A reference for graduate and undergraduate students presenting the bibliographic details and sometimes describing and evaluating the content of over 5,000 books in English, most published since 1945 and many quite recently, but also some earlier works of enduring importance. A section of works on all three continents is followed by sections on each, which first consider the continent as a whole, then each country, usually by chronological periods and topics such as economics, politics, and society. Indexed only by author and editor, but the table of contents is detailed enough to provide adequate access. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Ghana, the torch bearer of African Independence from the yoke of colonial bondage, has been pushed to the background from its earlier pre-eminent position in international as well as African affairs. Since independence, Ghana has experienced diverse forms of Government and has almost run out of models for governing herself. Instead of providing leadership to the underdeveloped countries of Africa, Ghana is busy in its quest for evolving a stable and workable political system. In its effort to evolve a stable political system and an operational constitution capable of providing steady economic progress and social upliftment. Ghana has experimented west-minister style parliamentary system, a Single Party Republic and many military regimes following coups and counter coups. Like many of the developing states of Africa, Ghana has been plagued with post-independence political instability. Civilians as well as military governments have been installed with initial enthusiasm but so far none has been able to solve the pressing problems. In fact the quest for a permanent solution to what appears a persistent governmental crisis, has invited many coups and counter coups. It addresses and analyses the maladies that has afflicted the Ghanaian body politic.
The eighth and final volume of The Cambridge History of Africa covers the period 1940-75. It begins with a discussion of the role of the Second World War in the political decolonisation of Africa. Its terminal date of 1975 coincides with the retreat of Portugal, the last European colonial power in Africa, from its possessions and their accession to independence. The fifteen chapters which make up this volume examine on both a continental and regional scale the extent to which formal transfer of political power by the European colonial rulers also involved economic, social and cultural decolonisation. A major theme of the volume is the way the African successors to the colonial rulers dealt with their inheritance and how far they benefited particular economic groups and disadvantaged others. The contributors to this volume represent different disciplinary traditions and do not share a single theoretical perspective on the recent history of the continent, a subject that is still the occasion for passionate debate.
The political and spiritual affinity felt by black peoples may date back centuries, but it was first formalized in Africa by a series of conferences at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the postwar struggle for independence, Africanness became a potent force. Later, in the early 1960s, the flood of newly independent African states adopted a Pan-African ideal in their common struggle against the remaining colonial and white-dominated territories on the continent. The launch of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 was an impressive achievement by any standards, and many commentators cited in this bibliography recognize this, adding that the OAU's survival for thirty years is even more astonishing. Overall, however, assessments of the OAU's activities have not been positive. Lack of unanimity among member-states has weakened the OAU's ability to deal with disputes. While critical of OAU's ineffectiveness, most writers marvel at the organization's resilience over three decades. While Central and Eastern Europe fragment, Africa is still represented by one organization, with annual meetings continuing to be held and attended by foreign ministers, prime ministers, and presidents. Chapters in this original and comprehensive bibliography include "Literature on the OAU," "General Assessments," "The OAU in African Politics," and "The OAU in World Politics." There are also extensive indexes of authors, titles, and subjects regarding the OAU. Organization of African Unity is a critical resource for political scientists, historians, and Africa area specialists seeking to understand a changing continent.
This book examines Ghana’s Pan-African foreign policy during Nkrumah’s rule, investigating how Ghanaians sought to influence the ideologies of African liberation movements through the Bureau of African Affairs, the African Affairs Centre and the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute. In a world of competing ideologies, when African nationalism was taking shape through trial and error, Nkrumah offered Nkrumaism as a truly African answer to colonialism, neo-colonialism and the rapacity of the Cold War powers. Although virtually no liberation movement followed the precepts of Nkrumaism to the letter, many adapted the principles and organizational methods learnt in Ghana to their own struggles. Drawing upon a significant set of primary sources and on oral testimonies from Ghanaian civil servants, politicians and diplomats as well as African freedom fighters, this book offers new angles for understanding the history of the Cold War, national liberation and nation-building in Africa.
A systematic and thorough analysis of a small, determined and comparatively wealthy "new" state's attempts to enlarge its influence and augment its power. Originally published in 1969. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Abegunrin provides a significant and comprenhensive examination of Nigerian foreign policy (1966-1999) during the almost 33 years of military rule, punctuated by the four-year civilian interregnum, 1979-1983. He analyzes what led to the military rule in 1966, and the foreign policy performance of each military regime that ruled the country since 1966. He also discusses extensively the economic dimension of the nation's foreign policy. He shows that the last 15 years, the period of Generals Babangida and Abacha, were the most corrupt and brutal that Nigeria had seen since independence. The mysterious sudden death of General Sani Abacha led to the appointment of General Abubakar, who handed power over to an elected civilian government in May 1999, led by President Olusegun Obasanjo. Of particular interest to scholars, students, and other researchers involved with African politics and foreign policy and the role of the military in politial affairs.
Identity Transformation and Politicization in Africa: Shifting Mobilization, edited by Toyin Falola and Céline A. Jacquemin, questions whether identity is providing and sustaining power for elites, or fueling oppression and conflicts, being mobilized for exclusionary movements versus inclusive societal changes, or educating in ways that foster progress and development. Do aspects of African identities and the challenges they present also hold prospects for more inclusive and peaceful democratic and representative futures? The contributors cover a wide spectrum of expertise on different African countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Morocco, and Libya). They come from diverse disciplines (History, Political Science, Public Administration, Philosophy, Economics and Finance, Cultural Studies, Music, and International Relations), and use various methods and approaches in their research. Some contributors belong to the groups whose identity is being scrutinized and are participants in the efforts to politicize and mobilize, while others remain outside observers, who share some traits or interests with the African identities examined and provide different kinds of insights. Several chapters explore how innovative pedagogical projects studying African history and identity—facilitated by the internet and new social media—transform and connect with the African continent. Each author provides important insights on how mobilization around identity issues has been shifting with the internet and social media.
New Perspectives on the Nigeria-Biafra War: No Victor, No Vanquished analyzes the continued impact of the Nigeria-Biafra war on the Igbo, the failure of the reconstruction and reconciliation effort in the post-war period, and the politics of exclusion of the memory of the war in public discourse in Nigeria. Furthermore, New Perspectives on the Nigeria-Biafra War explores the resilience of the Igbo people and the different strategies they have employed to preserve the history and memory of Biafra. The contributors argue that the war had important consequences for the socio-political developments in the post-war period, ushering in two differing ideologies: a paternalistic ideology of “co-option” of the Igbo by the Nigerian state, under the false premise of ‘No Victor, No Vanquished,” and the Igbo commitment to self-preservation on the other.
