African Politics in Comparative PerspectiveThis 2006 book reviews fifty years of research on politics in Africa. It synthesizes insights from different scholarly approaches and offers an interpretation of the knowledge accumulated over the years. It discusses how research on African politics relates to the study of politics in other regions. It focuses on such key issues as the legacy of a movement approach to political change, the nature of the state, the economy of a location, the policy deficit, the agrarian question, gender and politics and ethnicity and conflict. It ends by reviewing what scholars agree upon and what the accumulated knowledge offers as insights for more effective political and policy reforms. This book is for undergraduate and graduate courses in African and Comparative Politics as well as development-oriented courses in Political Science and related disciplines. It is also of great relevance to governance and development analysts and practitioners in international organizations. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 The Movement Legacy | 25 |
3 The Problematic State | 50 |
4 The Economy of Affection | 72 |
5 Big Man Rule | 94 |
6 The Policy Deficit | 116 |
7 The Agrarian Question | 138 |
8 Gender and Politics | 162 |
9 Ethnicity and Conflict | 183 |
10 The External Dimension | 206 |
11 So What Do We Know? | 228 |
12 Quo Vadis Africa? | 252 |
| 275 | |
| 299 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actors African countries African governments African leaders African politics African society agricultural analysis approach argue associated become behavior Botswana capitalism challenge chapter civil society comparative politics concept conflict constitution context continue country’s cultural democracy democratic dependence discussed dominant donor agencies economic economy of affection elections especially Ethiopia ethnic groups example formal institutions funds Ghana global Hyden important independence individuals informal institutions instance interest issues Ivory Coast Julius Nyerere Kenya literature means ment modern movement legacy Mozambique Nairobi neoliberal neopatrimonialism Nigeria Nyerere officials organizations party peasants percent perspective political economy political leaders political science politics in Africa premodern problem production question reciprocities reference reform region relations rely role rulers rural scholars sector social exchange theory South Africa specific structural sub-Saharan Africa Tanzania tend tion traditional typically Uganda urban women World Bank Zambia Zimbabwe