Gatekeeper state
Masanin tarihi Frederick Cooper ne ya gabatar da manufar mai tsaron ƙofar a cikin littafinsa Africa Since 1940: The Past of the Present . Ana amfani da shi don bayyana al'ummomin Afirka waɗanda babban aikin su shine daidaita rashin kwanciyar hankali na ikon siyasa na ciki game da tasirin abubuwan waje.

Ra'ayi 
Cooper ya bayyana cewa gardamarsa "an yi niyyar tayar da tattaunawa fiye da koyo," kuma cewa, "kamar duk kwatancin kalmomi biyu, 'yankin mai kula da gida' ya fi amfani ga tambayoyin da yake bayarwa fiye da bayar da bayani a kanta".

A cewar Cooper, gwamnatocin Afirka suna fama da rikice-rikicen siyasa da tattalin arziki na musamman wanda ya samo asali ne daga wani tsari na tarihi. Musamman, ya yi jayayya cewa "An ci Afirka a hankali amma ba a yi mulki a hankali ba" (2002: 196-197) sabili da haka " jihohin mulkin mallaka sun kasance jihohin masu tsaron ƙofar" (ibid.: 5) wanda ke da "matsalar fadada ikonsu da umarnin su na mutunta mutane... a ciki" (ibid: 156) amma zai iya sarrafa "tsakanin tattalin arzikin ƙasa da na duniya" (ibid., 141).

Ƙarfin mulkin mallaka galibi suna neman cire albarkatu daga Afirka (misali albarkatun ƙasa, aiki) wanda ya haifar da iyakantaccen tushe na siyasa a yankuna. Daga ƙarshe, ikon mulkin mallaka ya dogara da manyan sojojin soja na babban birni, wanda zai iya kayar da juriya mai tsari amma ba zai iya yin amfani da iko ba ko samun halattacce (ibid.: 157).

A cikin tarihin Afirka, maye gurbin shugabannin mulkin mallaka tare da shugabannin 'yan asalin Afirka ba su da yawa don samun goyon baya ko kwanciyar hankali tsakanin masu jefa kuri'a. Rayuwar kowane yanki saboda haka har yanzu ya dogara da albarkatun waje da tallafi, ba a kan abubuwan ciki ba kamar yadda yake a jihohin da aka kafa. Saboda rauni na ciki, wannan dogaro na waje ya samar da wani waje daidaitawa mayar da hankali kan 'tsaron ƙofar": masu tsaron ƙofar sun tattara mafi yawan kudaden shiga daga haraji kan shigo da fitarwa, sarrafawa shigarwa da fita visa, rarraba kasashen waje taimako, yanke shawarar wanda zai iya motsa kudi a ciki ko fita, kuma ya ba da lasisi wanda zai iya shiga cikin kasuwanci (2002.: 5, 97, 157).

Bayan mulkin mallaka, Cooper ya ci gaba da jayayya, ya gaji tufafin mai kula da ƙofar daga tsoffin sarakunan su. Independence, duk da haka, ya kara tsananta mummunan sakamako na kiyaye ƙofar saboda yayin da kafin a ɗauka wanda zai mallaki ƙofar (tare da iko da dukiyar da aka samo daga gare ta), a cikin lokacin mulkin mallaka babu wata rundunar soja ta waje don sanya tsari.

Bugu da ƙari, ba kamar ikon mulkin mallaka ba (akalla kafin "lokacin ci gaba" bayan kimanin 1940) sarakunan Afirka suna so su tilasta ikonsu a ciki don shafar canjin tattalin arziki da al'umma. Kuma idan aka ba da, ƙari, wannan iko da ƙofar "ko dai / ko sabon abu" ne (ibid.: 159) ko kuma wasan ƙididdiga, abubuwan da ke tattare da iko sun kasance da yawa saboda masu cin nasara sun sami iko da albarkatun da za su iya amfani da su don tabbatar da mulkin su. Sakamakon haka, gwagwarmaya mai tsanani don kula da ƙofar ta tashi ba da daɗewa ba bayan samun 'yancin kai, kuma wannan ya haifar da rashin daidaituwa na siyasa wanda ya faru a Afirka bayan samun' yancin kai kamar yadda aka tabbatar da shi, a tsakanin sauran abubuwa, sake zagayowar juyin mulki da juyin mulki.

Tarihin Ma'anar 
Aharon deGrassi ne ya rubuta tarihin da ya fi tsayi. Cooper ya fara amfani da kalmar a watan Mayu 1992. Cooper ya samo asali ne daga wasu ambaton kalmar "mai tsaron ƙofar," musamman littafin mai tasiri The State in Africa, wanda aka buga a Faransanci a 1989 da Ingilishi a 1993, wanda ya bayyana cewa "A Najeriya a cikin 1970s, Janar Obasanjo ya shahara da kalmar 'mai tsaron gida' don bayyana matsayin matsakaici na manyan ma'aikatan gwamnati tsakanin yanayin duniya da kasuwar ƙasa". Bayart kuma ya ɗauki lokacin daga wani babi na farko na 1978 a Najeriya ta Gavin Williams da Teresa Turner.

Masu sukar 
Wannan ra'ayi ya kasance mai sukar daban-daban.   
Manufar ta dogara ne akan kwatancin sararin samaniya maimakon ainihin nazarin ƙasa. Ya dogara da ra'ayoyi huɗu masu matsala: "haraji a matsayin kasafin kuɗi da kai tsaye, yankunan karkara a matsayin raguwa, ababen more rayuwa a matsayin kunkuntar da kuma tsayawa, da zanga-zangar ababen more more rayuwa a matsayinta na mafi mahimmanci". Cooper bai samar da takamaiman cikakkiyar shaida ta kididdiga ba game da babban da'awarsa game da "tsakiyar haraji, sabanin wasu nau'ikan haraji, ga kudaden shiga na jihar". Kididdiga daga wasu binciken sun saba wa wannan sanarwa ga wasu ƙasashe a wasu sassan mulkin mallaka.

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