Lionel R Cliffe (1936 – 24 October 2013) was an English

political economist Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour m ...

and activist whose work focused on the struggle for land rights and freedom in Africa from the 1960s. He was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Early life and education

Cliffe was educated at King Edward VII Grammar School in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

where he read Economics with Mathematics and Statistics. A conscientious objector, he was excused

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

and instead worked for four years in the late 1950s as an Information and Research Assistant for Oxfam in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Academic career

In 1961 Cliffe went to Dar es Salaam in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

to teach at Kivukoni adult education college and later at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

where he was Director of Development Studies. He undertook fieldwork in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, Tanzania and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. Cliffe returned to the UK in 1976 and taught briefly at the Universities of

and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

before being appointed Lecturer in

at the

in 1978. He was promoted to

Senior Lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this conce ...

in 1982,

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in 1988 and Professor in 1990. There he helped develop what is now

Leeds University Centre for African Studies Leeds University Centre for African Studies (LUCAS) is an interdisciplinary centre at the University of Leeds that was established in 1964, and has members from a variety of faculties who share an interest in African Studies. The English, Geography ...

(LUCAS) and also the journal '' Review of African Political Economy''. Cliffe retired as Emeritus Professor in 2001. In 2002 the

African Studies Association of the UK The African Studies Association of the United Kingdom (ASAUK) formed in 1963 "to advance African studies, particularly in the United Kingdom, by providing facilities for the interchange of information and ideas and the co-ordination of activities ...

marked his career with the Distinguished Africanist award.Guardian obituary
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Death

Cliffe died on 24 October 2013 at the age of 77 after being diagnosed with

myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, anemi ...

Selected publications

* ''Socialism in Tanzania: Politics and Policies'', co-edited with John S. Saul, 2 vols. (1972-3) * ''Rural Cooperation in Tanzania'', co-edited with John S. Saul and others (1975) * ''Southern Africa after the drought : a crisis of social reproduction'' (1978) * ''Behind the war in Eritrea'' (co-edited with Basil Davidson and Bereket Habte Selassie (1980). * ''Prospects for agrarian transformation in Zimbabwe'' (1988) * ''The Long struggle of Eritrea for independence and constructive peace'' (co-edited with Basil Davidson (1988) * ''Zimbabwe : politics, economics and society'' (with Colin Stoneman) (1989) * ''The Transition to Independence in Namibia'' with Ray Bush and Jenny Lindsay (1994)
The Politics of Lying
with Maureen Ramsay and David Bartlett (2000)
The Struggle for Land in Africa
Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'', 64 (2001), pp. 9–44. * ''Conflict and peace in the Horn of Africa'' (co-edited with Roy Love and Kjetil, Tronvoll) (2009) * ''Outcomes of post-2000 fast track land reform in Zimbabwe'' (co-edited with Jocelyn Alexander, Ben Cousins and Rudo Gaidzanwa) (2013) *'Cricket, racism and the Yorkshire Leagues: Prospects for a more inclusive cricket in Yorkshire' in

Michael Lavalette Michael Lavalette (born 1962) is a member of the Socialist Workers Party and former local councillor in Preston, Lancashire, England. He was first elected as a Socialist Alliance candidate shortly after the Iraq War began in 2003. In 2007, he wa ...

(ed) ''Capitalism and Sport: Politics, Protest, People and Play'' (2013)

References

External links

Obituary
in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

by Peter Lawrence.
Tribute to Lionel Cliffe
by Ray Bush in Leeds ''African Studies Bulletin'', 75 (Winter 2013/14), pp. 47–50.
University of Leeds Obituary

University of Leeds Senate resolution on the retirement of Lionel Cliffe (2001)Obituary by Petros TesfagioragisLionel Cliffe - An Africanist scholar and global citizen
by Karim F Hirji *'Lionel Cliffe, 1936-2013: a comradely scholar in Nyerere's nationalist Tanzania' by Issa G. Shivji in ''Review of African Political Economy'', (2014) 41:140, 284-287 *'Land & Liberation in Eritrea: Reflecting on the Work of Lionel Cliffe' by Alemseged Tesfai in ''Review of African Political Economy'' Vol. 30, No. 96,(Jun, 2003), pp. 249–254.
Lionel Cliffe Colloquium: Democracy, land and liberation in Africa today: Bridging past and present scholarship
held at The Centre for African Studies (CAS) at the University of Cape Town (UCT)(2014)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliffe, Lionel 1936 births 2013 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma English economists Alumni of the University of Nottingham English Africanists English conscientious objectors Oxfam people Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of Durham University People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield English political scientists University of Dar es Salaam faculty