This is a genuinely comparative study of the different trajectories and experiences of independent African states. It addresses the differential... legacies of British, French, Portuguese, Belgian and Spanish colonialism as well as the unique qualities of imperial Ethiopia and Liberia. Paul Nugent analyses boundary problems, the reshaping of territorial structures and the contrasting ideological paths followed by civilian and military regimes. The book ends with a look at the interplay between structural adjustment, ethnicity, democratization and the impact of NGOs. A state-level perspective is balanced by a sensitivity to popular culture.

The 21st century will be the century of Africa. This continent was once seen as empty, rural, animist, poor, and forgotten by the world. Now, fifty... years after independence, it is full to bursting, urban and monotheist. If poverty and violence are still rampant, economic growth has taken off again and a middle class is developing. Africa will hold a central place in the big issues facing the world today. If it once made a ‘false start’, here it is back again – in the fast lane.The West has missed the turnaround of a continent that will no longer wait for us. How can we best understand it? Demography, economics, politics, diplomacy, cultures and religions – this book presents the different facets of this new Africa, which will soon have a billion people, at the mid point of the most rapid population boom that humanity has ever known. Without ignoring the risks of its metamorphosis, it brings to light the forces and hopes that Africa harbors.

In Africa's Odious Debts, Boyce and Ndikumana reveal the shocking fact that, contrary to the popular perception of Africa being a drain on the financial... resources of the West, the continent is actually a net creditor to the rest of the world. The extent of capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa is remarkable: more than $700 billion in the past four decades. But Africa’s foreign assets remain private and hidden, while its foreign debts are public, owed by the people of Africa through their governments.Léonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce reveal the intimate links between foreign loans and capital flight. More than half of the money borrowed by African governments in recent decades departed in the same year, with a significant portion of it winding up in private accounts at the very banks that provided the loans in the first place. Meanwhile, debt-service payments continue to drain scarce resources from Africa, cutting into funds available for public health and other needs. Controversially, the authors argue that African governments should repudiate these "odious debts" from which their people derived no benefit, and that the international community should assist in this effort.A vital book for anyone interested in Africa, its future, and its relationship with the West.

This authoritative text provides a broad introduction to the geography of Africa south of the Sahara. Exploring contemporary issues without losing sight... of their historical roots, the volume analyzes the sociocultural, political, economic, and environmental processes that shape resource use and development in this rapidly changing region. Students gain a balanced view of the continent’s trials and triumphs—from postcolonial political strife and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS to progress toward democratization and sustainable growth.

This collective biography of four jazz musicians from Brooklyn, Ghana, and South Africa demonstrates how modern Africa reshaped jazz, how modern jazz... helped form a new African identity, and how musical convergences and crossings altered the politics and culture of both continents.

By the end of the twentieth century, sub-Saharan Africa had experienced twenty-five years of economic and political disaster. While "economic miracles"... in China and India raised hundreds of millions from extreme poverty, Africa seemed to have been overtaken by violent conflict and mass destitution, and ranked lowest in the world in just about every economic and social indicator. Working in Busia, a small Kenyan border town, economist Edward Miguel began to notice something different starting in 1997: modest but steady economic progress, with new construction projects, flower markets, shops, and ubiquitous cell phones. In Africa's Turn? Miguel tracks a decade of comparably hopeful economic trends throughout sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that we may be seeing a turnaround. He bases his hopes on a range of recent changes: democracy is finally taking root in many countries; China's successes have fueled large-scale investment in Africa; and rising commodity prices have helped as well. Miguel warns, though, that the growth is fragile. Violence and climate change could derail it quickly, and he argues for specific international assistance when drought and civil strife loom. Responding to Miguel, nine experts gauge his optimism. Some question the progress of democracy in Africa or are more skeptical about China's constructive impact, while others think that Miguel has underestimated the threats represented by climate change and population growth. But most agree that something new is happening, and that policy innovations in health, education, agriculture, and government accountability are the key to Africa's future.Contributors Olu Ajakaiye, Ken Banks, Robert Bates, Paul Collier, Rachel Glennerster, Rosamond Naylor, Smita Singh, David N. Weil, and Jeremy M. Weinstein

Why haven't the poorest Africans been able to prosper in the twenty-first century? Celebrated economist George Ayittey thinks the answer is obvious:... economic freedom was denied to them, first by foreign colonial powers and now by indigenous leaders with similarly oppressive practices. As war and conflict replaced peace, Africa's infrastructure crumbled. Instead of bemoaning the myriad difficulties facing the continent today, Ayittey boldly proposes a program of development--a way forward--for Africa. Africa Unchained investigates how Africa can modernize, build, and improve its indigenous institutions, and argues forcefully that Africa should build and expand upon traditions of free markets and free trade rather than continuing to use exploitative economic structures. The economic model here is uniquely African and takes little heed from the developed world; this is sure to be a highly controversial plan for moving Africa forward.

Though the demise of one or another African state has been heralded for nearly five decades, the map of the continent remains virtually unchanged. By... and large, these states are judged failures. And yet they endure. Pierre Englebert asks: why do these oppressive and exploitative, yet otherwise ineffective, structures remain broadly unchallenged? Why do Africans themselves, who have received little in the way of security, basic welfare, or development, continue to embrace their states and display surprising levels of nationalist fervor? He finds his answer in the benefits that sovereign weak states offer to Africa's regional and national elites - and to those who depend on them.Englebert carefully articulates the manner in which international sovereignty is translated into domestic legal command - and the sorrow that ensues. He also offers some corrective 'policy fantasies'. Effectively combining theory, cross-national quantitative methods, and case studies, his book reveals a pattern of reproduction of a predatory, dysfunctional state in which human integrity is sacrificed to its territorial counterpart.

The main purpose of this collection of essays is to assist scholars in identifying African-American critics who are considered important in Black... Studies and to present exegeses--appreciative, interpretive, descriptive, normative,textual, and genetic. Essays are presented that best express the African-American mind and spirit.

Africa: Volume 1 begins a series of books which adopt a new perspective on African history and culture, surveying the wide array of societies and... states that have existed on the African continent and introducing readers to the diversity of African experiences and cultural expressions. Toyin Falola has brought together African studies professors from a variety of schools and settings. Writing from their individual areas of expertise, these authors work together to break general stereotypes about Africa, focusing instead on the substantive issues of the African past from an African perspective. The texts are richly illustrated and include maps and timelines to make cultural and historical movements clearer, and suggestions for further reading will help readers broaden their own particular interests. Africa provides new perspectives that challenge the accepted ways of studying Africa, flexibility for instructors to structure courses, and encouragement for readers who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience. Volume 1, African History Before 1885, introduces students to the various precolonial histories of Africa. Instead of generalizing about the continent, the chapters reconstruct the histories of many different societies in various historical periods.

Africa: Volume 2 is part of a series of books which adopts a new perspective on African history and culture, surveying the wide array of societies and... states that have existed on the African continent and introducing readers to the diversity of African experiences and cultural expressions. Toyin Falola has brought together African studies professors from a variety of schools and settings. Writing from their individual areas of expertise, these authors work together to break general stereotypes about Africa, focusing instead on the substantive issues of the African past from an African perspective. The texts are richly illustrated and include maps and timelines to make cultural and historical movements clearer, and suggestions for further reading will help readers broaden their own particular interests. Africa provides new perspectives that challenge the accepted ways of studying Africa, flexibility for instructors to structure courses, and encouragement for readers who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience.Volume 2, African Cultures and Societies Before 1885 provides a broad view of precolonial experiences and expressions in Africa. The book focuses on culture as a means of understanding both the traditions that thrived throughout Africa and the efforts of modern Africans to reclaim their cultural past in lands that have been divided and exploited by Western imperial powers.

Along with Africa, Volumes 1 and 2, Volume 3: Colonial Africa 1885-1939 adopts a new perspective on African history and culture, surveying the wide... array of societies and states that have existed on the African continent and introducing readers to the diversity of African experiences and cultural expressions. Toyin Falola has brought together African studies professors from a variety of schools and settings. Writing from their individual areas of expertise, these authors work together to break general stereotypes about Africa, focusing instead on the substantive issues of the African past from an African perspective. Volume 1, African History Before 1885 (ISBN 0-89089-768-9), introduces students to the various precolonial histories of Africa. Volume 2, African Cultures and Societies Before 1885 (ISBN 0-89089-769-7), provides a broad view of precolonial experiences and expressions in Africa. Volume 3, Colonial Africa 1885-1939, details the experiences and ramifications of the colonization process throughout the African continent. Many different aspects are discussed including the changes in political and economic systems, and impacts on education, religion, and the environment. Also included are detailed regional histories of various geographical areas. The texts are richly illustrated and include maps to make cultural and historical movements clearer, as well as suggestions for further reading that will help readers broaden their own particular interests. Africa provides new perspectives that challenge the accepted ways of studying Africa, flexibility for instructors to structure courses, and encouragement for readers who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience.

Part of a five-volume series entitled Africa, Volume 4: The End of Colonial Rule adopts a new perspective on African history and culture. The End of... Colonial Rule presents, in a simplified manner, aspects of African history and culture from World War II to decolonization. The primary aim of the text is to present a broad picture of Africa in the last decades of colonial rule. Four chapters are devoted to an analysis of African nationalism, including the contributions of women (which have generally been ignored by scholars), and various chapters focus on the reforms and other social aspects that received major attention during that time, notably health, business and education. In the second part of the book, the themes are analyzed chronologically, focusing on each region in turn. The final part reflects on what colonialism meant for Africa, both during the period of European rule and since independence. The concluding chapters prepare the reader to understand contemporary Africa, which is covered in Volume 5, the last in the series. This book highlights the role of Africans in initiating changes and reflects on what colonialism meant for Africa. Along with the other Africa volumes, it challenges the accepted ways of studying Africa and encourages readers who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience.

Contemporary Africa, edited by Toyin Falola captures the challenges, optimism and problems that face modern Africa, notably those of economic... underdevelopment and political instability. African countries seek various answers, and they have recorded varying degrees of success as they attempt to unite their peoples to build strong nations, develop their economies, and stabilize their politics. Failures have equally been recorded in a number of places, although these have not prevented the search for new solutions nor dampened the enthusiasm of Africans in liberating themselves from poverty. Among the leading issues that the volume pays attention to are: the achievements of independence, the colonial legacy, Africa's place in global affairs, economic development, political instability, and the challenges of renewal in the 21st century. This is the fifth volume in a series of textbooks entitled Africa. Contributors to the volumes are African Studies teachers from a variety of schools and settings. Writing from their individual areas of expertise, these authors work together to break stereotypes about Africa, focusing instead on the substantive issues of the African past from the perspectives of Africans themselves. The organization of the books is flexible enough to suit the needs of any instructor, and the texts include illustrations, maps and timelines to make cultural and historical movements clearer. Suggestions for further reading that will help students broaden their own interests are also included. Africa challenges the accepted ways of studying Africa and encourages students who are eager to learn about the diversity of the African experience.