There is no one optimal solution. Generalizations must take into account the wide range of famines in African settings. This book emphasizes that the protracted debate over famine concepts can be overcome by concentrating on empirical study that allows constructive feedback among theory, concept, and policymaking. The triangular relationship among famines, economic disaster, and political regime behavior must be kept in mind when famine prevention and mitigation strategies are designed. When the failure of famine prevention policies threatens the security of a political regime, famine prevention can be expected to move to the top of the political agenda.
Participatory government makes it harder for politicians to ignore concerns about famine.
In other words, governments can and should be held accountable for famine. The issue of national sovereignty must be reviewed by the international community when that principle protects regimes more than people. Even in the presence of violent conflicts in famine-prone countries, effective relief is possible, but typically at a high cost. The foundations for famine prevention under nonwar conditions must be laid early on with the establishment of a strong administrative and legal base for emergency relief. However, the relationship between drought and famine is strong where the resource base is poor, poverty is endemic, and public policy for famine prevention and mitigation is lacking.