New paperback edition. Portrays the continent on the verge of destruction, and argues that only a distinctly African approach to Africa's problems can reverse the trend. Notes, bib, map, index, x, 212pp, UK. PALGRAVE, 1403960534

2002, 2001 Paperback

A realistic view of the continent's current political and social malaise. The author, a seasoned reporter looks beyond romanticised views of Africa and describes the reality as he has experienced it. Index, notes, b/w illus, 333pp, UK. HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS, 0006378560

A look at the theoretical structure of state terrorism, regime-violence, and classic despotic outfits in Africa such as dictators, and junta hegemonies. This new edition also covers recent developments in Nigeria, particularly the Ogoni question and the government of General Abacha. Index, bib, app, xv, 186pp, NIGERIA. FOURTH DIMENSION.

A new book from the author of the popular and satirical How to Be an African Lady. 118pp, KENYA. EAST AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS.

Examines topics such as structural adjustment and labour strategies in Nigeria; the role of international donors and civil society in Zimbabwe; French foreign policy toward Africa; global-local perspectives on African security issues; and the US democratic experiment in Ghana. Notes, index, 228pp, UK. PLUTO PRESS.

Compilation of articles that were published in different issues of the journal, African Renaissance, between 2004 and 2006. Most of the articles are from established academics, development practitioners, policymakers and policy-moulders as well as stakeholders in Africa. Though the perspectives are as varied as the contributions, the underlining theme is the timely concern about Africa and its various dimensions of development trajectories vis-a-vis that of other regions of the world. The contributors also analyse the continuous interactions and inevitable contradictory tensions that exist between the continent and the rest of the World. Index, 361pp, UK. ADONIS & ABBEY

Reviews fifty years of research on politics in Africa. It synthesizes insights from different scholarly approaches and offers an original 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. Index, bib, 352pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Analyses the unique contributions of three major African leaders in the post-colonial era: Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta, Tanzania's Julius Nyere, and Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah. Maps, notes, refs, index, 220pp, USA. KRIEGER PUBLISHING COMPANY.

The contributors to this book make a clear distinction between territory formation from the top as being a deliberate political project, and its formation from below as being a more diffused historical process which is determined by the scheme of antagonisms and compromises between social forces. In lieu of a stark opposition between the top and below, contributors argue for an interdependence and mutual influence which form the basis of a dual system within which legal formation (first by colonial authorities, then by postcolonial ones) is confronted with a host of subaltern spatial dynamics, neglecting thereby the legitimacy which only them can provide. 360pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

The question usually asked about Africa is: 'why is it going wrong?' Is the continent still suffering from the ravages of colonialism? Or is it the victim of postcolonial economic exploitation, poor governance and lack of aid? Whatever the answer, increasingly the result is poverty and violence. Chabal approaches these questions by reconsidering the role of theory in African politics. He discusses the limitations of existing political theories of Africa and proposes a different starting point, arguing that political thinking ought to be driven by the need to address the immediacy of everyday life and death. How do people define who they are? Where do they belong? What do they believe? How do they struggle to survive and improve their lives? What is the impact of illness and poverty? In doing so, he proposes a radically different way of looking at politics in Africa and illuminates the ways ordinary people 'suffer and smile'. Index, bib, 212pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

A study exploring the possible futures for sub Saharan Africa involving more than a thousand Africans, in 46 countries and from very different backgrounds. This study first determines the status quo in Africa at the dawn of the 21st century and then constructs four scenarios for the next 25 years. In each case, there is a consideration of the conditions that must be in place for these scenarios to become reality. Diags, xix, 142pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNISA PRESS.

An examination of how decision makers have managed and mismanaged public policy issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Index, notes, tables, graphs, xi, 267pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS.

New edition. This collection of essays and interviews from leading activists and socialists offers critical insights into class struggle and social empowerment across the continent. Assessing contemporary flashpoints of conflict and struggle, experts examine the renewal of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt; advance a critical appraisal of South Africa's post-Apartheid government; document the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe; and chart trade union resistance in Nigeria and Zambia. These accounts also offer crucial contributions to discussions over neoliberal governance, debt relief, social agency among the urban poor, trade unionism, and strike action. 224pp, USA. HAYMARKET BOOKS.

An in depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of constitutional provisions for managing the challenges of race, religion, ethnicity, civil liberties and civil military relations in Africa's transitional democracies. BNS, 186pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS, 0754636402

Contributors engage the issue of constititionalism in a bid to provide critical and well-considered responses to these and the numerous other questions that confront contemporary Africa. Notes, refs, index, xi, 345pp, UGANDA. FOUNTAIN PUBLISHERS.

Compendium of essays on the politics, governmental systems, political economy, cultural practices, educational systems and natural phenomena that impact on the lives of Africans. Bib, notes, 86pp, CAMEROON. LANGAA RPCIG.

Intended to provide the tools for Foreign Ministries and their officers to achieve diplomatic excellence, this manual seeks to redefine written diplomacy in its true meaning: the art of learning to write in a particular kind of language and tone. It seeks to refocus attention on the significance of diplomatic communication as one of the defining characteristics of diplomacy. A wide variety of correspondence encountered by diplomats is explained, with an analysis of each form. 172pp, NIGERIA. HEINEMANN EDUCATIONAL BOOKS NIGERIA.

Non voting, non rebellion, non payment of taxes, and non formal employment are forms of active disengagement not often taken into account in political analysis. The author argues that in order to foster good governance and economic development these non confrontational strategies, often used in Africa to resist domination, must be taken into account. Index, bib, app, notes, tables, xiii, 238pp, USA. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

Examines the impact of ethnicity on politics in Tanzania, Uganda, and the DRC. A4 format, notes, refs, bib, 102pp, USA . BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 0915118173

2002 DELAY

An Adelphi paper examining the countries that will lead and the rules that will govern Africa in the decade promising to be one of change and opportunity. The authors pay particular attention to the perilous condition of Africa's largest countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who should be leading the continent but are instead failing. The paper also reviews the recently proposed NEPAD. Notes, tables, gloss, 86pp, UK. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES.

Fourth edition of a popular textbook, with extended coverage of North and South African developments. Chapters on colonialism, nationalism, state and society, parties, administration, the military, liberalisation and economic reform, regional groupings and the OAU, conclusions. 'Likely to become a standard work of reference for many years.' Barry Munslow, Third World Quarterly. BNS, bib, index, 400pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

The title reflects the theme of the biennial 'Nordic Africa Days' held in October 2001 in Uppsala and consists of the plenary presentations by three invited African scholars. Notes, refs, 33pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, 9171064877

Outlines a new relationship between governments and societies, a relationship informed by Western concepts but based on traditional African values such as respect for human dignity, equality, and self-rule. 308pp, USA. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE PRESS.

Calls attention to 'transboundary formations'- intersections of cross-border, national, and local forces that produce, destroy or transform local order and political authority, significantly impacting on ordinary people's lives. Figs, notes, refs, index, xiii, 322pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Through the analysis of peasant politics, debt and structural adjustment, democratization, and identity politics, the author shows the importance of resistance and agency. Detailed studies demonstrate how political organization and resistance have been closely ingrained in particular post-colonial trajectories. bib, index, xi, 190pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

A study in four chapters looking at different aspects of civil society in East Africa. Topics include human rights NGOs in Uganda, Kenya Women's Political Caucus, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme, the Association of Journalists and Media Workers and leadership and democratisation in Zimbabwe. Index, apps, xxii, 252pp, ETHIOPIA. DEVELOPMENT POLICY MANAGEMENT FORUM.

An exploration of why some decentralisation reforms have led to viable systems of local governance in Africa, while others have failed. The authors outline key is-sues involved, provides historical contexts and identifies the factors that have encouraged or discouraged success. BNS, 330pp, UK. LYNNE RIENNER, 1588261735

Moves from the broadest kind of evaluation of the prospects for capitalist development in Africa as a whole to an especially detailed reading of the present situation in post-apartheid, neo-liberal South Africa. Argues that the struggle for socialism must be part of the solution in contemporary Africa. Notes, index, 293pp. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 0865439508

Free market policies have been in place across Africa for the past twenty-five years, yet have failed to reverse deepening poverty on the continent. This book explores why these policies continue to be implemented, despite their failure, and the ways in which they have been reinvented over the decades. Focusing on Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, this study traces the impacts of these policies on human and state security. The 1980s and 1990s saw Africa marginalized by the process of globalization, but since 9/11 the continent has become central in global oil and security politics, and is now an important site of US and Chinese competition. Are Africans condemned to be eternally manipulated by external powers for their own ends, or can the global system be reformed to promote sustainable livelihoods and peace on the continent? 360pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

Examines the extent to which policy-makers and political leaders take into account home-grown African research when they formulate policies intended to promote sustainable development. It reveals that there is a disconnect between policy-making and economic research and proposes ways that research-ers can help to bridge this gap, improve the policy-making process, and thus enhance development efforts in Africa. 307pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Revised versions of presentations to a Session of the Research Committee Comparative Sociology in July 2006 in Durban. They explore the role of opposition parties under different aspects in several East and Southern African countries. Contents: Karolina Hulterström - The Logic of Ethnic Politics Elite Perceptions about the Role of Ethnicity in Kenyan and Zambian Party Politics; Amin Y. Kamete - Of Jinxes and Blessings The Opposition in Zimbabwe's Urban Local Governance; Henning Melber - SWAPO Is the Nation, and the Nation Is SWAPO: Government and Opposition in a Dominant Party State. The Case of Namibia. 85pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.

A selection of articles from the Review of African Political Economy. Each article is set in its context, describing why each piece is considered important. Includes sections on the politics of underdevelopment and the politics of cultural pluralism. Index, notes, map, 278pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

A general survey of the political factors involved in African economic performance during the era of structural adjustment. Case studies are drawn from Ghana, Zambia, and Uganda. Index, bib, notes, x, 165pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

A re-examination of the ideas and practices of Africa's most influential activist practitioners of anti colonialism nationalism and socialism; Franz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral and Julius Nyerere. The author looks at their different political and social perspectives and the similarities of the problems they faced. The author also describes their continuing relevance in a post socialist age defined by globalisation and within the development of African philosophy. Index, bib, notes, iv, 306pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 1592211003

This third volume of the collected essays of Ali A. Mazrui span forty years and focuses on issues of power and politics at the nexus of Africa's domestic affairs, the impact of the colonial legacy and conflict resolution. Index, notes, xiv, 477pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 1592211712

An examination of the concepts of democracy from an African perspective for developement activists and community leaders. Uses poetry, diagrams and line drawings to illustrate points. Bib, 215pp, Zimbabwe. AFRICA COMMUNITY TRUST.

2003 079741830X Paperback

A collection of essays and papers delineating modern scholarship on African politics. Issues examined include the role of religion in politics, reconciliation, political violence, urbanisation, concepts of the state and the instrumentalization of disorder. Index, notes, viii, 242pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852552572

An analysis of the institutional reforms which have taken place in recent years, across Africa and how they have impacted the public sector and domestic reform. Index, refs, tables, figs, xix, 362pp, USA. BROOKINGS, 9280810820

The evolution of student activism in sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to understanding the process of democratic struggle and change in Africa. Focusing on the recent period of 'democratic transitions' in the 1990s, Leo Zeilig discusses the widespread involvement of student activism in democratic struggles across contemporary Africa and focuses on two case studies, Senegal and Zimbabwe. He provides an historical examination of the student-intelligentsia on the continent that played a crucial role in the independence struggles across much of Africa, leading and organising nationalist movements and outlines the development of grass-root activism. 360pp, UK. I B TAURIS.

Despite the global spread of a homogeneous neoliberal economic ideology, issues of universal human rights are set against the variety of cultural values and political institutions realities that exist worldwide. Using case studies from across Africa, the author of these essays question the viability of imposing liberal institutions on African realities, the universality of democracy and rights, cultural authenticity and citizenship. Index, refs, xiv, 283pp, UK. ZED BOOKS, 184277283X

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the African political landscape was liberalised and multiparty elections were held in various regions of the continent. However, from the mid-1990s onwards, power began to become concentrated in the hands of a few ruling elites. Elections became mere theatrical displays and were held neither regularly, fairly or freely. Using exploratory research methods and system theory, Kasahun Woldemariam examines how and why this was able to happen. 354pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Argues that foreign involvement in Africa has been the single most destructive element in the continent's history, and that the end of the Cold War offers the opportunity for Africa to achieve the independence it never really achieved when the European powers departed from their former colonies. B/w ill, notes, index, xi, 376pp, USA . WESTVIEW, 0813341124

Describes in great detail the significant effects of the various historical trajectories of global capitalist expansion on the nature and functions of the African state while focusing on the present triumph of globalized neo-liberalism on the African continent. Argues that the history of the state in Africa has been misread and misinterpreted through the Eurocentric convictions of European African scholars alike. The State in Africa has, since its colonial inception, has served as the best possible political shell for capitalism, enabling it to penetrate, again possession and establish itself firmly and securely, regardless of institutional and leadership instability at the helm. 438pp, CAMEROON. LANGAA RPCIG.

Second edition of one of the important and compelling texts of comparative politics and historical sociology of the last twenty years. Bayart rejects the assumption of African `otherness' based on stereotyped images of famine, corruption and civil war. Instead he invites the reader to see that African politics is like politics anywhere else in the world, not an exotic aberration. While acknowledging the insights of Western social scientists from Weber to Foucault, Bayart never loses sight of the realities of African politics and social life and he is careful to allow African voices to speak for themselves. This new edition of Bayart's classic book includes a new introduction on Africa in the world today. 420pp, UK. POLITY PRESS.

Now in paperback. African bad-news stories massively outweigh the good. Ever since the process of decolonisation began in the mid-1950s, and arguably before, the continent has appeared to be stuck in a process of irreversible decline. Constant war, improper use of natural resources and misappropriation of revenues and aid monies contribute to an impression of a continent beyond hope. What is to be done? Weaving together the key stories and characters of the last fifty years into a compelling and controversial narrative, Martin Meredith has produced a comprehensive history of how European ideas of how to organise 10,000 different ethnic groups has led to the current continental malaise. Maps, Index, bib, notes, 768pp, UK. FREE PRESS.

An evaluation of the acceptance of the Kampala Principles of 1989, which grew out of a forum on workable political and economic development in Africa. 198pp, notes. USA. BROOKINGS, 0815702655

2002 Paperback

The trend toward sub-nationalist autonomy away from the development of singular, state centric political systems based on the Western model, is one of the most striking phenomena in Africa today. The author analyses the expansion of ethnic sub-nationalist movements in the postcolonial period, the reasons behind their growth, and their implications for African politics. Index, bib, notes, map, vii, 279pp, USA. LYNNE RIENNER, 1588262278

Collection of biographies and independence speeches of African nationalists and leaders. index, 109pp,KENYA. CANA PUBLISHING.

2001 9966971009 Paperback

A new prescription for African leadership culled from an examination of the offices of Seretse Khama, Nelson Mandela and Julius Nyerere. Mungazi isolates integrity, loyalty to principle, honesty, respect to democracy and confidence in the abilities of one's people as overarching values that should be present in a good leader. Backing his claims up with actual examples from the offices of these legendary statesmen, he begins to build a new synthesis for the African leaders of the future. Index, bib, 280pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.