Contemporary West African States: 65 (African Studies, Series Number 65)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: First Edition, 8/21/2008
EAN 9780521368933, ISBN10: 0521368936
Paperback, 236 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm
Language: English
The West African states have reached maturity. This new volume - appearing a decade after the successful West African States: Failure and Promise - provides up-to-date studies of nine states, including Chad, Burkina Faso and Cameroon, which were neglected in the earlier volume, and introduces contemporary theories of West African politics. The book reflects changes on the ground and also in academic debate, notably the remarkable retreat of dependency theory and Marxian analysis and the rise of free-market theorising by both governments and scholars. The volume also contains important observations on the political importance of religious fundamentalism in the region, and the growth of sub-national forms of political activity. The writers are well-known scholars in the field, and include contributors to the influential journal Politique Africaine. This will be a useful textbook for everyone interested in African politics, but it is also a provocative contribution to the debate on the nature of the state and political processes in Africa.
List of contributors
Preface
1. Introduction Donal B. Cruise O'Brien and Richard Rathbone
2. Burkino Faso
between feeble and state and total state, the swing continues Rene Otayek
3. Cameroon Jean-Francois Bayart
4. Chad
the narrow escape of an African state, 1965–1987 Robert Buijtenhuijs
5. Cote d'Ivoire
analysing the crisis Yves A. Faure
6. Ghana
the political economy of personal rule Richard Jeffries
7. Liberia Christopher Clapham
8. Nigeria
power for profit
class, corporatism, and factionalism in the military Shehu Othman
9. Senegal Christian Coulon and Donal B. Cruise O'Brien
10. Sierra Leone
state, consolidation, fragmentation and decay Fred M. Hayward
11. Conclusion John Dunn.