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

political economist Politics () 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 status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

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 Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

Early life and education

Cliffe was educated at King Edward VII Grammar School in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

where he read Economics with Mathematics and Statistics. A

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, he was excused

national service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

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

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Academic career

In 1961 Cliffe went to

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

to teach at Kivukoni adult education college and later at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

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

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It 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 ...

, Tanzania and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. 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 in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

before being appointed

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the

in 1978. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1982, Reader 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, Geograph ...

(LUCAS) and also the journal ''

Review of African Political Economy The ''Review of African Political Economy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering African political economy. It was founded with the help of Lionel Cliffe and is published quarterly by Taylor & Francis since 1974. As of January 2024 the jou ...

''. Cliffe retired as

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

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.

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, a ...

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 Basil Risbridger Davidson (9 November 1914 – 9 July 2010) was a British journalist and historian who wrote more than 30 books on African history and politics. According to two modern writers, "Davidson, a campaigning journalist whose f ...

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

(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 British academic specialising in social work. Until retirement he was the Everton Professor of Social and Community Engagement at Liverpool Hope University, formerly having worked at both Liverpool and Cent ...

(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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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 Tesfagioragis

Lionel 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 in the United Kingdom 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 Academic staff of the University of Dar es Salaam