Regime Change And Succession Politics In Africa

Bringing together scholars from a wide array of disciplines - including anthropology, economics, history, sociology, and political science - this volume addresses the problems of the regime change and state failure in Africa in the context of the global economy, but from a specifically African perspective, arguing that the underdevelopment of the African economy is linked to the underdevelopment of the continents' nation states.

First published in 1998, This book is written by seasoned scholars of African Studies and it intended to make a significant contribution to the debate on democracy and democratization in the continent. It contains a rich mixture of analytical ideas and views on the transition to accountable, participatory, and democratic governance structures in Africa. It provides both students of African political economy and policymakers in the continent and in-depth analysis of the post-independence experience of African countries with institutional reforms. Specifically, it looks at the struggles of Africans, since independence, to provide themselves with more appropriate and viable governance structures and economic systems that enhance the ability to entrepreneurs to create wealth. The Book breaks new ground in that it places significant emphasis on the reconstruction of the neo-colonial state as an important first step to a successful transition to democratic and more accountable governance structures.

With new case studies examining the post-presidential years of the iconic Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Daniel arap Moi in Kenya, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, Jerry Rawlings in Ghana, Charles Taylor in Liberia, as well as the experiences of Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi, and Nigeria, this volume examines the dilemmas which demands for presidential transitions impose upon incumbent rulers and analyzes the evolving relationships between new regimes and their predecessors.

The book provides readers a set of case studies covering a diverse range of African states in order to identify the major causes of change and the movement towards democracy.

Africa represents the next frontier of the transnational politics of democratization. Recent efforts to promote human rights and democracy have yielded a mixed record of success. A comparison of regime change in Kenya and Uganda reveals how principled interventions have unintentional adverse effects on the democratic reform process.

Africa is changing and it is easy to overlook how decentralization, democratization, and new forms of illiberalism have transformed federalism, political parties, and local politics. Chapters on Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa help fill an important gap in comparative institutional research about state and local politics in Africa.

Contains ten essays addressing aspects of African political and governmental affairs, from African politics since independence and the impact of colonialism to revolutionary movements and development in the post-colonial state. First published in 1984, this edition contains updated material on the decline and weakness of the state and on women's positions in Africa. Paper edition (unseen), $18.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR