An Introduction to African Politics

by Thomson,Alex

• ISBN13: 9780415282628
• ISBN10: 0415282624
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2004-10-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

An Introduction to African Politicsprovides an ideal gateway for individuals seeking to learn more about the African continent. Using accessible terms and concepts, the book seeks to make sense of the dynamic and diverse political systems that are a feature of this fascinating part of the world. It charts the region's fall from grace after independence, the rise and fall of the one-party state and Africa's recent struggle to consolidate democracy. This expanded, fully revised and updated edition remains a key source in helping readers to grasp the events and recurring political patterns that have dominated the African continent since decolonisation. Feature and benefits ofAn Introduction to African Politics: It is thematically organised, with individual chapters exploring issues such as colonisation, ethnicity, nationalism, social class, ideology, legitimacy, sovereignty, and democracy It identifies key recurrent themes such as the competitive relationshipsbetween the African state, its civil society and external interests. It contains useful boxed case studies of countries at the end of each chapter, including: Kenya; Tanzania; Nigeria; Botswana; Cote d'Ivorie; Uganda; Somalia; Ghana; Zaire and Algeria Each chapter concludes with key terms and definitions as well as questions, advice on further reading, and useful notes and references It is clearly and accessibly written by an experienced teacher of the subject

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	viii
Preface to the second edition	ix
Acknowledgements	xii
Introduction: state, civil society and external interests	1	(6)
Why study African politics?	1	(2)
The multiple political systems of Africa	3	(1)
The book's thematic approach	3	(1)
State, civil society and external interests	4	(3)
History: Africa's pre-colonial and colonial inheritance	7	(24)
The pre-colonial inheritance	8	(3)
The colonial inheritance	11	(10)
State and civil society	21	(2)
Case study: Kenya's historical inheritance	23	(8)
Ideology: nationalism, socialism, populism and state capitalism	31	(28)
Decolonisation in Africa	32	(3)
Nationalism	35	(1)
African nationalism	36	(1)
The differing ideological shades of African nationalism	37	(7)
State and civil society	44	(6)
Case study: socialism and ujamaa in Tanzania	50	(9)
Ethnicity and religion: `tribes', gods and political identity	59	(23)
Definitions of ethnicity	60	(1)
The creation of `tribes'	61	(3)
Ethnicity as a method of modern political mobilisation	64	(3)
Religion and African politics	67	(4)
State and civil society	71	(2)
Case study: ethnicity and the nation-state in Nigeria	73	(9)
Social class: the search for class politics in Africa	82	(25)
Marx on social class	83	(1)
The problems of exporting Marx to Africa	84	(1)
The African mode of production	85	(2)
A more flexible look at social class in Africa	87	(1)
Identifiable social groups within African society	88	(8)
The value of class analysis in explaining African politics	96	(3)
State and civil society	99	(1)
Case study: social class in Botswana	100	(7)
Legitimacy: neo-patrimonialism, personal rule and the centralisation of the African state	107	(22)
Centralisation of the African state	108	(7)
Personal rule	115	(3)
The search for legitimacy	118	(1)
Clientelism	119	(1)
State and civil society	120	(2)
Case study: personal rule in Cote d'lvoire	122	(7)
Coercion: military intervention in African politics	129	(20)
African military coups d'etat	130	(4)
Why has Africa experienced so many military coups?	134	(3)
Problems facing military rulers	137	(2)
The outcomes of military rule in Africa	139	(2)
State and civil society	141	(1)
Case study: Uganda's 1971 military coup	142	(7)
Sovereignty I: external influences on African politics	149	(26)
Inter-African international relations	151	(1)
Superpowers, the Cold War and Africa	152	(6)
The impact of the Cold War on African politics	158	(1)
Africa and the New World Order	159	(5)
State, civil society and external interests	164	(2)
Case study: Somalia's international relations	166	(9)
Sovereignty II: neo-colonialism, structural adjustment and Africa's political economy	175	(25)
Burdens of the international economy	179	(2)
The African debt crisis	181	(2)
The era of structural adjustment	183	(2)
The consequences of structural adjustment	185	(4)
State, civil society and external interests	189	(3)
Case study: Ghana's structural adjustment	192	(8)
Authority: the crises of accumulation, governance and state collapse	200	(28)
The growing crisis of state legitimacy	201	(6)
The loss of state authority	207	(5)
The state's own survival strategies	212	(3)
State and civil society	215	(2)
Case study: Zaire -- Mobutu's vampire state	217	(11)
Democracy: re-legitimising the African state?	228	(27)
Democracy	229	(3)
Explaining the emergence of multi-party democracy	232	(4)
The obstacles to democratic consolidation	236	(8)
State and civil society	244	(2)
Case study: the search for democracy in Algeria	246	(9)
Conclusions: state and civil society in post-colonial Africa	255	(5)
Appendix: a guide to African politics resources on the internet	260	(3)
Notes	263	(13)
Index	276