intellectuals to this religion from the outside. Excellent bibliography.
Find this resource:
Staugard, Frants. Traditional Medicine in Botswana: Traditional Healers. Gaborone: Ipelegeng, 1985.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is the most extensive discussion of traditional healing in Botswana. The author shows the linkage to Tswana religious beliefs, details the role of healers in society, examines all aspects of usage from consumer choice to costs, details various linkages to European medicine, and surveys changing government attitudes on subject.
Find this resource:
Contemporary Literature

Often the best way to gain a feel for a country is to survey the writing of authors who seek to portray a zeitgeist through fiction or reflections on their experience or that of others they have known. This literature section is divided into publications authored by Batswana Writers and those by Foreign Writers who have lived in Botswana for a period of time.

Batswana Writers

Storytelling is a part of Botswana’s traditional culture. Bessie Head, the author of Head 1977, was born in South Africa and moved to Botswana early in her career as a writer. Her three famous novels and most of her short stories are drawn from her Botswana life. The value of Head 1977 lies in the feel the author has for the average Botswana person in a rural village, particularly in the immediate post-independence period before the country’s rapid development began. Unity Dow was born in rural Botswana but went through the country’s school system, graduating with a law degree. She then became a human rights activist and eventually a high court judge. Recently she has turned to writing novels. All probe into the dark side of Tswana life involving such matters as murder, sexual abuse, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Dow 2002, for example, provides the reader with firsthand experience of a ritual murder that occurred in the writer’s home village, Mochudi. Christian John Makgala, a history professor at the University of Botswana, brings the history of post-independence Botswana into a story about village life and changes that have been taking place at this level, as the nation as a whole has over the last half century experienced some of the most rapid economic development in the world in Makgala 2010.

Dow, Unity. Screaming of the Innocent. Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While all of Dow’s books are good reads, this one is a chilling account of a ritual murder in Botswana. Dow knows of what she writes in that such a murder occurred in her native village of Mochudi, where she witnessed firsthand the reaction of her family, neighbors, and local officials to the event.
Find this resource:
Head, Bessie. Bessie Head: The Collector of Treasures. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1977.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Provides a feel for village life in Botswana in the post-independence period. Among other things, Head relates how people grapple with Christian and Tswana traditions, engage in family conflicts, cope with drought, and seek justice in the village chief’s court.
Find this resource:
Makgala, Christian John. The Dixie Medicine Man. New York: iUniverse, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Makgala is a historian who writes about the history of Botswana by looking at the adventures of an American medical doctor who becomes a traditional doctor in a small village outside the capital city of Gaborone. The reader learns much about village politics, the convoluted process of development, and a local culture struggling to change within Botswana’s national modernization.
Find this resource:
Foreign Writers

Much European and American writing on Africa, and on Botswana in particular, is taken up with the juxtaposition between the two very different value systems of the developed and developing worlds. Caitlian Davies moved to Botswana and married a Botswana man she met in the United States. The marriage eventually ended because she found it impossible to cope with the Tswana family culture of her husband, as detailed in her work Davies 2005. Norman Rush was the director of the Peace Corps in Botswana in the 1970s when he met a number of the white expatriates who came to the country to set up utopian experiments (see van Rensburg 1974, cited under Personal Narratives). Rush 1991 explores the disconnect between these individuals and the local environment. Owens and Owens 1984 is a first-person account of two Americans who are obsessed with protecting Kalahari wildlife to the point where they lose all concern for the needs and desires of Batswana. Alexander McCall-Smith has in a series of thirteen detective novels (McCall-Smith 1990–) created a view of Africa and Botswana that has been extremely popular with the Western reading public. Many Batswana are less enamored of McCall-Smith, believing he tends to simplify the ease with which they and their fellow citizens are able to overcome the social disjuncture and conflict generated by the rapid modernization transforming their society.

Davies, Caitlian. Place of Reeds: A True African Love Story. London: Simon and Schuster, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The author gives an account of falling in love with a Tswana male, her subsequent marriage to him, and her eventual separation. The value of the book is in the way the European and Tswana perspectives on the family’s role in marriage come into an irresolvable conflict.
Find this resource:
McCall-Smith, Alexander. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series. Edinburgh: Polygon, 1990–.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
These best-selling mystery stories emphasize the goodwill, politeness, and persistence of Batswana as they confront difficulties of everyday life. Persons living in Botswana for a time tend to think life’s problems are much more intractable than the author presents them. The first book is the title of the series. Subsequent titles can be found in an Internet search using the series title.
Find this resource:
Owens, Mark, and Delia Owens. Cry of the Kalahari. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A best-selling account of the authors’ seven years living alone on the Kalahari except for the surrounding wildlife. They show little sympathy for their human neighbors, let alone for the hardships wild animals wreak on village life. The government eventually banned the Owens from returning to Botswana because of their violations of Botswana law.
Find this resource:
Rush, Norman. Mating. New York: Knopf, 1991.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The male hero is a compelling composite of the utopian “experts” who came to Botswana during the mid-20th century to build a better society than existed in the Western world. As with the real-life visionaries, the hero founds a community mismatched with ecology and society; consequently, the experiment is a failure.