Africa in World Politics

by Harbeson, John W.

• ISBN13: 9780813343648
• ISBN10: 081334364X
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-28
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

In this fully revised edition, top scholars of African politics address major currents in Africa and Africa's relationship to the global political and economic orders. The fourth edition focuses on issues of reforming and strengthening states and their economies in sub-Saharan Africa. The nation-state as we know it is a legacy of European rule in Africa, and the primacy of the nation-state remains a bedrock of most contemporary theories of international relations. Yet in the fifth decade of Africa's independence, this colonial inheritance has been profoundly affected both by state weakness and by prospects for real economic and political reform, by continuing marginalization globally and by evolving new relationships with the world community. Including new readings on the AIDS crisis, the regional war on terrorism, and Africa's growing economic engagement with China, this text remains an invaluable resource for students of African and world politics. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Donald Rothchild is professor of political science at the University of California at Davis and the coeditor (with Naomi Chazan) of The Precarious Balance: State and Society in Africa (WestviewPress 1988). John W. Harbeson is professor of political science in the Graduate School and at City College of the City University of New York and the author of The Ethiopian Transformation (WestviewPress 1988).

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures	p. vii
Map of Africa	p. ix
Acronyms	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Introduction
Intimations of an African Renaissance: Recent Progress, Long-Term Challenges	p. 3
Historical Parameters
The Heritage of Colonialism	p. 19
Africa and the World Political Economy: Still Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place?	p. 39
Africa and Other Civilizations: Conquest and Counter-Conquest	p. 72
African States and the State System: Reinvention and Reconstruction
Promising Democratization Trajectories in Africa's Weak States	p. 109
In Pursuit of Authority: Civil Society and Rights-Based Discourses in Africa	p. 140
The AIDS Crisis: International Relations and Governance in Africa	p. 164
The Privatization of Africa's International Relations	p. 190
Inter-African Negotiations and Reforming Political Order	p. 213
Global Engagement: Commitment, Competition, and Responsibility
The U.S. Role in Promoting Peaceful African Relations	p. 241
The War on Terrorism in Africa	p. 276
Euro-African Relations in the Age of Maturity	p. 305
China's Engagement in Africa: Scope, Significance, and Consequences	p. 323
Reconciling Sovereignty with Responsibility: A Basis for International Humanitarian Action	p. 345
About the Contributors	p. 385
Index	p. 391
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.